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Toronto Blue Jays coach Don Mattingly speaks up on the team pushing him back into a smaller role
Toronto Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly recently was on Sportsnet's Blair & Barker show to discuss his diminished role with the team since last season.
The Blue Jays hired David Popkins this off-season after a brutal 2024 offensively in which they needed to make massive changes and Popkins seems to already be doing an incredible job so far in Spring Training.
Blue Jays bench Coach Don Mattingly on the team changing his role this season
Mattingly recently went on the Blair & Baker show on Sportsnet in which he was asked about his new role with the team heading into the 2025 season as he is no longer in charge of the hitting department.
The Blue Jays bench coach admitted that last year did not go as planned as the Blue Jays struggled offensively which was partially his fault and that he has taken on a new role this season.
«They asked me to oversee the hitting and that didn't go great... I'm back to the bench, defensive, base-running role again.»
#BlueJays bench coach Don Mattingly discusses his current role and his stint as 'offensive coordinator' with
@SNJeffBlair
& Kevin Barker.
#TOTHECORE
#BlueJays bench coach Don Mattingly discusses his current role and his stint as 'offensive coordinator' with
@SNJeffBlair
& Kevin Barker.
#TOTHECORE
Mattingly will focus more on the Blue Jays defensive game and base running this season as David Popkins main focus will be the Blue Jays offense instead of Mattingly.
"They asked me to oversee the hitting last year and that didn't go great.. so they kinda push me back.. to the bench, defensive, base-running role again."
- Don Mattingly on Blair & Barker
- Don Mattingly on Blair & Barker
While the hiring of David Popkins has been looking great for Toronto, fans are still surprised that Mattingly was one of the few coaches that the team decided to keep doing a terrible job in 2024.
| POLL | ||
MARS 15 | 639 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays coach Don Mattingly speaks up on the team pushing him back into a smaller role Should the Blue Jays have fired Don Mattingly? | ||
| Yes | 365 | 57.1 % |
| No | 274 | 42.9 % |
| List of polls | ||