Mattingly joins Nashville Stars in push for MLB franchise

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Former New York Yankees all-star and major league manager Don Mattingly has been named as an advisor to the Nashville Stars baseball team, the organization announced.

Mattingly will provide counsel on key strategic matters and work to gain support in bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to Nashville. His support will help advance a plan to develop a diverse investor group with a goal of becoming the first MLB franchise to have majority Black ownership, expanding on the league’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The approach that Dave Stewart and his team have in Nashville is exactly what the game of baseball needs,” Mattingly said in a news release. “I am glad to see MLB taking an active approach on these important issues. We need more diversity in the game, and it starts from the top down.”

Mattingly will be starting his first season as the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays this season. He previously was the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins. Mattingly spent all 14 seasons of his MLB career with the Yankees, winning the 1985 AL MVP Award and nine Gold Gloves while being named to six All-Star teams. He was named the franchise’s 14th captain in team history in 1991, serving until the end of the 1995 season.

“Simply put, Don Mattingly knows baseball,” Nashville Stars Board Member Dave Stewart said in a release. “He was a pure hitter, played near-flawless defense, and has been successful as a manager and coach because of his baseball mind. He is well-respected around the game of baseball, and we are lucky to have him with us.”

Mattingly spent one year playing minor league baseball in Nashville in 1981. Mattingly played for the Nashville Sounds, then a Double-A affiliate of the Yankees, where he was the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year after batting .316 with seven homers and 98 RBI.

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