The Toronto Blue Jays, for the first time in 31 years, are back in the World Series thanks to a 4-3 triumph in Game 7 of the ALCS over the Seattle Mariners. George Springer is the hero for what feels like the gazillionth time in October, as he was the one who hit the go-ahead three-run home run that was enough to snap the Blue Jays' Fall Classic drought.
Springer is one of the rare members of the roster who has plenty of experience in October. He now has 23 career postseason home runs, and he's a former World Series champion (even though the circumstances surrounding the 2017 Houston Astros' World Series triumph are filled with controversy). As a result of his heroics, many Blue Jays are about to experience what it's like to play in the World Series for the first time.
Joining those who will now experience what it's like to compete in the Fall Classic is bench coach Don Mattingly, who, despite being an MLB player from 1982 to 1995 and a coach since 2003, has never been a part of a World Series team. This is a significant milestone in the 64-year-old coach's career, and many are celebrating that he now gets to have a taste of the World Series — against a team he managed in the past in the Los Angeles Dodgers, no less.
“I’m glad for Don Mattingly. Donny Baseball going to his first World Series,” X user @TonyDasco wrote.
“Don Mattingly going to the World Series for the first time seems unreal. Very happy it is with the Blue Jays,” @jjchateauneuf added.
“Don Mattingly potentially winning a World Series ring with the Blue Jays after playing, coaching or managing for the Yankees and Dodgers for 25 years would be absolutely crazy lol,” @lundinbridge furthered.
Will Don Mattingly finally break through with the Blue Jays?
Just to encapsulate just how unfortunate Mattingly has been from a World Series perspective throughout his career, the Yankees made the World Series in 1981, the season before he broke through in the big leagues, and won it all in 1996, the year after he retired. If that's not the very definition of rotten luck, then nothing else comes close.
Mattingly was also the manager of the Dodgers before they truly broke out as a powerhouse under current manager Dave Roberts. But of course, the past is never an ironclad indictor of the future. Is this the year where Mattingly's luck finally takes a turn for the better?
