Good teams I played on... just the tone that they play with, the energy they play with, how they go about it. When you get it going the right way, you get everyone going in the same direction and it's a powerful thing.

Mattingly was named to the American League (AL) All-Star team six times. [citation needed]
Following this outstanding career Don accepted a scholarship to play baseball for the Indiana State Sycamores and Coach Bob Warn. Mattingly recalled that despite the A's superiority to the Yankees they still played intensely.

Mattingly is currently the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. Returning to the Yankees as a coach in 2004 for manager Joe Torre he followed Torre to the Dodgers in 2008 and succeeded him as the Dodgers' manager in 2011. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball" he played for the New York Yankees during his 14-year playing career.