Coral Gables, Fla. (VIP-WIRE).
My admired Donnie…: I congratulate you from manager to manager.
You don’t have a proper winning roster on your hands, but you seem to be slowly turning it around.
Yesterday, Sunday, you woke up with 27-30, eight games behind the leaders, the Mets, in losing count, but with 7-3 in the last 10 starts and a positive record at home, 15-14.
You are no longer a rookie manager, at 61 years old, with experience in 12 seasons, five aboard the Dodgers and now in the seventh in charge of the Marlins. And your 847-887 record isn’t lousy, considering the teams you’ve had in Florida. Because you are a winner, and the proof is that in Los Angeles you left a mark of 446-363.
Now, what in my eyes has consecrated you as a field manager with an immense future has been the case of your second baseman, Jazz Chisholm. It was a dangerous situation that could have resulted in chaos in your clubhouse, but with sheer intelligence and patience you turned it into a success.
Chisholm, 24, a native of the Bahamas, is a young man like many in the Caribbean, who likes figureo, extravagant movements, celebrating everything and every time, doing his hair like a girl does, getting noticed. Note that he has a music name.
I saw him making gestures, as if he were from the Mara Salvatrucha, which could be considered an error or abuse of a bigleaguer awarded a $200,000 bonus; and who in his second full season already earns 718 thousand. All this caused him hatred among the other Marlins, and the problem became the prelude to a horrible guerrilla.
What you did, like a father facing wayward sons, was to quote that famous rally, exclusively for your uniforms, in which who knows what you preached, because Chisholm came out of there to hit two home runs, one grand slam, and drove in six runs , while the rest of the team cheered and hugged him excitedly, like loving brothers.
And most importantly, they beat the Nationals 12-2, and since then they have a tremendous face of winners.
Chisholm is going to be one of the stars in the next few years. He is going into the season with four triples, 12 home runs, 40 RBIs and a 257 batting average.
As for you, I think it’s time to sing that “You’re doing well, boy, you’re doing well!”.
You can’t imagine how happy I feel when I can congratulate a manager. My dear Donnie, I wish you all the best… Hugs, Sparky.
Thanks to life, which has given me so much, even a reader like you.
#Sparky #Andersons #letter #Don #Mattingly