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Donnie Baseball: The Definitive Biography of Don Mattingly
The exhaustive research of sports biographer Mike Shalin sheds new light on a baseball legend, exposing the Hall of Famer's moxie and lifelong dedication to baseball in this engaging biography. The in-depth research follows Don Mattingly, an incredibly talented and hard-working player, who, during his time with the Yankees, became one of the most beloved and popular players in the glorious history of their franchise. An insightful review of Mattingly's career, including his going from a 19th-round draft choice to the 1985 American League MVP to his true motivation behind his retirement in 1995 and his thoughts on his young coaching. Donnie The Definitive Biography of Don Mattingly is a must-read not only for passionate Yankee fans, but for all baseball enthusiasts who want to become better historians of the game.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 29, 2025
When I first learned of this book I was very excited to read it. Don Mattingly was one of my favorite baseball players growing up as a die hard New York Yankees fan. I even wore 23 when I played on various teams. I've always wanted to read a biography on Donnie Baseball and this one claimed to be the definitive biography.
Well, it isn't. This book isn't a biography in the sense that it goes into depth into his personal life. It is more of an interview with Mattingly and various people from his life & his baseball colleagues. There were also subjects Mattingly did not want to discuss or have written so there's really nothing of substance to read. Want to read about his childhood and his family? Not much there. His years in the minors are discussed but not in depth. Same with his major league career so if you were looking for anything about his supposed feud with Wade Boggs, or any animosity with Winfield over the batting title race, nothing. Also absolutely nothing about his public divorce. The book is pretty much just an over glorified puff piece that's a pretty boring read. I am actually pretty disappointed with it.
Well, it isn't. This book isn't a biography in the sense that it goes into depth into his personal life. It is more of an interview with Mattingly and various people from his life & his baseball colleagues. There were also subjects Mattingly did not want to discuss or have written so there's really nothing of substance to read. Want to read about his childhood and his family? Not much there. His years in the minors are discussed but not in depth. Same with his major league career so if you were looking for anything about his supposed feud with Wade Boggs, or any animosity with Winfield over the batting title race, nothing. Also absolutely nothing about his public divorce. The book is pretty much just an over glorified puff piece that's a pretty boring read. I am actually pretty disappointed with it.
November 5, 2023
One of my favorite baseball players growing up. This book was ... eh... not as good. There is a term in journalism called "emptying the notebook" and it was really emphasized here in this book. The writing style is ALL over the place with no order whatsoever. The first chapter talks about his rookie season and his last season. Half the book, really half the book, is about whether or not he was respected by ALL his peers and whether he'll make a good manager. A typical two pages would have quotes from 5-6 people telling the reader why he should be a good manager, then 2-3 quotes on why he would not make a good manager...then you'd flip the page and the process would be repeated ... for the next 20 pages. Hard to make it through this one. Didn't learn too much about Mattingly at all except for 5-6 years one of the best baseball players in the game and that most people respected how he went about his business.
February 2, 2022
As a Yankees fan and Mattingly fan from my childhood, I loved it. Hearing the old names, Pags, Winfield, etc., it was an awesome and quick read.
March 24, 2022
Extra stories and info on a childhood idol. Wasn't disappointed.
September 20, 2012
I just finished reading Donnie Baseball: The Definitive Biography of Don Mattingly by Mike Shalin on my Nook.
Now let me start by saying that Don Mattingly is my favorite baseball player of all time. I was lucky enough to see him play, and he's the best player that I have ever watched. In my opinion, he played the game the way it should be played; he wasn't flashy, he never put himself above his team or the game, and he never cheated to win or extend his career. Having said that, I was very disappointed in this book.
This book sounded like an audition tape for Mattingly's hiring as the Dodgers' manager last year (his hiring was announced while the author was writing the book). It was basically 137 pages (that's what the counter on my Nook said, anyway. It seemed a little longer) of managers, former players, and broadcasters telling us what a great guy he was. Not that I disagree, but I was expecting a few more anecdotes than there were. There was a very short story about Stump Merrill threatening to bench him back in '87 if he didn't cut his hair, and another really short story about Dallas Green playing peacemaker when George Steinbrenner ripped Mattingly in the press in the offseason in '89. There were a few mentions of Mattingly's first wife, Kim dashed throughout, but no mention of the divorce and what led to it. And somewhere towards the end of the book, it was mentioned in passing that Mattingly remarried last year (one brief sentence). Mike Shalin is a good writer, and he tried to cover a lot in the book, but it didn't seem like the people he interviewed for the book gave him much to work with. I realize that Don Mattingly wasn't a hellraiser like Billy Martin or Mickey Mantle, and that there probably aren't a lot of wild and crazy stories to tell. But I'm sure there must be more stories than there were in this book. And after the fourth or fifth time you read that someone said "he was a great guy, he really knows the game and he taught me a lot", it does get a little repetitive. I do have to admit, there was one part of the book where Shalin talks about the fact that Mattingly played the game before steroid use was rampant. He asked him point blank if he would have used steroids if he could have, and brought up Mike Schmidt's quote on the subject. Mattingly's answer was honest, and a little bit surprising.
I think the best part of the book was the photo section that was included at the end, but even that section left me wanting. Maybe I'm biased and had some unrealistic expectations about this book because Don Mattingly was one of my heroes growing up, but I was really hoping to enjoy this book because I was hoping to learn a few things about him that I didn't know. But I was left disappointed, because it seemed more like a testimonial than a biography. With the material he had, I'll bet he could have written a great article.
Now let me start by saying that Don Mattingly is my favorite baseball player of all time. I was lucky enough to see him play, and he's the best player that I have ever watched. In my opinion, he played the game the way it should be played; he wasn't flashy, he never put himself above his team or the game, and he never cheated to win or extend his career. Having said that, I was very disappointed in this book.
This book sounded like an audition tape for Mattingly's hiring as the Dodgers' manager last year (his hiring was announced while the author was writing the book). It was basically 137 pages (that's what the counter on my Nook said, anyway. It seemed a little longer) of managers, former players, and broadcasters telling us what a great guy he was. Not that I disagree, but I was expecting a few more anecdotes than there were. There was a very short story about Stump Merrill threatening to bench him back in '87 if he didn't cut his hair, and another really short story about Dallas Green playing peacemaker when George Steinbrenner ripped Mattingly in the press in the offseason in '89. There were a few mentions of Mattingly's first wife, Kim dashed throughout, but no mention of the divorce and what led to it. And somewhere towards the end of the book, it was mentioned in passing that Mattingly remarried last year (one brief sentence). Mike Shalin is a good writer, and he tried to cover a lot in the book, but it didn't seem like the people he interviewed for the book gave him much to work with. I realize that Don Mattingly wasn't a hellraiser like Billy Martin or Mickey Mantle, and that there probably aren't a lot of wild and crazy stories to tell. But I'm sure there must be more stories than there were in this book. And after the fourth or fifth time you read that someone said "he was a great guy, he really knows the game and he taught me a lot", it does get a little repetitive. I do have to admit, there was one part of the book where Shalin talks about the fact that Mattingly played the game before steroid use was rampant. He asked him point blank if he would have used steroids if he could have, and brought up Mike Schmidt's quote on the subject. Mattingly's answer was honest, and a little bit surprising.
I think the best part of the book was the photo section that was included at the end, but even that section left me wanting. Maybe I'm biased and had some unrealistic expectations about this book because Don Mattingly was one of my heroes growing up, but I was really hoping to enjoy this book because I was hoping to learn a few things about him that I didn't know. But I was left disappointed, because it seemed more like a testimonial than a biography. With the material he had, I'll bet he could have written a great article.
July 19, 2014
I was going to say that there were three sins in sports books:
(1) Discussing statistics that do not further a story.
(2) Getting quotes from people that really have no significance and, thus, do not further a story.
(3) Giving a pitch-by-pitch description (vary as necessary) of a particular event or series of events even though that does not further a story.
As you can see they all really boil down to: "If you're going to write a book, tell a story."
Here, Shalin totally and unambiguously failed to tell a story. Most of the book was a series of quotes by Mattingly and excitingly famous baseball people about how hard Mattingly worked and how much he loved his family and how much his back hurt and how good he was at hitting. And not really in any order. To call this a biography would be misleading. It's more like the author interviewed everyone who played in the 1980s for whom he had a phone number or who came to New York during Mattingly's last season as hitting coach in LA. And then just splashed them all over the book.
Still, if you are a true Mattingly hero-worshipper, this might work for you on a level that I don't quite understand. But it would have been much, much better if, for instance, there were any sort of narrative thread or description of Mattingly as a person.
(1) Discussing statistics that do not further a story.
(2) Getting quotes from people that really have no significance and, thus, do not further a story.
(3) Giving a pitch-by-pitch description (vary as necessary) of a particular event or series of events even though that does not further a story.
As you can see they all really boil down to: "If you're going to write a book, tell a story."
Here, Shalin totally and unambiguously failed to tell a story. Most of the book was a series of quotes by Mattingly and excitingly famous baseball people about how hard Mattingly worked and how much he loved his family and how much his back hurt and how good he was at hitting. And not really in any order. To call this a biography would be misleading. It's more like the author interviewed everyone who played in the 1980s for whom he had a phone number or who came to New York during Mattingly's last season as hitting coach in LA. And then just splashed them all over the book.
Still, if you are a true Mattingly hero-worshipper, this might work for you on a level that I don't quite understand. But it would have been much, much better if, for instance, there were any sort of narrative thread or description of Mattingly as a person.
August 19, 2011
I hate to say it, because I REALLY wanted to love this book, but I'm left kinda disappointed. It barely touches upon his career, briefly sweeping through a few of his memorable moments like the 1984 batting race with Winfield, the 1987 Home Run streak and the whole "Wade Boggs sitting out the last day of the season" fiasco. It goes into great detail of the 1995 season and how it all ended, but that was baout it. It spent infinitely more time on his coaching career than his playing career. Love the player, wanted SO much more from the book.....
April 9, 2015
A great read about one of baseball's greats. Don Mattingly aka "Donnie Baseball" was an honest, dedicated, passionate, and perfect Yankee. The book contains stories from his oldest coaches and teammates to the players he'll now be managing that were born around the time he started playing Major League Baseball. He'll now be managing the Dodgers in Los Angeles and I wish him the best of luck. A controversial candidate into Cooperstown but I'm sure he'll be rewarded for all of his hardwork soon enough!
April 23, 2011
5 stars for the subject
August 29, 2011
Donnie is prob my baseball hero but it is hardto write a full book on such a beloved person. While not a met fan, Ron darlings book was very good.
April 17, 2013
My all-time favorite player, belongs in the HOF!
October 3, 2011
Great if you love statistics. Not so great if you want to read a biography of Don Mattingly.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews