Yankees legend buries Seattle ghost, Blue Jays in World series after 32 years

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TORONTO — Don Mattingly’s long wait for a World Series moment finally ended Monday night, and the ending was pure poetic justice.

The Yankees legend, who never reached the Fall Classic during his storied playing career, helped guide the Toronto Blue Jays to a thrilling 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

The victory not only sent Blue Jays to its first World Series since 1993 but also erased a painful ghost from Mattingly’s past — the same Mariners team that ended his Yankees postseason dreams 30 years ago.

In 1995, Mattingly made his only playoff appearance as a player. It ended in heartbreak when Seattle stunned the Yankees in the Division Series. That defeat haunted him through years of coaching and managing — until now.

Springer delivers Blue Jays’ knockout punch

George Springer gave Toronto its defining postseason moment with one swing. In the seventh inning, with the Blue Jays trailing 3-1, Springer crushed a three-run homer off Seattle reliever Eduard Bazardo, flipping the game and sending Rogers Centre into chaos.

As the ball sailed into the seats, Springer leapt and raised both fists in celebration, his roar echoing through the dome. His blast made history — the first go-ahead home run in a Game 7 when a team trailed by multiple runs in the seventh inning or later.

“The at-bats before me. If it’s not for those guys, that at-bat doesn’t happen,” Blue Jays’ Springer told Fox after the game. “I’m just so happy for our team, our fans, our city, our country. I’m so happy right now.”

Toronto’s bullpen took care of the rest. Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman retired the final three batters to clinch the pennant and spark a celebration decades in the making.

“Just pound the zone, and don’t get to [Cal] Raleigh. That was honestly my goal,” Hoffman said. “Get strike one, put them away, do it quickly, and let the guys behind me work.”

Seattle’s curse continues

For the Mariners, it was another bitter chapter in their long quest for a pennant. Cal Raleigh, who crushed 60 home runs during the regular season, added a solo shot in the fifth inning. Julio Rodriguez went deep earlier in the third. But those blasts weren’t enough to protect their lead against the Blue Jays.

Seattle, which joined Major League Baseball alongside Toronto in 1977, remains the only franchise never to win an American League pennant. Monday’s Game 7 marked the first in Mariners history — and it ended in heartbreak.

The loss was particularly painful because of what it meant to Don Mattingly. His final game as a Yankees player came on Oct. 8, 1995, in Seattle, when he lined a two-run double to give New York a brief lead. But the bullpen faltered, and the Mariners rallied to win 6-5 in 11 innings, advancing while Mattingly watched his last shot slip away.

He retired after that season, and the Yankees won the World Series the very next year, in 1996 — without him.

A career defined by near misses

Mattingly’s resume glows with accolades but lacked the one thing that defines most Yankees greats — a ring. The first baseman captured the 1985 American League MVP, earned nine Gold Gloves, six All-Star selections, and a batting title while posting a .307 career average across 14 seasons in pinstripes from 1982 to 1995.

Yet postseason success always stayed just out of reach. For 13 years, the Yankees failed to make the playoffs. They likely would have reached October in 1994, but the players’ strike cut the season short, with New York holding the league’s best record.

When they finally broke through in 1995, Mattingly shined. He hit .417 with six RBIs in the Division Series against Seattle, including a go-ahead home run in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. Still, it wasn’t enough. That era, defined by Mattingly’s leadership, marked the Yankees’ longest stretch without a World Series appearance — between titles in 1981 and 1996.

The long road back

After his playing days, Mattingly spent nearly three decades trying to return to the World Series as a coach or manager. He began as the Yankees’ hitting coach in 2004, staying through 2007, but New York never reached the Fall Classic during that time.

He then moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers, serving first as hitting coach (2008–2010) and later as manager (2011–2015). His Dodgers teams were talented and made multiple playoff runs but never captured a pennant.

Mattingly’s next stop came with the Miami Marlins, where he managed for six seasons. He earned National League Manager of the Year honors in 2020 after guiding a young Marlins team to the postseason, yet again fell short of the sport’s biggest stage.

The Blue Jays hired him as bench coach on Nov. 30, 2022, adding the role of offensive coordinator before the 2024 season. He returned to full bench duties this year. On Monday, nearly 30 years after his final at-bat as a Yankees legend, Mattingly finally earned his ticket to the World Series.

The matchup ahead

The Blue Jays will now host the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night at Rogers Centre, marking only the third time in history the Fall Classic will be played in Canada.

Toronto’s journey to the championship stage was far from easy. The Blue Jays, who won 94 games and topped the American League East, lost the first two games of the ALCS at home before rallying to take two of three in Seattle. They returned home and completed the comeback in dramatic fashion.

The Blue Jays’ last World Series appearance came in 1993, when Joe Carter’s walk-off home run sealed the championship. That moment is etched in Canadian sports history — and now, after 32 years, another has joined it.

For Don Mattingly, the wait is finally over. The man who gave his heart to the Yankees and spent decades chasing unfinished business has buried the ghosts of 1995. The Seattle demons are gone. And at long last, Don Mattingly is going to the World Series.

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