Mattingly graduated from Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville, Indiana, and was selected by the Yankees in the 1979 amateur draft.

[4] Following his high school career, Mattingly accepted a scholarship to play baseball for the Indiana State Sycamores.

His father, Bill, informed Major League Baseball (MLB) teams that his son intended to honor his college commitment and would not sign a professional contract.

[2] He batted a league-leading .358 in 1980 for the Greensboro Hornets of the Class A South Atlantic League in addition to recording a league-best 177 hits.

[2] Mattingly was batting .325 for the Columbus Clippers of the Triple-A International League when he made it to the majors late in the 1982 season.

[12] Mattingly made his Major League debut on September 8, 1982, as a late-inning defensive replacement against the Baltimore Orioles.

[14] His first career major-league hit occurred in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Boston Red Sox on October 1, a single to right field off Steve Crawford.

Mattingly appeared as a left-handed throwing second baseman for one-third of one inning, during the resumption of the George Brett "Pine Tar Incident" game in 1983.

He was beaten in the American League MVP voting, though, by pitcher Roger Clemens, who also won the Cy Young Award that year.

[25] In June 1987, Mattingly reportedly injured his back during some clubhouse horseplay with pitcher Bob Shirley, though both denied this.

Mattingly's back problems flared up anew in 1990; after struggling with the bat, he had to go on the disabled list in July, only returning late in the season for an ineffective finish.

The team did not reach the postseason in any of Mattingly's first 13 years, although they arguably would have made the playoffs in 1994, when the players' strike ended the season prematurely with the Yankees having the best record in the American League.

In 1995, Mattingly finally reached the playoffs when the Yankees won the AL wild card on the next-to-last day of the season.

[27] Unsigned for the 1996 season, Mattingly decided to sit out for the year, and rebuffed an inquiry by the Baltimore Orioles, which tried to sign him at midseason.

After retiring as a player, Mattingly spent seven seasons as a special instructor during Yankees' spring training in Tampa, Florida, from 1997 through 2003.

[30] After not being offered the position of manager for the Yankees, Mattingly joined Torre with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team's hitting coach.

In the 2009–10 offseason, Mattingly was a finalist for the managerial position with the Cleveland Indians, for which Manny Acta was eventually hired.

[37] To acquire some managerial experience, Mattingly managed the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League in 2010.

[38] Mattingly made his managerial debut on March 31, 2011, by defeating in-state rival and defending champion San Francisco Giants 2–1 at Dodger Stadium.

"[40] In 2013, Mattingly and the Dodgers got off to a rough start due to various injuries, and were in last place in May, leading to much media speculation that he would soon be fired.

[41] Once players got healthy, though, the team went on a tear and managed to win the NL West and beat the Atlanta Braves in the 2013 National League Division Series (NLDS) in four games.

[44] On September 29, 2015, Mattingly became the first manager in the history of the Dodgers franchise, in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles, to lead the team to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.

On October 22, 2015, the Dodgers and Mattingly mutually agreed to part ways, and he stepped down from his position with one year left on his contract.

[52] On September 25, 2022, Mattingly stated that the Marlins and he mutually agreed that he would finish the season as manager, and not return to the role in 2023.

The plaque calls him, "A humble man of grace and dignity, a captain who led by example, proud of the pinstripe tradition and dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, a Yankee forever.

"[57] Additionally, his uniform number with the Double-A Nashville Sounds (18) was retired by the team in a ceremony at Herschel Greer Stadium attended by Mattingly on August 12, 1999.

[63][64] In 2001, Mattingly was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame;[65] his plaque displays his phenomenal high school and professional careers.

The wedding, and his managing the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, prevented him from attending the 2010 winter meetings.

"[77] In 1991, before the episode aired, but after it was produced, then-Yankees manager Stump Merrill told him that until he cut his hair, he would not play.

This was in accord with Yankee owner George Steinbrenner's appearance policy requiring his players to maintain well-kept head and facial hair.