Miami Marlins Manager Don Mattingly: An American Institution

Growing up in South Florida without a local baseball team to worship, I adopted the Chicago Cubs.

As a child of the mid-80s, before the advent of Florida and later Miami Marlins baseball, I could choose from TBS (Atlanta Braves) WOR (New York Mets), or WGN (Cubs). National League teams, all. Nonetheless, I found room in my heart to hate the New York Yankees despite their placement in the American League. Something about their entitled fan-base and the way in which their natural geography allows them to be able to afford top-level talent every year.

Don Mattingly was always an exception to the rule for me. (And maybe a little for Steve Balboni). To 12-year-old me, Mattingly looked like a…