Donnie Baseball & Son

The Evansville Courier-Press has this story on Preston Mattingly of the Great.Lakes.Looooooooons and his dad Don, On Being a Mattingly.

No matter the occasion, Preston Mattingly continually lives in his father's famous shadow.

Whether he's standing next to "Donnie Baseball" at a Habitat for Humanity dedication ceremony or playing for the Great Lakes Loons, the Los Angeles' Dodgers' Class A affiliate in the Midwest League, he will always be referred to as Don's son. But it's something he's comfortable with and he doesn't feel any pressure to live up to his father's accomplishments.

He said his father, a former New York Yankees' all-star first baseman and currently the Dodgers' hitting coach, deserves credit for helping promote events such as the Habitat for Humanity dedication ceremony last month. The Tri-State Hot Stove League sponsored a house in the New Haven subdivision for victims of the 2005 tornado.

"It's all my dad," Preston said. "My dad does a really good job of taking care of everybody in the community, giving back to the community. It's pretty amazing. Everybody goes when my dad shows up."

On growing up Mattingly and last season.

While Preston has struggled at the plate his last two seasons in the minors, his father wrote the book on hitting — literally. He penned "Don Mattingly's Hitting Is Simple: The ABC's of Batting .300" in 2007.

Because Preston played AAU basketball in the summer as well as football in the fall and basketball in the winter at Central High School, he freely admits he was behind many other baseball players at his age level. Don said his son will probably be a late-bloomer.

"Preston has a pretty good chance (to move up) because he's so athletic," said Don, the 1985 American League Most Valuable Player and a six-time All-Star. "Baseball is a tough sport because it's really skilled. It takes a lot of work day in and day out."

There is a position switch from second to the outfield coming up for Mattingly. I wonder if that means another season in Midland for the Loooooooooons.