Justin Crawford’s ‘Crazy, Full-Circle Moment’ With Don Mattingly
The buzz started swirling when general manager Preston Mattingly and the Philadelphia Phillies front office named Don Mattingly the new bench coach for the 2026 season. The father/son chatter continued…
The buzz started swirling when general manager Preston Mattingly and the Philadelphia Phillies front office named Don Mattingly the new bench coach for the 2026 season.
The father/son chatter continued when Carl Crawford and a huge group of family and friends watched Justin Crawford collect two hits in his MLB debut on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park.
The two family affairs collided after the Phillies moved on from manager Rob Thomson. Don Mattingly managed Carl Crawford with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he’s now the interim skipper during Justin’s rookie season with the Phillies.
Don Mattingly & Carl Crawford
The Dodgers acquired Carl Crawford in August 2012 from the Boston Red Sox in a unique, financially-driven blockbuster trade. The Gold Glove outfielder and four-time American League All-Star struggled to stay healthy at age 31 in his final season with the Red Sox.
Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty ImagesHowever, Carl rebounded to become an important piece in Don Mattingly’s lineup.
The Dodgers won National League West titles all three seasons the duo spent together in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Carl played only 30 games in the remainder of his major league career after the Dodgers turned it over to Dave Roberts entering the 2016 season. He finished his tenure in Dodger blue with a .278 batting average in 320 games.
Justin Crawford’s ‘Full-Circle Moment'
An eight-year-old Justin Crawford followed his father to California after the trade in 2012. He remembers meeting a new manager soon afterwards.
“One of my dad’s first times meeting him, I was actually with my dad. Definitely kind of a crazy, full-circle moment, him (Don) managing me now. I’m really excited for him being our manager, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
-Justin Crawford
A budding baseball star watched Don Mattingly in the dugout with admiration for his glowing resume as a player with the New York Yankees.
“He means business. At that point, they were winning a lot too. Obviously, someone like his caliber, he’s been around the game, been (a) superstar in the game. I think it’s really cool just being able to have him part (of the Phillies) and looking forward to be able to play under him.”
-Justin Crawford
Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty ImagesGeneral manager Preston Mattingly has blossomed since joining the Phillies in 2021, initially as the farm director. While Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies have aggressively dealt from their minor league system on the trade market in recent years, a few of the farm's crown jewels have made it to the major leagues.
Justin Crawford is one homegrown draft pick with high internal expectations. His second career walk-off hit came only two days after the Phillies moved on from Thomson. It pushed Don Mattingly to compliment the second generation major leaguer.
“What I think about Craw (Justin Crawford), he’s a good kid, number one. I think he believes in himself. Obviously, we believe in him, or he shouldn’t be here.”
-Don Mattingly
Expect more chatter about intertwined family trees at Citizens Bank Park this summer.
