Bobby Mattick

Robert James Mattick (December 5, 1915 – December 16, 2004) was a shortstop, manager and scout in Major League Baseball, most notably in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

Playing career

Born in Sioux City, Iowa, Mattick was the son of outfielder Wally Mattick, who played for the Chicago White Sox in 1912 and 1913 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1918. Bobby played only one season as a regular with the Chicago Cubs in 1940, although he played for the Cubs from 1938 to 1940 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1941 and 1942. Hampered in 1936 by a foul ball which cracked his skull above his right eye and caused double vision, he was a career .233 hitter with no home runs and 64 RBIs in 206 games.

Post-playing career

Mattick began his managerial career in the Southern League in 1944 and 1945. From 1946 to 1978, Mattick worked for nine different baseball organizations including as a scout for the Reds, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Montreal Expos. He was credited by some baseball personnels as an incomparable longtime scout and player development specialist, signing such stars as Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, Curt Flood, Rusty Staub, Don Baylor, and Gary Carter.

One of the Blue Jays' original employees in its inaugural season, Bobby first joined the team in 1976 as the scouting supervisor, and helped draft the expansion Blue Jays. In 1978 Mattick was appointed the director of player development. 1980 saw him take over the role of manager from Roy Hartsfield, the Blue Jays' original manager, becoming the oldest rookie manager to start a season at 64. Mattick turned down the job several times before finally accepting; he had initially wanted to manage the team only if he could wear his regular business clothing while in the dugout, rather than a uniform. This would have made him the first manager to not wear a uniform since Connie Mack retired in the early 1950s, but the Jays insisted that Mattick wear a uniform.

The Jays had their best season of their young existence in 1980, missing the 100-loss mark for the first time and finishing at 67-95. The 1981 season was interrupted by a player strike, and the Jays improved their winning percentage in 1981 but still finished in last place in the American League East Division in both halves of the season. Mattick was offered the opportunity to continue managing the Jays for a third season, but elected to step down.

Following the 1981 season and a 104–164 career record during his two-year tenure as manager, Mattick continued to work in the Jays' organization as executive co-ordinator of baseball operations before his promotion to vice president of baseball in 1984. Mattick played a key administrative role in scouting and development, leading to the Blue Jays' five AL East Division championships, and World Series crowns in 1992 and 1993.

Mattick was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, and the club renamed its spring training complex The Bobby Mattick Training Center in 2007. He was part of the Blue Jays' delegation at the 2004 Major League Baseball winter meetings in Anaheim, California.

According to the information from the Blue Jays,^[1] Mattick died 11 days after his 89th birthday after suffering a stroke at his Scottsdale, Arizona home. Mattick's wife Jackie died about two years previously. They had no children.

Managerial record

See also

• List of second generation MLB players

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference