Those were the words Don Mattingly said during his heartfelt and tearful speech on Don Mattingly Day. Mattingly, in the end, gave God the credit that he deserves. For this, he is a wonderful person and human being. Mattingly will always stay in my heart and the memories of being there that day to witness this event will never leave me. Mr. Mattingly is truly a hero!
This copy of the speech was taken off a video copy of the game by myself. It is what actually was said and not what was planned. Thank you.
What follows is a complete transcript of Don Mattingly�s speech that day:
(INTRODUCTION BY YANKEES' ANNOUNCER, MICHAEL KAY)
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE AND CHANTS OF �DONNIE BASEBALL�)
Thank you all. I don�t know if I�m going to be able to express myself very well here today. And there�s lots of people that I want to thank and I�ll start off with the Lord, our God. He has blessed our family. . .I don�t know why. . .but thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
I�d also like to thank Mr. Steinbrenner, and the entire Yankee organization.
(APPLAUSE AND SOME �BOOS� FOR MR. STEINBRENNER)
The respect that Mr. Steinbrenner and the whole organization has showed me the past two years has been very much appreciated.
(APPLAUSE)
I would also like to thank the sponsors, it�s hard to explain all this to. . .but, thanks!
(APPLAUSE)
None of this would be possible without unbelievable teammates over the years, coaches and managers. . .to all of them I�m thankful. They�ve been great teachers for me. I hope I�ve left something for them.
(APPLAUSE)
Mom and Dad, thank you. You�ve always been there for us, for all our kids. Thanks.
(APPLAUSE)
I�d also like to thank Kim�s mother and father. They�ve been just like parents to me. They�re always there for us. Thanks again.
(APPLAUSE)
There�s also a lot of people I know that have traveled from home, family and friends, and I appreciate them making the effort to get here.
(APPLAUSE)
Kim, you have been the rock that holds me up all these years. Kim doesn�t get the attention or respect that she deserves for raising these boys. She does a great job, she�s helped me out, she�s pushed me in times when I�ve been down or things have been going wrong. Baby you�ll understand, but your appreciation for what you did for me is. . .I love you!
(APPLAUSE)
And to the fans of New York City...
(APPLAUSE)
And for Yankee fans all over this country. Again, I don�t know what I did to deserve this.
(APPLAUSE)
But your treatment of me over the years has been phenomenal and I will never forget the support and love I�ve taken home from so many of you. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
And that plaque in centerfield means more to me than you�ll ever know. I�m so proud to have been able to play my entire career, and be just a small part, of this great organization.
(APPLAUSE)
You�ve treated Kim, the boys and myself like family since we arrived here in 1982. And I didn�t think I�d ever be able to say this coming from a small town in Indiana, not that small, but when we come to New York we feel like it�s home.
(APPLAUSE)
I�ve tried to give you all a hundred percent of myself everytime I walked out on the field. I try to keep it pure, I try to keep it simple, and just play great baseball for you over the years. I hope you appreciated it.
(APPLAUSE)
And today as you leave, I�d like to leave three thoughts that I took on the field with me. Before every game I would say these statements, and a special man taught these in high school. Very simple: �I�m in God�s hands, God be with me then who can be against me and I can do all things through God who helps me.� I love you all. . .God bless you all. Thank you for everything you�ve ever did for us. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(TINA TURNER�S �SIMPLY THE BEST� IS BROADCAST THROUGH THE STADIUM�S SPEAKERS AS DON WALKS OFF THE FIELD AND INTO THE DUGOUT.)
Thanks to Joe Ricitelli Jr. for doing the HTML programming for the speech!
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