Hello again, everybody, and welcome to the Mike Francesa podcast, part of the Bet Rivers Network.

One of the great stories around this World Series is the fact that Don Mattingly, one of the most

popular figures in baseball over the last 50 years is finally going to a World Series.

I mean, to say he was Snakebit was unbelievable.

He came to the Yankees in 82.

They had just been to the World Series in 81.

He left in 95, obviously, after a great postseason and a brilliant career.

They went to the World Series year after year starting in 96.

He was even part of the 2004 staff that went through the utter collapse after the Yankees

blew a 3-0 lead. And now he finally goes to the World Series, which has made a lot of people

smile. He joins us now. Don, welcome. How are you? I'm good. It makes me smile.

You know, listen, you wanted to get there as a player. When you finally got to the postseason,

you showed, you know, you played with such great exuberance and hit 417. It never happened.

I always compare, I always say historically there's two Yankees.

One went through a World Series, Mel Salamire in 64, never sniffed it again.

You're the other, the two great Yankees who were just born in the wrong times, great Yankee

players who were born in the wrong times. Was it frustrating all these years?

I mean, yeah, a little bit.

I always felt like I would get there, you know, eventually.

I think when you play and you come through the minors,

won every level, you know, out of high school,

it's like you're going to win and been

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