Don Mattingly thought he was done with baseball. The Phillies instead pinned playoff hopes on him

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Don Mattingly thew in the towel on his managerial career and had all but retired from baseball after he left his bench coach job with Toronto following the World Series.

Prodded by his son, Mattingly decided to give baseball another go, and he accepted a job over the winter as bench coach in Philadelphia, where he would be reunited with old friend Rob Thomson from their New York Yankees days.

But manage again when the Yankees great known as Donnie Baseball was about to turn 65?

“I don’t think I have the energy for that anymore,” Mattingly said in January.

Mattingly seemed candid about his future at the time because all logic and recent history showed that he was joining a heavyweight World Series contender in Philadelphia. Why even toss around the idea of ever filling out a lineup card again, especially with a high-priced, postseason-tested roster brimming with talent including Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Zack Wheeler?

Fast forward four months and the Phillies' season has come to this: Mattingly's last best shot at winning his first World Series ring after more than 40 years in baseball starts with managing one of the worst teams in the National League.

Mattingly is indeed the manager for the rest of the season, taking the interim job Tuesday after the Phillies fired Thomson — and openly flirted with the idea of replacing him with former Red Sox manager Alex Cora — with the stout belief that a championship team beats in the heart of this underachieving roster.

The job either comes with a perk or the potential for awkwardness with Mattingly also the father of his new boss, Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly.

“I know how competitive he is,” Mattingly said. “Him and I are a little different. He looks at things, he's a little outside the box at times, which I appreciate. It's helped me grow.”

Also give 11-year-old son Louis Mattingly the bulk of the credit for flipping dad’s decision in the offseason.

Mattingly — who wore a white pinstriped suit in the 1980s Hit Man poster that was a staple in many an '80s New York kid's bedroom — is off to a fine start in Philly.

Thomson, who led the Phillies to four straight postseason berths, including the 2022 World Series, might still have his job had Philadelphia regularly played as well at it did in a 7-0 win over San Francisco in Mattingly's debut.

“I’m going to watch our game,” Thomson said in a video call with reporters shortly before the game. “I really am.”

Thomson surely enjoyed the result — even if it perhaps came with a bit of frustration that the Phillies failed to play more consistent complete games throughout April.

Turner became the first Phillies player all season with a four-hit game. Jesús Luzardo, just two starts after the lefty allowed nine runs and 12 hits against the Cubs, tossed two-hit ball, struck out eight and walked none over seven innings. He teamed with two relievers for the Phillies' first shutout of the season.

The Phillies lost 10 straight games and 11 of 12 in Thomson's final stretch of an otherwise successful tenure. Mattingly kept the coaching staff intact — notably beleaguered hitting coach Kevin Long, who took most of the heat for the Phillies' woes — and third base coach Dusty Wathan was promoted to bench coach.

“I don't know if I'm a whole lot different from Rob, honestly,” Mattingly said. “I trust players, I believe in players, I like players. But I want us to play better baseball.”

Mattingly, who managed the Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Marlins from 2016-22, also didn't seem to mind he was Philadelphia's second managerial choice.

Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, made it clear Tuesday that Cora was his first choice to succeed Thomson. Dombrowski ran the front office in Boston when Cora managed the Red Sox to a World Series championship in 2018. A Philly reunion made sense on paper, though Cora ultimately passed.

“I came to the conclusion that if he took it, I would make a change. I thought he would take it," Dombrowski said. "Until Monday morning it was apparent from his perspective he wanted to take time with his family. He wanted to be a father first and foremost and so that’s what he had decided.”

The Phillies' woes stretch way beyond the manager.

From former All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm to second baseman Bryson Stott, the Phillies underperformed for a team with $284.7 million payroll. The Phillies are aging and the rotation was a disaster — which led to the decision to release Taijuan Walker — all part of a recipe for a team that used Tuesday's win to move to 10-19.

The Phillies, of course, have been here before, notably in 2022 when Dombrowski fired Joe Girardi after a 22-29 start and they went 65-46 the rest of the season under Thomson. The schedule works in Mattingly's favor to duplicate that run, with nine of the next 13 games at home, with only the Athletics (out of three other teams) holding a winning record.

Mattingly thought he was out. He's now all the way back in — and the Phillies' World Series hopes are firmly pinned on a manager who's never won one.

“This is not about how I'm going to do,” Mattingly said. “It's really about club.”

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Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly grimaces as he speaks during a news conference before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper follows through after hitting a run-scoring double against San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly speaks during a news conference before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly, right, warms up with Bryce Harper before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

FILE - Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Don Mattingly (8) watches from the dugout steps during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, April 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly speaks during a news conference before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PARIS (AP) — Activists worldwide will march in May Day rallies Friday, calling for peace, higher wages and better working conditions as many workers grapple with rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing power tied to the Iran war.

The day is a public holiday in many countries, and demonstrations, some of which have turned violent in the past, are expected in many of the world's major cities.

“Working people refuse to pay the price for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East,” the European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 93 trade union organizations in 41 European countries, said. “Today’s rallies show working people will not stand by and see their jobs and living standards destroyed.”

In the United States, activists opposing U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies are planning marches and boycotts.

Here’s what to know about May Day.

Rising living costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East are expected to be a key theme in Friday's rallies.

In the Philippines' capital of Manila, protest organizers said they expect big crowds of workers. “There will be a louder call for higher wages and economic relief because of the unprecedented spikes in fuel prices,” Renato Reyes, a leader of the left-wing political group Bayan, told The Associated Press.

“Every Filipino worker now is aware that the situation here is deeply connected to the global crisis,” said Josua Mata, leader of SENTRO umbrella group of labor federations.

In Indonesia, labor unions have warned against worsening economic pressures at home. “Workers are already living paycheck to paycheck,” said Said Iqbal, president of the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation.

In Pakistan, May Day is a public holiday marked by rallies, but many daily wage earners cannot afford to take time off.

“How will I bring vegetables and other necessities home if I don’t work?” said Mohammad Maskeen, a 55-year-old construction worker near Islamabad.

Rising oil prices have fueled inflation, which the government estimates at about 16%, in a country heavily reliant on financial support from the International Monetary Fund and allied nations.

Workers' unions traditionally use May Day to rally around wages, pensions, inequality and broader political issues.

Protests are planned from Seoul, Jakarta and Istanbul to most European Union capitals and cities across the United States.

In France, unions called for demonstrations in Paris and elsewhere under the slogan “bread, peace and freedom,” linking workers’ daily concerns to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

In Italy, the government approved nearly 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) in job incentives this week, aiming to promote stable employment and curb labor abuses ahead of May Day. The measures extend tax breaks to encourage hiring young people and disadvantaged women, and seek to address exploitation tied to platform-based work. Opposition parties dismissed the package as “pure propaganda.”

In Portugal, proposed labor law changes by the center-right government sparked a general strike and street protests last year. There is still no deal after nine months of negotiations with unions and employers. Unions say the proposals would weaken workers’ rights, including by expanding overtime limits and reducing some benefits.

May Day carries special meaning this year in France after a heated debate about whether employees should be allowed to work on the country’s most protected public holiday — the only day when most employees have a mandatory paid day off.

Almost all businesses, shops and malls are closed, and only essential sectors such as hospitals, transport and hotels are exempt.

A recent parliamentary proposal to expand work on the day prompted major outcry from unions and left-wing politicians.

“Don’t touch May Day,” workers' unions said in a joint statement.

Faced with the controversy, the government this week introduced a bill meant to expand May Day work to people staffing bakeries and florists. It is customary in France to give lily of the valley flowers on May Day as a symbol of good luck.

“May 1 is not just any day,” Small and Medium-sized Businesses Minister Serge Papin said. “It symbolizes social gains stemming from a century of building social rules that have led to the labor code we know in France. It is indeed a special day.”

Activists and labor unions are organizing street protests and boycotts across the United States, where May Day is not a federal holiday.

May Day Strong, a coalition of activist groups and labor unions, has called on people to protest under the banner of “workers over billionaires.”

Voicing strong opposition to Trump's policies, organizers listed thousands of May Day actions across the country and are seeking an economic blackout through “no school, no work, no shopping.”

Demands include taxing the rich and putting an end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown,

While labor and immigrant rights are historically intertwined, the focus of May Day rallies in the U.S. shifted to immigration in 2006. That’s when roughly 1 million people, including nearly half a million in Chicago alone, took to the streets to protest federal legislation that would’ve made living in the U.S. without legal permission a felony.

May Day, or International Workers’ Day, traces back more than a century to a pivotal period in U.S. labor history.

In the 1880s, unions pushed for an eight-hour workday through strikes and demonstrations. In May 1886, a Chicago rally turned deadly when a bomb exploded and police responded with gunfire. Several labor activists — most of them immigrants — were convicted of conspiracy and other charges; four were executed.

Unions later designated May 1 to honor workers. A monument in Chicago’s Haymarket Square commemorates them with the inscription: “Dedicated to all workers of the world.”

May Day is now observed in much of the world from Europe to Latin America, Africa and Asia.

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AP journalists Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Giada Zampano in Rome, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this story.

Union members carefully step through rain-formed puddles to participate in a May Day rally in the rain Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

People march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

FILE - Activist and workers raise their clenched fists during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

Laborers protest during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Laborers hold flares during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Members of trade unions take part in a rally a day ahead of the International Labor Day, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, April 30, 2026. The banner in center reading as 'red salute to the martyrs of Chicago and the struggle will continue until economic exploitation is ended' (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Members of trade unions take part in a rally a day ahead of the International Labor Day, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)