INDIANAPOLIS (June 23) - The son of former New York Yankees star first baseman Don Mattingly was arraigned Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of shoving his mother and spitting in her face after she allegedly sent him an insulting text message.
The case against Taylor Mattingly, 24, was deferred so he can apply for a pretrial diversion program, said Angela Watson, director of the program for the Vanderburgh County prosecutor's office. Mattingly expressed an interest in the program during his court appearance, where he was not represented by an attorney, she said. He is scheduled to appear in court again Sept. 10.
Mattingly acknowledged confronting his mother, Kim Mattingly, on Tuesday afternoon in her Evansville home after she had sent him a text message insulting him, his girlfriend and his father, Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Deputy Nathan Espenlaub said Wednesday.
The deputy wrote in an affidavit that Mattingly acknowledged pushing his mother down and spitting on her. Mattingly, who surrendered to police Tuesday evening, also acknowledged smashing a patio table, flipping over a second table and damaging a patio door and a window.
The affidavit states that Taylor Mattingly, who was drafted by the Yankees in the 42nd round in 2003 but no longer plays professionally, said his mother had been drinking and that when she gets drunk she calls him and makes rude comments.
No phone listing for Taylor Mattingly could be found Wednesday. A call to Kim Mattingly's house said the line was being checked for trouble. A message seeking comment was left at the Evansville home of Don Mattingly, who is the Los Angeles Dodgers batting coach.
While estranged from Don Mattingly in 2007, Kim Mattingly was arrested and charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct after police say she refused to leave his Evansville property. The couple filed for divorce in November 2007, citing irreconcilable differences.
The Dodgers moved Don Mattingly from team batting coach to major league special assignment coach in the 2008 season because the former AL MVP wanted time to put "family first.'' Mattingly, who played 14 seasons with the Yankees from 1982-95, also said he was worried about the effect of his marital troubles on the youngest of his three sons, Jordon, who was then 16.
The Tuesday affidavit stated that Kim Mattingly told police her son was upset because she had been unable to get an auto dealership to trade in his car for another model. Kim Mattingly also had satellite TV service shut off at the nearby home where her son was staying. About 15 minutes after the service was cut, the affidavit says, Taylor Mattingly arrived at his mother's home and they began to argue.
Taylor Mattingly launched into an ``abusive tirade'' against his mother, the affidavit says, before picking up a chair and using it to smash a glass patio table - a piece of which cut Kim Mattingly's upper thigh. The affidavit states that Jordan Mattingly told his brother to leave the home, at which point Taylor Mattingly threw a piece of furniture inside a pool house, denting a wall, and then left.
Taylor Mattingly played minor league ball for the Yankees in 2003 and 2004, reaching their Class A affiliate in Staten Island before quitting professional baseball.
Associated Press Writer Tom Coyne contributed to this report from South Bend.
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For shame, for shame!!!
It is never ok to hit or dishonor authority, espeacially parents. Where are the morals and values. I'm almost 30 and I remember being taught the 10 commandment, and just right and wrong in general. So many people concious minds are burned with a hot iron. This is why people need to be taught as a child and the bible back in the schools. If the grown up minds are wacky, MAY GOD BLESS THE NEXT GENERATION. IF WE DON'T LEAD BY A GODLY EXAMPLE WHAT WILL BECOME OF OUR CHILDREN, OR SHOULD I SAY LOOK AT THE MONSTERS (DEMONS) WE HAVE CREATED!