Don Mattingly said he will not play this season, but the former New York Yankees first baseman has not ruled out a return to baseball.

"I know I still have gas left," he said Thursday. "I'm only 34 years old. I've always stayed in shape. The biggest part of my game was my quick hands. When I left, I still had that. Whether they're still there a year from now, if I decide to return, we'll find out."

Mattingly broke his off-season silence with a conference call from Evansville with Yankee beat writers in Tampa. This is the first spring since 1979 that Mattingly hasn't been with the Yankees.

His days are now spent on his farm with his wife, three children and six show horses. "I'm really looking forward to the horse season," Mattingly said. "I feel like my top job now is bus driver."

Mattingly accused New York owner George Steinbrenner of trying to run him out of baseball last year, and he went into semi-retirement following the Yankees' playoff loss to the Seattle Mariners.

After struggling through the regular season, he batted .417 in the five-game series against Seattle. The former Yankee captain said he had lost some of his love for the game last year.

"I'd catch myself in a hotel room for four days on a trip and never get out of it until I leave for the ballpark," he said. "It was driving me crazy. I just didn't want to be on the road anymore."

Mattingly, a nine-time Gold Glove winner, said he will keep an eye on the comeback of Ryne Sandberg, returning to the Chicago Cubs after 1 1/2 seasons. He also had praise for his successor, Tino Martinez.

"He's worked very hard," he said. "Everything he's gotten, he's earned. And the cigars he gave me are awesome. Now I'm smoking two cigars a day instead of one every two weeks."

Mattingly said he planned to come to New York during the season but probably would not visit Yankee Stadium.

Copyright © 1996 The Evansville Courier, The Associated Press