Donnie Baseball returns to Greer Stadium tomorrow night.

The Nashville Sounds will retire the jersey Don Mattingly wore while a member of the Southern League team in 1981.

It's a different place than he will remember. Age has taken its toll.

At that time, the Sounds were a hot topic during the summer. That was years before Bud Adams threw a dart on a map and hit Nashville. It was years before Craig Leipold decided to buy an NHL expansion franchise and put it in Nashville.

Fans flooded Greer Stadium. Sometimes to overflow capacity. On a number of occasions, owner Larry Schmittou had the outfield roped off and allowed fans to stand on the field, along the warning track.

Future major leaguer Willie McGee played here. Steve Balboni launched moon shots onto the railroad tracks. Arizona Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter was Mattingly's teammate.

Mattingly was on a fast track to the New York Yankees. Nashville was only a sleepover, a season in which he solved Double-A pitching just as he did at every stop on his way to the House That Ruth Built.

The soft-spoken first baseman quickly became a fan favorite.

You could see even at that age Mattingly had major leaguer written all over him.

"He could hit .300 if he was playing on Mars," I remember one of the Sounds coaches saying.

No one worked harder. He lived in the batting cage, welcomed extra batting practice and studied the art of hitting.

Mattingly wasn't a power hitter in those days, although he led the Southern League in doubles that season with 35.

As he filled out physically and matured as a hitter, the power followed.

He still holds the Yankees record for hitting at least one home run in eight consecutive games.

His six grand slam home runs in 1987 is another Yankees mark still on the books.

The left-handed hitter led the American League in batting in 1984, hitting .343 with 207 hits, 23 home runs and 110 RBI. Two years later, he rapped out 53 doubles, a club record which remains intact.

Mattingly and the Yankees seemed an odd couple.

A shy, small-town kid whose roots were deep in Evansville, Ind., playing in the Big Apple.

It was when Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was at his worst -- buying free agents on a whim, firing managers, berating players in public -- anything to upstage the rival Mets in the New York tabloids.

Mattingly handled it the only way he knew how.

By going to work every day and quietly doing his job.

He was the Yankees first baseman from 1982-95. A bad back and an assortment of ailments prevented him from continuing.

He took some time off, trying to rehab, but on Jan. 22, 1997, he announced his retirement.

While in pinstripes from 1991-95, Mattingly served as the Yankees 10th captain. That put him in the company of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Thurman Munson and Willie Randolph.

He retired after six All-Star Game appearances. The left-handed Mattingly was also adroit with the leather, winning nine Gold Glove awards during his career.

The Yankees appropriately retired his number. The Sounds will do so tomorrow night. If you have a chance, stop by Greer Stadium and tip your hat to Donnie Baseball.

Who made us all feel young one summer.

Joe Biddle

Copyright 1999 by The Tennessean