PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Preston Mattingly, a son of former star first baseman and manager Don Mattingly, was promoted to general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
Sam Fuld, the GM since December 2020, will share the GM duties with Mattingly. But Fuld is studying for his Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and will become the team’s president of business operations when he receives his degree in May 2026.
“Sam and Preston are two of the best young people in the game,” Dombrowski said. “They’re outstanding in every respect. We have a good relationship between all of us and really, you kind of look towards the future and say, ‘Well, how will this all work out?’”
Dombrowski, 68, is under contract with the Phillies through 2027, which means he will get to have Mattingly learn the trade under his tutelage for three seasons, and then if Dombrowski decides to retire, the Phillies would have his heir apparent already in place.
“I think he has the ability to be the general manager and the head of baseball operations for years to come,” Dombrowski said.
Mattingly, 37, played in the minor leagues from 2006-11, and then went to Lamar University, where he captained the basketball team and received a bachelor’s degree in 2016. He worked for the San Diego Padres from 2017-21, rising to coordinator of major league advance scouting and game planning.
He joined the Phillies as director of player development in September 2021 and was promoted to assistant general manager of player development last November.
“I’m very excited about the role,” Mattingly said. “Honestly, I just love baseball. It means so much to me. It’s been my life since I was born. ... I was very excited to get to work with the people we have in the organization. They challenge you every single day and we all share the same vision of helping the Philadelphia Phillies achieve their ultimate goal, which is to win the World Series."
Fuld will oversee business operations departments after his graduation. The current president of business operations, Dave Buck, is retiring in December. Fuld said that several people — including himself — will take on the responsibilities of the role for the 18 months until his graduation.
“I’ve always been interested in the business side of baseball,” Fuld said. “It’s always been compelling to me. This came out of a conversation I had with Dave and (managing partner John Middleton) in the spring and we talked about the short-term, the mid-term and the long-term implications of this opportunity. It wasn’t something I had given a ton of thought to at the time, but after I digested it and wrapped my head around it, it felt like a really compelling opportunity both professionally and personally.”
The Phillies also announced two other promotions in the baseball operations department. Luke Murton was promoted to director of player development and Edwar Gonzalez to director of hitting development.
Don Mattingly was a six-time All-Star for the New York Yankees from 1982-95, then managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Miami Marlins from 2016-22.
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FILE - Preston Mattingly, manager of scouting for the San Diego Padres, stands on the field before a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The person inside the Tesla Cybertruck that burst into flames outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel suffered a gunshot to the head before the explosion, officials said Thursday.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of the man who's been identified as Matthew Livelsberger. Officials believe the shot was self-inflicted.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.
He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.
The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday's explosion but provided no other details.
The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.
Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.
Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself."
"All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.
Musk has recently become a member of Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.
Authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado, Kevin McMahill, the elected sheriff of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, said Wednesday. He did not release the person’s ID, however.
Copp, Richer and Long contributed from Washington.
Investigators enter a townhouse in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)
Investigators stand outside a townhouse complex in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
