Plenty of highs mixed with the lows of Don Mattingly’s managerial career

Five quick years, five years of watching Don Mattingly grow on the job, battle frequent speculation about his job, his ability, his dealings with new ownership and a new front office.

It’s come to an end now, and however expected by many, somehow it still feels sudden.

Mattingly is out as the Dodgers manager, his career at their helm ending without a World Series but with a franchise record three consecutive trips to the postseason.

And with the Dodgers, of course, that is what it will always be about, winning the World Series: lofty expectations made even more burdensome when the team’s payroll exploded to record levels.

Mattingly’s tenure with the Dodgers may ultimately be judged on what he did not do — take the Dodgers to a World Series they have not seen in 27 years — but there was plenty he did accomplish.

It’s easy to criticize a manager. Just about every manager in every city is constantly condemned by team followers for decisions made and not made, all somehow convinced the next guy will magically get it right.

If Mattingly was sometimes dinged for his in-game decisions, there were still plenty of times when he got it right. And no one ever said he did not excel in the clubhouse, where he was offered no shortage of challenges over the years with the personalities of Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Hanley Ramirez and others.

He began his career under the ownership of Frank McCourt, and what manager in the history of the game would you ever wish that upon? He kept the team competitive through McCourt’s ouster, bankruptcy and the empty Dodger Stadium seats that followed.

He was well-received by new ownership, and then ultimately, under the major culture shift that came last season with the front office of Andrew Friedman & Co. By all accounts, he dealt well with the new focus on analytics. You don’t believe those constant lineup changes and defensive shifts were all borne from Mattingly?

If three consecutive trips to the postseason ended in three consecutive disappointments, he still led them to three consecutive trips to the postseason. Something no one else in Dodgers history has done. Ever.

This last team may seem like the most disappointing, given that $300-million payroll. But the payroll was somewhat deceptive: Nearly $90 million was dead money for players with whom Friedman had cut ties.

And it most certainly was an imperfect team, its rotation never solved beyond Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke and with a bullpen that never developed into a reliable unit.

Now it is also his last team. Or at least his last Dodgers team. A Dodgers executive once told me he thought Mattingly would be a great manager with his next team. Chances are, we’re about to find out.

MORE ON THE DODGERS:

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