Don Mattingly believes baseball has changed and the game he's dedicated much of his life to has become "unwatchable" at times.
The Miami Marlins manager offered a candid response about baseball's direction while answering a question about all of the no-hitters being thrown this season.
"Where does this get better? Because it's great for your team when a guy throws a no-no. It's great for that guy. It's a great accomplishment. But, when there are so many, so early ... it tells you that there are some issues within the game that need to be addressed," Mattingly said Thursday, according to Craig Mish of SportsGrid.
Mattingly's comments followed Wednesday's no-hitter by the Yankees' Corey Kluber. The right-hander's no-no was the sixth of the year - one off the single-season modern record - with several months left to play.
"(The issues) are going to take a while. ... We're at a point where it's getting so much attention because it's just a game that sometimes is unwatchable," Mattingly said. "Guys you talk to don't even like watching games because there is nothing going on in them."
Mattingly didn't elaborate on the issues he was talking about, but a recent article from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli indicated players are concerned about pitchers' use of foreign substances, different hitting approaches focused around hitting for power, defensive shifts, and the deadening of the baseball.
