Like father, like son: Justin Crawford joins dad Carl in baseball history playing for manager Don Mattingly originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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It had been a dozen years, but Don Mattingly had seen something quite like this before.
In April of 2014, with Mattingly managing the Los Angeles Dodgers, Carl Crawford delivered a game-winning, walk-off hit.
And now on the final day of April 2026, Justin Crawford did the same thing while Mattingly managed the Philadelphia Phillies.
Yep, a father and a son with walk-off hits for the same manager 12 years apart.
What are the odds of that?
April 8, 2014 – Carl Crawford gets walkoff hit for the Dodgers. His manager: Don Mattingly
April 30, 2026 – Justin Crawford gets walkoff hit for the Phillies. His manager: Don Mattingly
Baseball! pic.twitter.com/bWc1NDLB0r
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) April 30, 2026
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Carl was in the latter half of his career at that point. He was a proven commodity, and at that point a veteran trying to prove that he still had what it took.
Justin is a rookie, just breaking into the major leagues. The Phillies trusted him with the Opening Day centerfield job, and he delivered Philadelphia’s first two walk-off wins of the season.
The one on Thursday was just Crawford beating out an infield single as a guy from third base hustled home.
He didn’t have to wait long to see one of his teammates come through with a walk-off winner, though. In game two of Thursday’s doubleheader, Alec Bohm won the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th.
Definitely a suspenseful, exciting day for the Phillies.