As the Yankees flew across the country following their heartbreaking, five-game series loss to the Mariners in the 1995 ALDS, Don Mattingly huddled up with manager Buck Showalter and general manager Gene “Stick” Michael.

While others on the plane mourned the continuation of a 17-year championship drought — the franchise’s longest since becoming the Yankees — Mattingly shared his future plans with the two. Burdened by a barking back and, more importantly, prioritizing some issues at home , Mattingly made it clear that the Yankees should start looking for a new first baseman.

“He had a lot of things pulling on him. But we had a long talk on the plane coming back from Seattle, and I knew Donnie wasn’t gonna play anymore when we landed,” Showalter told the Daily News this week. “He was a

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