Don Mattingly, who played 14 seasons with the Yankees, is returning to New York as manager of the Dodgers this season.
Mattingly said he was never sure if he'd get a chance to manage in New York.
"I didn't know," he said. "I know [former Yankees owner] Mr. [George] Steinbrenner wanted me to manage. He thought I would be a good manager. But I had no guarantees of anything.
"They treated me fairly I thought. Things work out for a reason. That would have been really bad timing for me. Terrible. I was going through some personal stuff that would have been miserable trying to manage for the first time and have that going on. So, that was a blessing in disguise. Coming to L.A. has been great, and obviously there's been a lot of turmoil this year, but I love what I'm doing and I like being in L.A."
Joe Girardi is currently the manager of the Yankees.