Matt LaChappa

Matt LaChappa
San Diego Padres
Pitcher
Born: (1975-06-29) June 29, 1975 (age 49) San Diego, California
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MiLB debut
1993, for the Arizona League Padres
MiLB statistics
Win–loss record	18-19
Earned run average	4.80
Strikeouts	277
WHIP	1.489
Teams
Arizona League Padres (1993) Springfield Sultans (1994) Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (1995)

Matthew John "Matt" LaChappa (born June 29, 1975) is an American baseball pitcher who pitched in the San Diego Padres minor league system. LaChappa is known for being a "Padre for life", having signed a minor league contract with the team for over twenty years since suffering a heart attack during a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes game on April 6, 1996.[1][2] LaChappa currently resides with his family at the Barona Indian Reservation.[3]

Baseball career

LaChappa was a second-round draft choice during the 1993 Major League Baseball draft from El Capitan High School.[4] He began his minor league career with the Arizona League Padres in 1993, moving to Class A Springfield Sultans in 1994, and finally Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga Quakes the following year. He won 11 games for the Quakes.[5]

"Padre for life"

In 1996, while warming up in the bullpen to enter what would have been the first game of his season as a relief pitcher, LaChappa collapsed and suffered a heart attack.[6] The Quakes athletic trainer performed CPR on LaChappa for 20 minutes until he was taken to a local hospital. At the hospital, he suffered a second heart attack.[4] LaChappa survived, but suffered brain damage from the lack of oxygen and is mostly confined to a wheelchair and has difficulty moving and speaking. Since the incident, the Padres organization has signed him yearly to a basic Minor League contract so that he can maintain his health insurance. The Padres have also named a Little League field after him in Lakeside, California.[4] The Matt LaChappa Athletic Scholarship Foundation was also established to assist high school students to pay for their college education.[7]

References

1. Heikkila, Aarne; Fryer, Joe (April 15, 2015). "Classy Organization: Padres Keep Sick Pitcher on Payroll 20 Years After Last Throw". NBC Nightly News. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
2. Phillips, Preston (April 10, 2015). "Keeping Their Word: The Padres lifelong rookie". KGTV. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
3. Whitley, Jordan (June 4, 2015). "Padre for life: Former player Matt LaChappa's dream to be a Friar lives on". Fox 5 San Diego. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
4. Bisheff, Steve (November 24, 2005). "Padres' compassion hits a home run". Orange County Register. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
5. Sullivan, Tim (June 28, 2006). "Padres continue to treat fallen LaChappa as one of their own". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
6. Brock, Corey (April 14, 2015). "'Padre for life' LaChappa hosted by club at Petco Park". Major League Baseball. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
7. Wirthman, Lisa (September 28, 2015). "A Padre For Life: Why The San Diego Padres Keep Re-Signing This Ex-Pitcher". Northwestern MutualVoice. Retrieved July 10, 2016.

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)