Matt White (minor league pitcher)

For other persons named Matt White, see Matt White (disambiguation).

Matt White
Pitcher
Born: (1978-08-13) August 13, 1978 (age 46) Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Career highlights and awards
Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year (1996)
Medals Men's baseball Representing  United States World Junior Baseball Championship 1996 Sancti Spíritus Team

Matthew Edward White (born August 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

Career

White attended Waynesboro Area High School from 1993 to 1996[1] where he played four varsity sports and had a 0.79 earned run average as a baseball player.[2] During his senior year he posted a 10–1 record with an 0.63 ERA, allowing 21 hits and 37 baserunners.[3] Following the season he was named the high school baseball player of the year by USA Today,[4] Baseball America, the National High School Baseball Coaches Association[2] and Gatorade.[5][6][7]

After initially planning to attend Georgia Tech,[8] White was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1996 amateur draft,[9] but his agent Scott Boras found a long-ignored provision in MLB's Collective Bargaining Agreement that allowed White to become a free agent after the Giants failed to offer him a written contract in the required 15-day time allotted.[2][10] He received a $10.2 million signing bonus (equivalent to $19.8 million in 2023) in 1996 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.[11][12] It was the largest bonus ever given to an amateur player.[2]

Before even making his professional debut with the Hudson Valley Renegades in 1997, Baseball America ranked him the sixth-best prospect in baseball.[13] Shoulder and back injuries limited White to 122 minor league games during his career. He never played in the major leagues and retired in 2006 with a career mark of 35–47 and a 4.64 earned run average.[8][14][15][16]

White was the only high school player invited to try out for the United States national baseball team for the 1996 Summer Olympics[2] but was the last player cut from the team.[17] He was selected to the 2000 Sydney Olympic team but suffered an injury prior to the games and was forced to return without participating.[8]

References

1. Eric Reed (August 16, 1997). "Period of adjustment". Public Opinion. pp. 1B, 6A. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. John Steadman (January 5, 1997). "One of baseball's youngest stars keeping his feet on the ground". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
3. Parry Shaw (November 26, 1996). "Devil Rays turn opponents White with envy". The Bradenton Herald. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Mike DiGiovanna (November 26, 1996). "Prep Pitcher Nets $10.2 Million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
5. Bill Chastain (December 26, 1996). "One in a million for Rays". The Tampa Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Bill Chastain (December 26, 1996). "White / Devil Rays banking on small-town hero". The Tampa Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Rod Shetler (July 23, 1996). "Matt White lone veteran trials player". Joplin Globe. pp. 4B – 5B. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
8. Jeff Arnold (July 1, 2010). "New Michigan pitching coach Matt White brings wealth of experience and perspective to Wolverines". The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
9. Eric Reed (June 5, 1996). "Matt White takes a Giant step". Public Opinion. pp. 1A, 12A. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Buchanan, Zach (April 16, 2020). "Travis Lee's 1996 draft saga and how an amateur's true value was briefly exposed". The Athletic. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
11. Kevin Wells (February 26, 1998). "Wild to wow". The Tampa Tribune. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Rodney Page (June 10, 1998). "Matt White feels at home". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
13. "Matt White Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
14. Roger Mooney (June 25, 2006). "I want to get to the 'Big Leagues'". The Bradenton Herald. pp. 1D, 7D. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
15. John Romano (July 26, 2006). "Arm, not heart, failed bonus baby". Tampa Bay Times. pp. 1C, 3C. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Bill Chastain; Jesse Rogers; Ben Zobrist (2018). Try not to suck : the exceptional, extraordinary baseball life of Joe Maddon. Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. ISBN 9781633198579. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
17. "Devil Rays put White in the black". The News Journal. November 26, 1996. p. C2. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Georgia Tech's bio page

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)