Matt Alexander

Summary

Matthew Alexander (born January 30, 1947)[1] is a retired Major League baseball player. He was a utility player for the Chicago Cubs 1973–1974, Oakland Athletics 1975–1977 and Pittsburgh Pirates 1978–1981. He holds the record for most appearances as a pinch runner in MLB history.[2]

Matt Alexander
Outfielder
Born: (1947-01-30) January 30, 1947 (age 77)
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 23, 1973, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1981, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average.214
Runs scored111
Stolen bases103
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Playing career edit

In his later years, Alexander was used mostly as a pinch runner by manager Chuck Tanner, and so earned the sobriquet "Matt the Scat." Tanner had managed in Oakland in 1976 and brought Alexander to Pittsburgh after he became manager of the Pirates. Alexander helped the Athletics win the 1975 American League Western Division and the Pirates win the 1979 World Series. He played every non-pitching position in his major league career except catcher and first base.

In nine seasons he played in 374 games and had 168 at-bats, 111 runs, 36 hits, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 4 RBI, 103 stolen bases, 18 walks, a .214 batting average, an .294 on-base percentage, .262 slugging percentage, 44 total bases, 8 sacrifice hits and 1 intentional walk. He is one of only seven players (excluding pitchers) to have played at least 100 games and have more games played than at-bats.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "Matt Alexander Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ admin. "Matt Alexander – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  3. ^ Spatz, Lyle (2007). TheSABR Baseball List & Record Book – Baseball's Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics. United States: Simon & Schuster. p. 496. ISBN 9781416532453.

External links edit

  • Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
  • Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)