Jeff Mathis
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Stephen Mathis is a Major League Baseball
catcher
for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
and made his major league debut on August 12, 2005. He bats and throws right-handed.
After playing both football
and baseball
for Marianna High School (winning four district titles, a regional title and appearing in the state championship game in football in 2000, as well as a 1999 state title in baseball, on a team that featured fellow first-round pick Alan Horne), he became a first round draft
selection by the Angels in 2001
, Mathis moved up the ranks to Triple-A Salt Lake by 2005. He earned the Angels' minor league Defensive Player of the Year award. Noted for his defensive skills at the catcher spot, he also had a career-best year with the bat, hitting
.276 with 21 home run
s.
Following the 2005 season, the Angels declined to pursue the return of their free agent
starting catcher, Bengie Molina
, ensuring Mathis would make the roster for the 2006 season. After a solid 2006 spring training
, Mathis was expected to see substantial playing time at catcher, sharing the position with José Molina. However, once the regular season began, he struggled greatly on both defense and offense. With Mathis batting only .108 and the team compiling just a 2-9 record in games that he started, the Angels demoted him back to the minor leagues one month into the season. Mathis was replaced on the Angels roster by catcher Mike Napoli
.
In 2008, he batted just .194, below the Mendoza Line
.
Mathis's most noteworthy major league moment occurred on October 19, 2009 when his 11th inning walk off RBI double in game three of the American League Championship Series defeated the New York Yankees 5-4.
His impressive 2009 playoff offensive statistics became important in his 2010 arbitration hearings. In spite of poor regular season stats (.211 average), he used his strong playoff offensive performance and excellent defensive skill to bolster his case for a raise to $1.3 million, beating the Angels management in arbitration. The arbitration hearing was also something of a watershed in the amount of consideration paid to Mathis' defensive statistics. The LA Times highlighted the stark comparisons with competing catcher Mike Napoli
: "in 657 innings with the agile Mathis behind the plate, Angels pitchers had a 3.99 earned-run average; they had a 4.86 ERA in 758 innings with Napoli catching. Mathis also caught 17 of 69 attempted base-stealers for a 24.6% success rate; Napoli, who will make $3.6 million in 2010 but is coming off two 20-homer seasons, caught 13 of 87 attempted base-stealers for a 14.9% success rate." Mathis has been among the AL leaders in pitchers' earned run averages while he's been behind the plate.
In 2010, Mathis was ranked by at least one website as the worst defensive catcher in baseball. He also matched his career-worst batting average of .194, while posting a sub-.500 OPS in over 200 at bats.
On April 3, 2011, Jeff Mathis had a night of historic futility. He went 0-6 at the plate with 2 strikeouts, while allowing 6 stolen bases and did not throw out a single runner. This is just the second time in league history that a catcher has gone 0-6 and also allowed 6 stolen bases.
Mathis' 2011 campaign resulted in the third worst on-base percentage and batting average for any catcher with more than 280 plate appearances in the live ball era (1920-).
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
and made his major league debut on August 12, 2005. He bats and throws right-handed.
After playing both football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
for Marianna High School (winning four district titles, a regional title and appearing in the state championship game in football in 2000, as well as a 1999 state title in baseball, on a team that featured fellow first-round pick Alan Horne), he became a first round draft
Draft (sports)
A draft is a process used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Russia and the Philippines to allocate certain players to sports teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players...
selection by the Angels in 2001
2001 Major League Baseball Draft
-First Round Selections:-Supplemental First Round Selections:-Background:The Minnesota Twins selected St. Paul, MN native Joe Mauer with the number one pick in the 2001 draft. The 18-year-old Mauer, a catcher from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, became the seventh Minnesotan to be...
, Mathis moved up the ranks to Triple-A Salt Lake by 2005. He earned the Angels' minor league Defensive Player of the Year award. Noted for his defensive skills at the catcher spot, he also had a career-best year with the bat, hitting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.276 with 21 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s.
Following the 2005 season, the Angels declined to pursue the return of their free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
starting catcher, Bengie Molina
Bengie Molina
Benjamin José "Bengie" Molina , nicknamed "Big Money", is a former Major League Baseball catcher.He is the older brother of major league catchers José Molina and Yadier Molina....
, ensuring Mathis would make the roster for the 2006 season. After a solid 2006 spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
, Mathis was expected to see substantial playing time at catcher, sharing the position with José Molina. However, once the regular season began, he struggled greatly on both defense and offense. With Mathis batting only .108 and the team compiling just a 2-9 record in games that he started, the Angels demoted him back to the minor leagues one month into the season. Mathis was replaced on the Angels roster by catcher Mike Napoli
Mike Napoli
Michael Anthony Napoli is a Major League Baseball catcher/first baseman with the Texas Rangers.-Early career:Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida...
.
In 2008, he batted just .194, below the Mendoza Line
Mendoza Line
The Mendoza Line is an expression in baseball in the United States, deriving from the name of shortstop Mario Mendoza, whose lifetime batting average is taken to define the threshold of incompetent hitting...
.
Mathis's most noteworthy major league moment occurred on October 19, 2009 when his 11th inning walk off RBI double in game three of the American League Championship Series defeated the New York Yankees 5-4.
His impressive 2009 playoff offensive statistics became important in his 2010 arbitration hearings. In spite of poor regular season stats (.211 average), he used his strong playoff offensive performance and excellent defensive skill to bolster his case for a raise to $1.3 million, beating the Angels management in arbitration. The arbitration hearing was also something of a watershed in the amount of consideration paid to Mathis' defensive statistics. The LA Times highlighted the stark comparisons with competing catcher Mike Napoli
Mike Napoli
Michael Anthony Napoli is a Major League Baseball catcher/first baseman with the Texas Rangers.-Early career:Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida...
: "in 657 innings with the agile Mathis behind the plate, Angels pitchers had a 3.99 earned-run average; they had a 4.86 ERA in 758 innings with Napoli catching. Mathis also caught 17 of 69 attempted base-stealers for a 24.6% success rate; Napoli, who will make $3.6 million in 2010 but is coming off two 20-homer seasons, caught 13 of 87 attempted base-stealers for a 14.9% success rate." Mathis has been among the AL leaders in pitchers' earned run averages while he's been behind the plate.
In 2010, Mathis was ranked by at least one website as the worst defensive catcher in baseball. He also matched his career-worst batting average of .194, while posting a sub-.500 OPS in over 200 at bats.
On April 3, 2011, Jeff Mathis had a night of historic futility. He went 0-6 at the plate with 2 strikeouts, while allowing 6 stolen bases and did not throw out a single runner. This is just the second time in league history that a catcher has gone 0-6 and also allowed 6 stolen bases.
Mathis' 2011 campaign resulted in the third worst on-base percentage and batting average for any catcher with more than 280 plate appearances in the live ball era (1920-).