Matt White (baseball)
Encyclopedia
Matthew Joseph White is a retired Major League Baseball
pitcher
. He made news in 2007 not with his pitching, but for his possession of a potentially-lucrative stone quarry
in his native Massachusetts.
in Dalton, Massachusetts
and played his college baseball at Clemson
. He was first drafted by the Cleveland Indians
in the amateur draft. He has been through the Rule V Draft twice. In , he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox
. In , he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies
.
White has pitched in seven different organizations over the past nine seasons. He has three stints in the majors: he pitched three games for the Boston Red Sox in 2003 before being traded to the Seattle Mariners
, for whom he pitched three more games in the same season. In , he pitched one game for the Washington Nationals
.
In seven major-league games, White has pitched 9 2/3 innings. He is 0-2, and has allowed 17 hits
, eight walks
and 18 runs
, for a 16.76 ERA
and a WHIP
of 2.59.
In in the minor leagues, he played for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
, where he played 38 games, starting 13 of them. He had a record of 7-9 with a 3.58 ERA and 69 strikeout
s. He also played for the Navegantes del Magallanes
in the Venezuelan Winter League
, where he went 2-4 in ten starts with a 3.40 ERA and 34 strikeouts.
White was a non-roster invitee to the Los Angeles Dodgers
in . In spring training
, he only allowed one earned run
in 7 1/3 innings.
However, he failed to make the major league roster and was optioned to the Las Vegas 51s
, the Dodgers Triple-A team. He was 2-4 with a 3.83 ERA in 40 games out of the bullpen for the 51s during the 1st half of the 2007 Pacific Coast League
season.
On June 25, 2007, he asked for, and was granted, his release from the 51s so that he could sign a contract to play baseball in Japan
. He signed with the Yokohama BayStars
. He was released on August 15, .
On Jan. 2, 2010, The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the CPBL(Taiwan
) announced that they have signed White for the 2010 season.
in Cummington, Massachusetts
from his aunt for $50,000, giving her the money she needed to enter a nursing home
. His original intention was to build his home, but he found the land to be too hard. When he called a surveyor
out to inspect the land, the surveyor found that the land was solid Goshen stone
, a type of mica schist estimated to be about 400 million years old. Estimates have placed the low estimate of the find at 24 million tons
. At current prices (he has been selling the stone for over $100/ton), it is estimated to be worth around $2.5 billion, minus extraction costs.
White has begun a small-scale extraction operation, Swift River Stone, and made $600,000 in 2006. He has expressed interest in selling the land, and believes he will get "several million dollars."
When a story broke on most sports news outlets about him on February 28, 2007, some of his teammates in spring training started referring to him in the clubhouse as "Mr. Billionaire."
In early 2009, White listed the 45± acre property with Boston-based real estate firm, LandVest, Inc., which specializes in the marketing of luxury residences, vacant land and resource-based properties, including timberland. The asking price for the property is available upon request. http://www.landvest.com/property/MA1241/1/
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...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. He made news in 2007 not with his pitching, but for his possession of a potentially-lucrative stone quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
in his native Massachusetts.
Baseball career
White attended Wahconah Regional High SchoolWahconah Regional High School
Wahconah Regional High School is a high school in Dalton, Massachusetts and is part of the Central Berkshire Regional School District. The school opened in 1961.-History:...
in Dalton, Massachusetts
Dalton, Massachusetts
Dalton is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Dalton is the transition town between the urban and rural pieces of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,892 at the 2000 census.- History...
and played his college baseball at Clemson
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are any team that represents Clemson University as a member of the NCAA's Division I or in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference....
. He was first drafted by the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
in the amateur draft. He has been through the Rule V Draft twice. In , he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. In , he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
.
White has pitched in seven different organizations over the past nine seasons. He has three stints in the majors: he pitched three games for the Boston Red Sox in 2003 before being traded to the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
, for whom he pitched three more games in the same season. In , he pitched one game for the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
.
In seven major-league games, White has pitched 9 2/3 innings. He is 0-2, and has allowed 17 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
, eight walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
and 18 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
, for a 16.76 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
and a WHIP
Walks plus hits per inning pitched
In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. It is a measure of a pitcher's ability to prevent batters from reaching base...
of 2.59.
In in the minor leagues, he played for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are a professional minor league baseball club located based in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area. They currently play in the International League's Northern Division and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball club...
, where he played 38 games, starting 13 of them. He had a record of 7-9 with a 3.58 ERA and 69 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s. He also played for the Navegantes del Magallanes
Navegantes del Magallanes
The Navegantes del Magallanes are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, the Navegantes have won ten LVBP championships and two Caribbean World Series.-Pitchers:...
in the Venezuelan Winter League
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional is the highest level baseball league in Venezuela.-Brief history:Baseball exploded in Venezuela in 1941, following the world championship in Havana....
, where he went 2-4 in ten starts with a 3.40 ERA and 34 strikeouts.
White was a non-roster invitee to the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in . In 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...
, he only allowed one earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
in 7 1/3 innings.
However, he failed to make the major league roster and was optioned to the Las Vegas 51s
Las Vegas 51s
The Las Vegas 51s, formerly known as the Las Vegas Stars, are a minor league baseball team. They are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. They play at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team competes in the Pacific Coast League...
, the Dodgers Triple-A team. He was 2-4 with a 3.83 ERA in 40 games out of the bullpen for the 51s during the 1st half of the 2007 Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
season.
On June 25, 2007, he asked for, and was granted, his release from the 51s so that he could sign a contract to play baseball in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He signed with the Yokohama BayStars
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
. He was released on August 15, .
On Jan. 2, 2010, The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the CPBL(Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
) announced that they have signed White for the 2010 season.
Rock discovery
In 2003, White purchased 50 acres (202,343 m²) of mountain real estateReal estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
in Cummington, Massachusetts
Cummington, Massachusetts
Cummington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 978 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
from his aunt for $50,000, giving her the money she needed to enter a nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
. His original intention was to build his home, but he found the land to be too hard. When he called a surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
out to inspect the land, the surveyor found that the land was solid Goshen stone
Goshen stone
Goshen stone is an unusual variably colored variety of mica schist found mostly in New England. It is quarried and sold as a landscaping stone. The stone sells for approximately 100 US dollars a ton....
, a type of mica schist estimated to be about 400 million years old. Estimates have placed the low estimate of the find at 24 million tons
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
. At current prices (he has been selling the stone for over $100/ton), it is estimated to be worth around $2.5 billion, minus extraction costs.
White has begun a small-scale extraction operation, Swift River Stone, and made $600,000 in 2006. He has expressed interest in selling the land, and believes he will get "several million dollars."
When a story broke on most sports news outlets about him on February 28, 2007, some of his teammates in spring training started referring to him in the clubhouse as "Mr. Billionaire."
In early 2009, White listed the 45± acre property with Boston-based real estate firm, LandVest, Inc., which specializes in the marketing of luxury residences, vacant land and resource-based properties, including timberland. The asking price for the property is available upon request. http://www.landvest.com/property/MA1241/1/