Mark Andrew Mathias (born August 2, 1994) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

second baseman for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

and Texas Rangers.

Career

Amateur career

Mathias attended Irvington High School in

Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...

. Undrafted out of high school, Mathias attended

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California or California State Polytechnic Univ ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Cal Poly Mustangs The Cal Poly Mustangs are the athletic teams representing California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The university fields twenty-one teams and compete in NCAA Division I; they are primarily members of the Big West ...

. Mathias played for the 2014 USA Collegiate National Team. He underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in December 2014.

Cleveland Indians

The

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

selected Mathias in the third round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. Mathias played for the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

in 2015, hitting .282/.382/.408/.790 with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 32

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs). He split the 2016 season between the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

and the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

, hitting a combined .267/.351/.396/.747 with five home runs and 61 RBIs. He spent the 2017 and 2018 season in Akron, hitting .212 in 35 games in 2017, and .232 with eight home runs and 45 RBIs in 2018. He spent the 2019 season with the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

, hitting .269/.355/.442/.797 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs.

Milwaukee Brewers

Cleveland traded Mathias to the

in exchange for Andres Melendez on November 20, 2019, and the Brewers added him to their 40-man roster. Mathias made his MLB debut on August 4, 2020 as a pinch runner. On March 16, 2021, Mathias was placed on the 60-day injured list due to a torn labrum in his shoulder. On November 19, 2021, Mathias was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and sent to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

. On May 24, 2022, the Brewers selected Mathias' contract from Triple-A Nashville. On June 11, Mathias hit his first major league home run, a two-run shot off of

Patrick Corbin Patrick Alan Corbin (born July 19, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He won the 2019 World Series with the Nation ...

of the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Texas Rangers

On August 1, 2022, Mathias and pitcher Antoine Kelly were traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitcher Matt Bush. Mathias played in 24 games with Texas in 2022, hitting .277/.365/.554 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI. On March 4, 2023, Mathias was designated for assignment by the Rangers after the signing of

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

was made official.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On March 8, 2023, Mathias was traded to the

in exchange for Ricky DeVito. Mathias was optioned to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

to begin the 2023 season. In 22 games for Pittsburgh, Mathias batted .231/.355/.269 with no home runs, 4 RBI, and 3 stolen bases. On June 25, he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Pirates.

Personal life

Mathias identifies as

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathias, Mark 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Santa Clara, California Baseball players from Santa Clara County, California Major League Baseball infielders Milwaukee Brewers players Texas Rangers players Pittsburgh Pirates players Cal Poly Mustangs baseball players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Lynchburg Hillcats players Akron RubberDucks players Columbus Clippers players Nashville Sounds players Round Rock Express players Indianapolis Indians players American baseball players of Chinese descent