Mathew Lawrence Gamel (born July 26, 1985) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played in

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), ...

for the Milwaukee Brewers across the 2008 through 2012 seasons. Once considered among the best prospects in baseball, Gamel's career was limited by injuries.

Early life

Gamel attended

Bishop Kenny High School Bishop Kenny High School (commonly referred to as Bishop Kenny or BKHS) is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational Catholic high school in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located in and administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. August ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. He was drafted in 4th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft from

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor's ...

Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College. The population was 6,102 at the 2010 census. In 2018 the estimated population was 7,091. The official nickname of Marianna is ...

Baseball career

Milwaukee Brewers

Gamel played his first professional season in 2005 for Milwaukee's Rookie League

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwauke ...

. Gamel was promoted to the Single-A

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The ...

in 2006 and the High Single-A

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brevard County af ...

in 2007 in which he posted a 33-game hitting streak bested only by Derek Jeter. He played most of the 2008 season with the Double-A

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

before being promoted 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 August 24. In 2008, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. Mat Gamel of the Nashville Sounds

Gamel was called up to the Majors for the first time when rosters expanded on September 1, 2008, and made his debut two days later,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

in a pinch-hitting appearance. He recorded his first career hit, a double, on September 7, 2008, off of Chris Young of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. He hit his first career

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 ...

on May 18, 2009, off of

Kyle Lohse Kyle Matthew Lohse (; born October 4, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, an ...

of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. However, he made his first fielding error at third base during the same game, even though he had made a great play just a few innings earlier. He hit his second home run off

Jason Hammel Jason Aaron Hammel (born September 2, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, ...

of the Colorado Rockies. On May 22, 2012, Gamel underwent surgery to repair a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

(ACL) and missed the rest of the 2012 season. During 2013 Spring Training, Gamel retore his surgically repaired ACL and missed the entire 2013 season.

Chicago Cubs

On October 3, 2013, Gamel was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. On December 2, he was non-tendered by Chicago, becoming a free agent.

Atlanta Braves

On December 13, 2013, Gamel signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. However, he re-injured himself doing workouts before spring training and was released by the Braves on February 18, 2014.

New York Yankees

On March 6, 2015 it was reported that Mat signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. He was released on March 14, 2015.

Somerset Patriots/Camden Riversharks

He signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...

and then eventually the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2015 season.

Personal life

Gamel's brother,

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

, also plays in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gamel is currently married with two children.

References

External links

"Minor League Baseball: Stats: Mat Gamel."
''Minor League Baseball''. 2008. Retrieved on August 25, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gamel, Mat 1985 births Living people Milwaukee Brewers players Helena Brewers players West Virginia Power players Brevard County Manatees players Chipola Indians baseball players Huntsville Stars players Nashville Sounds players Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida North Shore Honu players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Estrellas Orientales players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Gigantes del Cibao players Somerset Patriots players Bishop Kenny High School alumni