Matthew Gerrit den Dekker (born August 10, 1987) is an American

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 t ...

coach and former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, who is the minor league baserunning and outfielding coach for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. 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 p ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

for coach Kevin O'Sullivan from 2007 to 2010 and 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), ...

(MLB) for 6 seasons from 2013 to 2018 for 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 ...

, Detroit Tigers and

. den Dekker was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He attended Coral Springs Christian Academy and Westminster Academy Christian School. After graduation from high school in 2006, den Dekker enrolled at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and played outfield for the Gators, starting for four seasons. As a senior in 2010, den Dekker helped lead the Gators to the 2010 College World Series. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected den Dekker in the sixteenth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, but he elected to return to Florida for his senior season. He was then drafted in the fifth round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pi ...

by the

. He played 6 years as an

in the MLB, with the Mets from 2013 to 2014, the

from 2015 to 2016, the Detroit Tigers in 2017 before returning to the Mets in 2018. den Dekker returned to Florida in 2019 to resume his schooling, while also becoming a student assistant coach for the Gators. In 2020, den Dekker was named the hitting and outfielding coach for the

Charleston Southern Buccaneers The Charleston Southern Buccaneers are the athletic teams that represent Charleston Southern University, located in North Charleston, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

Early life

Matt den Dekker was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has an older brother and a younger sister. The den Dekker family traces its roots back to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, a former Dutch colony. In 2014, Matt married Christine McNamara in Palm Coast, Florida.

Amateur career

After his freshman year of high school, den Dekker transferred from Coral Springs Christian Academy to Westminster Academy Christian School in Fort Lauderdale, in order to play

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

and pitch alongside his cousin, Westminster's

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

pitcher, Kevin Chapman. den Dekker also played with future

teammate Michael A. Taylor at Westminster when the former was a senior and the latter was a freshman. As a junior, den Dekker finished with a .350

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and was named to the '' Miami Heralds All-

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

First Team. However, the few college recruiters who showed interest were mostly small schools that wanted him to pitch. Den Dekker's only Division I scholarship offer came from a

recruiter who had attended Westminster's practices and games only to scout Chapman. When Chapman signed on to play

for the Florida Gators, den Dekker quickly followed suit. As a freshman, he batted .234/.324/.418. As a sophomore, den Dekker hit .333/.413/.507 with 20 steals in 20 tries and 55 runs in 55 games. The center fielder was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

selection as an outfielder. Den Dekker was then chosen for Team USA's college edition. He batted .176/.375/.176 in the

2008 Haarlem Baseball Week The 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week was an international baseball competition held at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands from July 4–13, 2008. It was the 24th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Ja ...

; noted for his defense, he made one error and noted for his speed, he was thrown out in his lone attempt (gunned down by Cuban defensive legend Ariel Pestano in the gold medal game). Den Dekker batted .227/.292/.409 in the

2008 World University Baseball Championship The 2008 World University Baseball Championship was an under-23 international college baseball tournament that was held from July 17 to 27, 2008. The final game was held on July 27, 2008 in Brno, Czech Republic. It was the 4th time the University ...

, and did not attempt a steal. Den Dekker hit .296/.409/.412 as a junior with 17 steals in 18 tries. He was still rated 92nd overall by '' Baseball America'' among prospects entering the 2009 Major League Baseball draft – then was not selected until the 475th overall pick, when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the 16th round. He returned to Florida for his senior year, hitting .358 with a team-leading 64 runs scored and a career-best 49

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 ba ...

as the Gators reached the 2010 College World Series.

Professional career

New York Mets

After college, den Dekker was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

. He made his pro debut that summer with the

Gulf Coast League Mets The Florida Complex League Mets are a Rookie-level affiliate for the New York Mets, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Mets. The team plays its home games ...

, hitting .278 with five RBIs in five games before being promoted to the

Savannah Sand Gnats The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. They were a member of the A-level South Atlantic League. The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the New York Mets in their final nine seasons. The team relocated ...

. In 2011, den Dekker played for the St. Lucie Mets and

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mirab ...

. He was invited to spring training in 2012. In 2013, den Dekker received his third invitation to the Mets Spring training camp. He played in a career-high 19 games and posted a .205 batting average as he went 9-for-44 with one home run and seven runs batted in while striking out 16 times. On March 24, den Dekker broke his right wrist attempting to make a play on a fly ball hit by Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson. Matt den Dekker - March 7, 2014 - 4

On August 27, the Mets promoted den Dekker to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 29. He hit his first MLB home run on September 1, off

Ross Ohlendorf Curtis Ross Ohlendorf (born August 8, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, and Ci ...

of the

. For the season, he batted .207/.270/.276.

Washington Nationals

On March 30, 2015, the Mets traded den Dekker to the Washington Nationals for pitcher

Jerry Blevins Jerry Richard Blevins (born September 6, 1983), nicknamed Gordo (Spanish for "fat"), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Blevins was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, and made ...

. Den Dekker was optioned to the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

at the end of Spring Training on April 1, 2016. He was recalled on April 6 when

Ben Revere Ben Daniel Revere (born May 3, 1988) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Angels. ...

was placed on the disabled list. After the Nationals optioned him back to Syracuse later in the season, den Dekker hit just .208 before being taken off the 40-man roster and outrighted to the minors on September 3, 2016. For the season, he batted .176/.282/.294.

Miami Marlins

During the 2016 offseason, den Dekker signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins. On May 2, 2017, he opted out of his contract, becoming a free agent.

Detroit Tigers

On May 16, 2017, den Dekker signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers. He was called up by the Tigers on June 23. On July 5, 2017, he was designated for assignment and sent outright to the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

four days later. For the season, he batted 1-for-7. After the 2017 season, den Dekker elected free agency.

Return to the New York Mets

On February 15, 2018, den Dekker returned to the New York Mets, signing a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Den Dekker had his contract selected on July 11, 2018. 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 ...

on July 27, 2018. On October 2, 2018, he elected to become a free agent.

Long Island Ducks

On March 26, 2019, den Dekker signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. On June 7, he announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Coaching career

On June 10, 2020, den Dekker was named to the coaching staff at Charleston Southern University.

References

External links

Florida Gators bioHarry Wedemeijer's international tourney stats2008 World University Championship
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Den Dekker, Matt 1987 births Living people Baseball players from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Major League Baseball outfielders New York Mets players Washington Nationals players Detroit Tigers players Florida Gators baseball players Gulf Coast Mets players Savannah Sand Gnats players St. Lucie Mets players Binghamton Mets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Las Vegas 51s players American people of Dutch-Indonesian descent New Orleans Baby Cakes players Syracuse Chiefs players Toledo Mud Hens players Long Island Ducks players Charleston Southern Buccaneers baseball coaches