Matthew Aaron Grace (born December 14, 1988) is an American former 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 t ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the 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 ...
. He previously 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 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 ...
and
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
.
Career
Amateur career
Grace graduated from
Palos Verdes High School
Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, Southern California, USA (the others being Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (formerly Rolling Hills High School) and Rancho ...
and then 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 ...
at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
(UCLA) for the
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...
from 2008 to 2010. He was mostly a
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
, but started six games during his career. Over his three-year career at UCLA, he pitched in 72 games, going 4–4 with a 3.92
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) and 75
strikeouts
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
. In 2009, he played
collegiate summer baseball with the
Cotuit Kettleers
The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League.
Washington Nationals
![Matt Grace Nationals spring 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Matt_Grace_Nationals_spring_2015.jpg)
Grace was drafted by 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 ...
in the eighth 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 ...
. He was converted into a starting pitcher with the Nationals and made his professional debut that season with the
Gulf Coast Nationals
The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The ...
. After spending three seasons without success starting, Grace was moved back to relieving before the 2013 season. Grace spent 2014 with the Double-A
Hagerstown Suns
The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home ga ...
and Triple-A
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 ...
.
Grace made his major league debut with the Nationals on April 22, 2015, pitching a scoreless inning in relief against 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 ...
. After an outing against the
Cincinnati Reds on May 31, 2015, in which he gave up four runs without recording an out, the Nationals optioned Grace back to Syracuse. Grace spent most of the remainder of the
2015 season and then the
2016 season with the Chiefs, being promoted for brief stints in both seasons after rosters expanded in September.
In the
2017 season, a shaky first-half performance by the Nationals' bullpen and a string of injuries to major league pitchers meant Grace served as a regular up-and-down reliever, shuttling between the Nationals and the Chiefs as needed. On July 14, 2017, Grace was called upon with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning of a 5–0 game against the Reds, in his first appearance at
Great American Ball Park
Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It served as the home stadium of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), and opened on March 31, 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), the Reds ...
since May 31, 2015, and induced a game-ending groundout to secure his first major league save.
On August 30, 2019, the Nationals designated Grace for assignment after he posted a 6.36 earned run average across innings in 51 appearances during the
2019 season. He was outrighted to the Class-AAA
Fresno Grizzlies
The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in d ...
after clearing waivers. He elected free agency on October 1, 2019.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Grace signed a minor league contract with the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
, who invited to major league spring training, on November 18, 2019. The Diamondbacks added Grace to the active roster on August 19, 2020. On August 27, 2020, Grace was designated for assignment after he posted a 54.00 earned run average across 1 inning over 3 games.
Grace elected free agency on October 6, 2020.
References
External links
UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Matt
1988 births
Living people
Baseball players from Torrance, California
Major League Baseball pitchers
Washington Nationals players
Arizona Diamondbacks players
UCLA Bruins baseball players
Cotuit Kettleers players
Gulf Coast Nationals players
Vermont Lake Monsters players
Hagerstown Suns players
Potomac Nationals players
Harrisburg Senators players
Syracuse Chiefs players
Mesa Solar Sox players