Matthew John Kata (born March 14, 1978) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

infielder. 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), ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Houston Astros.

Career

Kata graduated from St. Ignatius High School in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio in 1996 and attended college at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. In 1997 and 1998, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in the ninth round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft and made his major league debut for the Diamondbacks June 15, . He also played briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies in , and Texas Rangers in . Along with Robby Hammock, Alex Cintrón and

Brandon Webb Brandon Tyler Webb (born May 9, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Webb pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2003 through 2009, and, after multiple shoulder surgeries, signed with but ...

, he was one of the "Baby Backs" who were called up when a surge of injuries hit Diamondbacks veteran players in 2003. The Baby Backs were popular and contributed to a winning season, but ultimately failed to make the playoffs. Kata was signed to a minor league contract by the Texas Rangers in November 2006 and was a

non-roster invitee A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

to their 2007 spring training camp. He earned a spot on the team's opening day roster as a utility player. He appeared in 31 games for Texas, batting .186, before 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 ...

June 5 when the Rangers activated

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 ...

John Rheinecker and infielder/

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 ...

Jerry Hairston Jr. from the disabled list. After clearing waivers, he signed a minor league contract with

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

on June 15 and was recalled by the Pirates June 30. Kata became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the season. On December 21, 2007, the Colorado Rockies signed Kata to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Kata did not make the team and opted for free agency. On March 30, , Kata rejoined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization by signing a minor league contract. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros, and appeared in 40 games for the Astros in 2009; he spent the entire 2010 season with their Triple–A affiliate, the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

. Kata signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers on January 13, 2011. He played for their Pacific Coast League affiliate, which was also Round Rock, as the Express became the Rangers' Triple–A club prior to the 2011 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kata, Matt 1978 births Living people People from Fairview Park, Ohio Major League Baseball second basemen Arizona Diamondbacks players Philadelphia Phillies players Texas Rangers players Pittsburgh Pirates players Houston Astros players South Bend Silver Hawks players El Paso Diablos players Lancaster JetHawks players Tucson Sidewinders players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Louisville Bats players Indianapolis Indians players Round Rock Express players Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland) alumni Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players Chatham Anglers players Baseball players from Cuyahoga County, Ohio American people of Polish descent