Matthew Thomas Pagnozzi (born November 10, 1982) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who 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 St. Louis Cardinals,

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

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 ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, and

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 ...

. Pagnozzi attended Highland High School in

Gilbert, Arizona Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located southeast of Phoenix within the city's metropolitan area. Incorporated on July 6, 1920, Gilbert was once known as the "Hay Shipping Capital of the World". It is the fifth-larg ...

, and then Central Arizona College. The St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the eighth round of the 2003 June amateur draft as the 245th pick overall.

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Pagnozzi made his

debut with the New Jersey Cardinals of the New York–Penn League. By 2008, he had advanced to the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

, the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. In September

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, the Cardinals called him up to the major leagues when rosters expanded. He made his MLB league debut on September 29, 2009, appearing as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

and drawing a walk. Pagnozzi hit his first and only major league

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 September 28,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, against the

Colorado Rockies

On November 29, 2010, Pagnozzi signed a minor league contract with the

. He was purchased on June 17, 2011.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On Wednesday September 14, 2011, Pagnozzi was claimed off waivers by the

. The Pirates had previously tried to acquire Pagnozzi in June 2011, after catchers

Ryan Doumit Ryan Matthew Doumit (born April 3, 1981) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played the first seven years of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then two for the Minnesota Twins, and one fo ...

and Chris Snyder went down with injuries. Those talks failed, and the Pirates instead received

Michael McKenry Michael Charles McKenry (born March 4, 1985), nicknamed "The Fort", is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. High school ...

from the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. Pagnozzi was set be the 52nd player to appear in a game for the Pirates in 2011, breaking the franchise record of 51 players set the year before. The record number of players to appear on the team is due to the large number of injuries sustained by the team in 2011.

Cleveland Indians

Pagnozzi signed a minor-league contract with 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 ...

on December 2, 2011. His contract included an invitation to major-league spring training.

Atlanta Braves

On December 4, 2012, Pagnozzi signed a minor league deal with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

with an invitation to spring training. He was expected to provide depth at catcher and serve as a back-up to Gerald Laird while Brian McCann missed the month of April with injury, but Pagnozzi was passed on the depth charts due to the emergence of

Evan Gattis James Evan Gattis (born August 18, 1986) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros. Gattis has also earned the nickname of "El Os ...

. As a result, Pagnozzi spent the majority of the 2013 season with AAA Gwinnett.

Houston Astros

On September 3, 2013, Pagnozzi was traded to the

for cash considerations. He was outrighted off the roster on October 2, 2013, and elected free agency the next day.

Milwaukee Brewers

Pagnozzi signed a minor league deal with the

on December 4, 2013. He played the entire 2014 season with 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 ...

, before having his contract purchased by the Brewers on September 1. He was outrighted off the roster on October 2, 2014, and elected free agency on October 12.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 6, 2014, Pagnozzi signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Personal life

His uncle, Tom Pagnozzi, was a three-time

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

winning catcher for the Cardinals from 1987 through 1998.Scout.com profile
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagnozzi, Matt 1982 births Living people Baseball players from Arizona Central Arizona Vaqueros baseball players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Columbus Clippers players Gwinnett Braves players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball catchers Memphis Redbirds players Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players New Jersey Cardinals players Palm Beach Cardinals players People from Miami, Arizona Peoria Chiefs players Pittsburgh Pirates players Reno Aces players St. Louis Cardinals players Springfield Cardinals players Toros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Madison Mallards players