Matthew Gregory Vierling (born September 16, 1996) is an American

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 ...

center fielder for the Detroit Tigers of

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). 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 ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. The Philadelphia Phillies selected Vierling in the fifth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft, and he made his MLB debut with them in 2021.

Early life

Vierling was born in St. Louis Missouri. His father was a former college football player for the Kansas Jayhawks. Both Matt and his younger brother Mark were dedicated baseball players throughout their childhoods. They played for one season together in 2015 on the

varsity team In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...

for

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and ...

in St. Louis where Matt led the Cadets to the Class 5 Missouri state high school baseball championship. Matt, a senior, had been moved from his usual fielding position of

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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

, next to his brother at second base. That year, Vierling led Christian Brothers in most offensive metrics,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.451 with three

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 ...

s, 32

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 ...

(RBIs), and 31 runs scored. He also had an 8–0

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

as a pitcher, with a 2.07

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).

College career

Vierling was selected in the 30th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks f ...

by his hometown

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 ...

, but did not sign with the team and honored his commitment to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Vierling attended the

, and played college baseball for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

for three seasons. As a sophomore, he batted .330 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs and was named third team All- Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). After his sophomore year, he played for the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he batted .182. Vierling was named second team All-ACC as a junior after hitting for a .310 average with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Minor leagues

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Vierling in the fifth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. After signing with the team, he was assigned to the short-season

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were ...

. Vierling batted .420 in 12 games and was then promoted to the Class A Lakewood Blue Claws. He spent the 2019 season with the Clearwater Threshers of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League. Vierling did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. After starting the 2021 season at the Phillies' alternate training site, Vierling was assigned to the Double-A

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

to begin the minor league season. He was promoted to the Class AAA

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

after hitting .345 with 6 home runs and 16 RBIs in 24 games with Reading.

Major leagues (2021–2022)

On June 19, 2021, Vierling was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his Major League debut that day as a pinch hitter, hitting a single to right field in his first at-bat off of

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

reliever Jarlin García while also stealing second base and scoring a run. He hit his first Major League home run on September 25, 2021, in Philadelphia in a 3–0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2021, he had the fastest sprint speed of all major league first basemen, at 29.2 feet/second. On June 7, 2022, he was recalled to the Phillies from AAA affiliate,

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, and hit the game-winning home run off of

Josh Hader Joshua Ronald Hader (born April 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers. Hader is a four-time All-Star and three-t ...

. Vierling's first multi home run game was on June 17, 2022, against the Washington Nationals. On September 21, 2022, Vierling went 5-for-5, including his first walk-off hit in the 10th inning, in a 4-3 win against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the 2022 regular season he batted .246/.297/.351 in 325 at bats, with six home runs, 32 RBIs, and seven steals. He had the fastest sprint speed of all Phillies players, at 29.6 feet/second. He played 61 games in center field, 37 in right field, 30 in left field, four at second base, and two at first base. As a center fielder, he set up further away from home plate than any other major leaguer, at a depth of 332 feet.

Detroit Tigers

On January 7, 2023, the Phillies traded Vierling, infielder

Nick Maton Nicholas Maton ( ; born February 18, 1997) is an American professional baseball utility player for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Eastern Illinois University and Lincoln Land Community College. Ma ...

, and catcher Donny Sands to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher

Gregory Soto Gregory Soto (born February 11, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, with whom he debuted for in 2019. He is a two- ...

and infielder

Kody Clemens Kody Alec Clemens (born May 15, 1996) is an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers. Clemens is the son of se ...

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vierling, Matt 1996 births Living people Baseball players from St. Louis Major League Baseball outfielders Philadelphia Phillies players Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players Harwich Mariners players Williamsport Crosscutters players Lakewood BlueClaws players Clearwater Threshers players Reading Fightin Phils players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players