Matthew Paul Clement (born August 12, 1974) is a former

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), ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

. Clement played for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

(–),

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

(),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(–) and

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 ...

(–). While on the Red Sox active roster, he was injured all of the 2007 season. He batted and threw right-handed. Clement had a

sinking fastball In baseball, a sinker or sinking fastball is a type of fastball which has significant downward and horizontal movement and is known for inducing ground balls. Pitchers capable of utilizing the sinker are able to throw the pitch almost exclusivel ...

in the low 90s and a hard

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

he mixed with a four-seamer and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. In nine seasons, Clement won 87 games and lost 86, and was 1–2 in post-season play, going 1–1 with the Cubs in 2003 and 0–1 with Boston in 2005. His win in Game 4 of the

2003 National League Championship Series The 2003 National League Championship Series (NLCS) was a Major League Baseball playoff series played from October 7 to 15 to determine the champion of the National League, between the Central Division champion Chicago Cubs and the wild-card qua ...

at Florida brought the Cubs within one game of the pennant. He held opposing batters to a .233

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 ...

from 2002 to 2005, while posting a 47–42 record and a 3.99

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

Baseball career

In 2000, Clement led the major leagues in walks (125), and led the National League and

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

es three times between 2000 and 2003. In June 2004, Clement was 6-2 and a candidate to be named to the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

. But in his next six starts before the break, Clement went 0–4, despite a 2.15 ERA. His

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

support in those starts was just 1.19 runs per game. He finished with a 3.68 ERA but went 9-13 for the Cubs, who scored only 79 runs in his 30 starts (which is 2.63 runs of support per game, the sixth-lowest mark in the NL). Against

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

teams in interleague play, Clement had a 7–7 record with a 3.60 ERA in 19 starts. As a member of the Boston Red Sox in the 2005 season, Clement was named as an All-Star Game selection for the first time in his big league career, replacing injured Blue Jays pitcher

Roy Halladay Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (May 14, 1977 – November 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nicknam ...

. Clement's record was 10-2 before the All-Star break, and he finished the season at 13–6 with a 4.57 ERA. On July 26, 2005, Clement was struck in the head by a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

from

Carl Crawford Carl Demonte Crawford (born August 5, 1981), nicknamed "The Perfect Storm", is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He ba ...

of the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

. Clement made just 12 starts in 2006, posting a 5–5 record with a 6.61 ERA, before having season ending shoulder surgery in September. He was rehabilitated at the Red Sox extended

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

complex in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, but did not make a major league appearance in the 2007 season. On January 3, , Clement was signed to a major league contract with 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 hav ...

. The Cardinals' team doctor said that Clement was healthy and would be able to begin the season playing regularly. The Cardinals cited his recent rehabilitation and physical as reasons for adding him to the starting rotation for the 2008 season with no expected limitations upon reporting to Jupiter, Florida for spring training. However, Clement would begin the year on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

after making no appearances in Spring training. On June 3, Clement made a minor-league rehab start at Single-A Palm Beach, allowing only 1 hit over six innings. He was released by the Cardinals on August 2. Clement signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

on December 12, 2008 and was invited to Spring training. After being unable to make a spot in the rotation, Clement announced his retirement from baseball on April 5, 2009.

Personal life

, Clement identified as an

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

. After retiring from baseball, Clement permanently moved back to his hometown of Butler, Pennsylvania, where he became the head coach of the boys' basketball team at his high school alma mater, Butler Senior High School. He also was part of an ownership group that purchased the

Butler BlueSox The Butler BlueSox are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Butler, Pennsylvania, in the United States. They are a member of the Tri-State Collegiate League and were formerly a member of the East Division of the summer collegiate Prospect ...

. He still considers himself a

fan.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Matt 1974 births Living people San Diego Padres players Florida Marlins players Chicago Cubs players Boston Red Sox players American League All-Stars Baseball players from Pennsylvania Major League Baseball pitchers People from McCandless, Pennsylvania Arizona League Padres players Spokane Indians players Idaho Falls Braves players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Clinton LumberKings players Mobile BayBears players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Palm Beach Cardinals players Springfield Cardinals players Memphis Redbirds players People from Butler, Pennsylvania

Baseball career

Personal life

See also

References

External links