Matthew Thomas DeSalvo (born September 11, 1980) 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), ...

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 made his major league debut with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

on May 7, , against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

going 7 innings and only giving up 3 hits.

Career

DeSalvo graduated from Union Area High School in

New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is northwest of Pittsburgh, and near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, just southeast of Youngstown, Ohio. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, ...

, in 1998, and

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, a ...

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Ma ...

, with a bachelor's degree in environmental science, in 2003. He holds the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

record for career wins (53), strikeouts in a season (205), and strikeouts in a career (603.) His records for career wins and career strikeouts are NCAA All-Division records. DeSalvo was inducted into the

National College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...

in July 2016, becoming the first Division III pitcher inducted. DeSalvo was an All-League player for the Delaware Cows of the Great Lakes League, He also played for the

Danbury Westerners The Danbury Westerners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Danbury, Connecticut. The team, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, plays their home games at Rogers Park. The team played its inaugural season in 1995. Th ...

of the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

New York Yankees

DeSalvo was signed as an undrafted

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 ...

by the

in . In , he posted a 9-5 record and a 3.02

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) in 24 starts with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

. In , his control deserted him, as he averaged 15 and 7.9 walks per 9 innings in, respectively, 78 innings at Trenton and innings at Triple-A Columbus Clippers. In the minor leagues from 2003–06, he averaged 7 hits, 5 walks, and 8 strikeouts per 9 innings. On January 26, 2007, DeSalvo 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 ...

. He cleared waivers, and was sent outright to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on February 1. DeSalvo made his major league debut for the Yankees on May 7, 2007, against the Seattle Mariners. He pitched 7 innings giving up 3 hits and 1 run, but received a no decision in the Yankees' 3-2 loss. On May 13, 2007, DeSalvo got his first MLB win against the Mariners. He went innings with 2 strikeouts, while only giving up 7 hits and 2 runs.

Atlanta Braves

On January 5, , he 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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. On August 15, he was called up from the Richmond Braves to replace

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

on the Braves roster, and was briefly used in the bullpen before being sent back down on August 23. DeSalvo was released on September 4 after refusing an outright assignment to the minors.

New York Mets

On January 29, , he signed a minor league deal with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He was released by the Mets on April 4.

Tampa Bay Rays

On May 25, 2009, DeSalvo was signed to a minor league deal by the

Tampa Bay 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 v ...

. On August 12, 2009 DeSalvo was released by the

Florida Marlins

On August 15, 2009, DeSalvo signed a minor league contract with the

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 fran ...

. On May 3, 2010, DeSalvo was released by the Florida Marlins.

York Revolution

On August 15, 2010, he signed and was activated by the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He started that same day against the Lancaster Barnstormers. He pitched 5 innings, striking out 7 and giving up 6 earned runs. He was the winning pitcher thanks to an 18 run outburst by the York team. On February 10, 2011, he signed a contract with the York Revolution. Despite being injured for much of the second half, he finished the season third in the Atlantic League in strikeouts with 108 and fourth in ERA at 3.89. He returned to pitch an inning in the final regular season game. He then pitched in both the divisional series win against Lancaster and the championship series win vs. Long Island. He was on the mound when the final out was recorded.

Lamigo Monkeys

DeSalvo signed with the Lamigo Monkeys of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

for the 2012 season.

Personal life

DeSalvo is an avid reader. He has a reading list with over 400 titles, and has read about 200 so far, including

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

' ''Myth of Sisyphus'' and

Christa Wolf Christa Wolf (; née Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist.
Barbara Gard ...

's ''In Search of Christa.'' He now lives in Union Township with his wife, Emily DeSalvo

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desalvo, Matt 1980 births Living people Baseball players from Pennsylvania Major League Baseball pitchers Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Columbus Clippers players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Richmond Braves players New York Yankees players Atlanta Braves players Marietta Pioneers baseball players New Orleans Zephyrs players Durham Bulls players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players York Revolution players People from New Castle, Pennsylvania National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees