Matt Albers
| Matt Albers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Albers pitching for the Chicago White Sox in 2016 | |||
| Free agent | |||
| Relief pitcher | |||
|
Born: January 20, 1983 Houston, Texas | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| July 25, 2006, for the Houston Astros | |||
| MLB statistics (through 2016 season) | |||
| Win–loss record | 29–37 | ||
| Earned run average | 4.38 | ||
| Strikeouts | 419 | ||
| Teams | |||
Matthew "Matt" Albers (born January 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in the MLB for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox.
High school career
In 2001, Matt Albers graduated William P. Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas. That year, in the 2001 MLB Draft, the Astros took him in the 23rd round.
Professional career
Minor leagues
Matt Albers worked his way up through the minor leagues and started 2006 at Double-A Corpus Christi, where he went 10–2 with an 2.17 ERA.
Houston Astros
In late July 2006, the Astros called him up to the Major Leagues. Matt Albers pitched a few games in relief, then made his first Major League start against the San Diego Padres on August 3, 2006.
When Matt Albers was sent back down shortly after the San Diego start, it was to AAA Round Rock. Matt returned to the Majors when rosters expanded on September 1.
In 2006, Matt Albers was named Texas League Pitcher of the Year.
Matt Albers got his first Major League win on May 5, 2007 against the Cardinals when he pitched seven and a third innings without giving up a run.
Baltimore Orioles
After being a starting pitcher for two years. Albers was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on December 12, 2007 as part of the Miguel Tejada trade. In the middle of the 2008 season he was placed on the 60-day disabled list.[1]
Boston Red Sox
On December 16, 2010, Albers signed a one-year contract with the Red Sox.[2]
On December 12, 2011, Albers signed a one-year deal to return to Boston, thus avoiding arbitration.[3]
Arizona Diamondbacks
On July 31, 2012, The Red Sox traded Albers and OF Scott Podsednik to Arizona for RP Craig Breslow.
Cleveland Indians
On December 11, 2012, Albers was traded along with RP Bryan Shaw and SP Trevor Bauer to the Cleveland Indians as part of a three-way deal involving the Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds. Drew Stubbs went from the Reds to the Indians, the Arizona Diamondbacks received RP Tony Sipp and 1B Lars Anderson from the Indians, and SS Didi Gregorius from the Reds. The Cincinnati Reds received RF Shin-Soo Choo, IF Jason Donald, and $3.5 million from Cleveland.[4]
Houston Astros (second stint)
On December 16, 2013, Albers signed a one-year contract worth $2.45 million that comes with a club option for 2015.[5] Houston declined his 2015 option on October 9, 2014, making him a free agent.[6]
Chicago White Sox
On February 13, 2015, he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.[7][8] On April 22, 2015, Albers was involved in a bench-clearing brawl against the Kansas City Royals.[9] Albers suffered a fractured finger trying to escape the fracas, which placed him on the 15-day disabled list.[10]
On January 21, 2016, Albers signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract.[11] On June 1, 2016, Albers hit a double in the 13th inning, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly.[12] It proved to be the winning run as the White Sox won against the Mets 2-1. It is known as the Albers Game.[13]
Pitching style
Albers is mainly a sinkerball pitcher, throwing it in the 93-96 mph range. He complements the sinker with a hard slider and an occasional curveball.[14]
References
- ↑ "Tejada traded to Astros, Orioles to receive five players for former AL MVP". SI.com. 2007-12-12. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
- ↑ Abraham, Peter (December 16, 2010). "Red Sox sign Albers". The Boston Globe.
- ↑ Boston Red Sox (December 12, 2011). "Red Sox sign Albers to one-year contract". boston.redsox.mlb.com.
- ↑ Meisel, Zack (2012-12-11). "Tribe, D-backs, Reds complete nine-player deal". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
- ↑ "Cleveland Indians reach 1-year deal with John Axford; Matt Albers signs with Astros Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Astros decline option on Albers". Associated Press. October 10, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
- ↑ "White Sox, Albers agree to minor league deal". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
- ↑ Merkin, Scott (February 13, 2015). "White Sox add Albers to 'pen mix with Minor League deal". MLB.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
- ↑ Padilla, Doug. "Tempers flare at Chicago, five ejected.". espn.go.com. ESPN. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- ↑ Merkin, Scott. "Albers placed on DL with fractured finger.". MLB.com. MLB.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ↑ Steve_p (2016-01-21). "White Sox re-sign Matt Albers for one-year, $2.25-million". South Side Sox. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
- ↑ Joseph, Andrew (2016-06-01). "White Sox reliever Matt Albers had the best day ever". For The Win. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
- ↑ Pinto, David (2016-06-01). "The Albers Game : baseballmusings.com". www.baseballmusings.com. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
- ↑ "PITCHf/x Player Card: Matt Albers". BrooksBaseball.net. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)