Matt Alexander

American baseball player

Baseball player

Matt Alexander

Outfielder
Born: (1947-01-30) January 30, 1947 (age 77) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Batted: Switch Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 23, 1973, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1981, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average	.214
Runs scored	111
Stolen bases	103

Teams
Chicago Cubs (1973–1974) Oakland Athletics (1975–1977) Pittsburgh Pirates (1978–1981)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1979)

Matthew Alexander (born January 30, 1947)^[1] is a retired Major League baseball player. He was a utility player for the Chicago Cubs 1973–1974, Oakland Athletics 1975–1977 and Pittsburgh Pirates 1978–1981. He holds the record for most appearances as a pinch runner in MLB history.^[2]

Playing career

In his later years, Alexander was used mostly as a pinch runner by manager Chuck Tanner, and so earned the sobriquet "Matt the Scat." Tanner had managed in Oakland in 1976 and brought Alexander to Pittsburgh after he became manager of the Pirates. Alexander helped the Athletics win the 1975 American League Western Division and the Pirates win the 1979 World Series. He played every non-pitching position in his major league career except catcher and first base.

In nine seasons he played in 374 games and had 168 at-bats, 111 runs, 36 hits, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 4 RBI, 103 stolen bases, 18 walks, a .214 batting average, an .294 on-base percentage, .262 slugging percentage, 44 total bases, 8 sacrifice hits and 1 intentional walk. He is one of only seven players (excluding pitchers) to have played at least 100 games and have more games played than at-bats.^[3]

References

^ "Matt Alexander Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
^ admin. "Matt Alexander – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved 2021-03-05.
^ Spatz, Lyle (2007). TheSABR Baseball List & Record Book – Baseball's Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics. United States: Simon & Schuster. p. 496. ISBN 9781416532453.

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)

Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 World Series champions

3 Phil Garner

5 Bill Madlock

6 Rennie Stennett

8 Willie Stargell (NL, NLCS, and World Series MVP)

10 Tim Foli

14 Ed Ott

15 Enrique Romo

16 Steve Nicosia

17 Lee Lacy

18 Omar Moreno

19 Jim Rooker