Josué Matos (born March 15, 1978) is a Puerto Rican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. Matos has spent over a decade in pro baseball and has pitched at times for the

Puerto Rico national baseball team The Puerto Rico national baseball team ( es, Selección de béisbol de Puerto Rico) is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 13th in the world. Puerto Rico is the incumbent Pan American and Centra ...

. He is currently the pitching coach for the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Islan ...

Career

Playing career

Matos was picked in the 27th round of the 1996 amateur draft by 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 ...

as a draft-and-follow selection. The

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spent a season at

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then made his pro debut in 1997 with the AZL Mariners (1-0, Sv, 4.17, 50 K, 6 BB in 45 IP) and Everett AquaSox (2.08 in 2 G). The right-hander returned to the AZL Mariners for '98 and went 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA in 17 games, fanning 51 batters in 41 innings while giving up just 29 hits. In 1999, the Mayagüez native became a starter and was 9-9 with a 4.63 ERA for the

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton in the Fox Cities, and are na ...

; he struck out over 3 times as many as he walked and averaged nearly a K per inning. In the winter of 1999–2000, Josue had a 3-3, 2.79 record for the San Juan Senators of the Puerto Rican League. Returning to the US, he split time between the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

(3-3, 2.64, 93 K in 88 IP) and

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(4-5, 3.63). Matos' rise was slowed in 2001 as he missed a full season due to injury. He returned in 2002 to pitch for the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded ...

(1-0, 4.91 in 3 G) and

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

(4-7, 5.92, .300 average allowed), struggling in his AAA debut. In '03, Josue returned to the bullpen, where he excelled for San Antonio, going 7-2 with 4 saves and a 2.24 ERA in 48 outings. He held opponents to a .187 average and fanned 104 in 88 IP. In 2004, Matos moved to 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 ...

organization and pitched for the

Syracuse SkyChiefs The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which opened in 1997 and ha ...

. There, he was 7-6 with a 5.04 ERA in a starting role primarily. He led Jays farmhands in walks (56). In the winter of 2004–2005, Josue went 5-2 with a 2.63 ERA for the Gigantes de Carolina; he tied

Evan Thomas Evan Welling Thomas III (born April 25, 1951) is an American journalist, historian, and author. He is the author of nine books, including two ''New York Times'' bestsellers. Early life and career Thomas was born in Huntington, New York, and r ...

and

Jonathan Albaladejo Jonathan Albaladejo Santana ( ; born October 30, 1982) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Washington Nationals, New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as the ...

for the Puerto Rican League lead in victories. He split his time in the Jays system between Syracuse (5-3, 6.63, .313 opponent average) and the

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

(0-1, 1.45 in 9 G, .206 opponent average). He also moved to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

organization during the year, going 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 7 games for the

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spel ...

. Matos pitched for Puerto Rico in the

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but went 0-3 with a 4.76 ERA, losing to

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and

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. The rest of Puerto Rico's staff was 6-2. He did better in the 2005–2006 Puerto Rican League, going 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA for Carolina and finishing second in ERA behind Kyle Middleton. Matos was selected to pitch for Puerto Rico in the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puert ...

and pitched one game, in Puerto Rico's 12-2 upset of the

Cuban national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been d ...

. Josue relieved

Dicky Gonzalez Dicky Angel Gonzalez Vallenilla (born December 21, 1978) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Tokyo Yakult Swallo ...

to begin the bottom of the 5th. He walked Yoandy Garlobo and allowed a single to

Carlos Tabares Carlos Alberto Tabares Padilla (born July 8, 1974, in Habana Vieja) is a center fielder for Industriales of the Cuban National Series. He has also been a frequent member of the Cuban national baseball team, including appearances at the 2006 Wo ...

. He then retired

Eduardo Paret Eduardo Paret Pérez (born October 23, 1972 in Santa Clara) is a Cuban baseball player. He is a shortstop for Villa Clara of the Cuban National Series, and for the Cuban national baseball team. Paret was the starting shortstop on the Cuban t ...

on a grounder, got

Michel Enríquez Michel Enríquez Tamayo (born February 11, 1979 in Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud) is a retired Cuban baseball third baseman. Biography and career Enríquez, who plays third base for Isla de la Juventud in the Cuban National Series, led th ...

to pop up then got

Yulieski Gourriel Yulieski Gourriel Castillo (born June 9, 1984), commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Seri ...

to fly out. Willie Collazo relieved him in the 6th. In the regular season, he was with the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

(0-1, 2.31 in 2 G) and Monclova Steelers (4.15 in 1 G). He spent 2007 with the

North Shore Spirit The North Shore Spirit was a minor-league baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. The Spirit played in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (the "Can-Am League," also known as the Northeast League), an ...

(0-2, 5.74) and

Alexandria Aces The Alexandria Aces were a baseball team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. The last version of the Aces played in the United League Baseball in 2013. The Aces have played their home games at historic Bringhurst Field, which was built in 1933 for the ...

(0-1, 7.56), again failing to hold down a regular spot anywhere. The veteran hurler pitched for Puerto Rico in the

2008 Americas Baseball Cup 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of ...

, which his country won. He outdueled

Francisco Campos Francisco Machado Campos (born August 12, 1972) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He is a 15-time Mexican League All-Star and played with the Campeche Pirates for more than 20 seasons. He was born in Guaymas, Sonora. Career Th ...

of Mexico 2-1 in the opener but lasted just one inning against Panama. He went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in the event. In the 2008–2009 Puerto Rican League, Matos had a 5-2, 2.89 record for Carolina. He then won his only appearance in the 2009 Caribbean Series, tossing 5 shutout innings of 2-hit ball but walking six Licey Tigers. He is on Puerto Rico's provisional roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Coaching career

Matos was named as the pitching coach for the

Kingsport Mets The Kingsport Mets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1921 to 2020. They were located in Kingsport, Tennessee, and were last named for the team's major league affiliate, the New York Mets. The team played its home ga ...

of 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 lea ...

organization for the 2018 season.

Sources

* 1998–2009

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s
SABR database

* ttp://www.ibaf.org IBAF {{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Josue 1978 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Alexandria Aces players Arizona League Mariners players Everett AquaSox players Lancaster JetHawks players Long Island Ducks players Mexican League baseball pitchers Minor league baseball coaches New Hampshire Fisher Cats players New Haven Ravens players Newark Bears players North Shore Spirit players People from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Reading Phillies players San Antonio Missions players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tacoma Rainiers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players