Luis David Matos (born October 30, 1978) is a former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He played in

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), ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

between 2000–06 and briefly for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

in late 2006. He most recently played for the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Venu ...

in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He bats and throws right-handed.

Career as a player

Matos was considered to be injury prone, as he has had only 3 seasons with over 300 at bats and one with 400 or more. Some in the Orioles organization felt he never reached his potential except for 2003 when he had 13

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 15 stolen bases and had a

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 ...

of .303. Matos is considered to be a good center fielder, but has an average arm. After losing his position as starting center fielder with the Orioles to

Corey Patterson Donald Corey Patterson (born August 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. Currently, he is the manager of the Brookhaven Bucks in the Sunbelt Baseball League. He is the older brother of infielder Eric Patterson, a ...

, Matos 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 ...

on July 6, 2006. He signed with the Nationals as a free agent on July 14, 2006. On August 11, 2006, he was unconditionally released by the Nationals. On January 23, 2007, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was released on March 30, 2007. Matos then signed a minor league contract 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 ...

on August 20, 2007. In 14 games with the Mets Triple-A affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs, he batted .204 with 1 home run and 4 RBI. In 2008, Matos played in the

for the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

. In 88 games, he hit .289 with 6 home runs, 44 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. In December 2008, he signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins, but returned to Yucatán without playing for them. He joined Campeche for the 2011 season.

Career as a manager

In 2015, he was hired as an assistant coach for the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

but was promoted to manager when the original manager left to fill a vacancy with the Dodgers California League team. The following season, he became a coach for the AAA

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ba ...

of the Pacific Coast League. In 2016, he debuted as manager in the

Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC) is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico; it is colloquially referred to as the Puerto Rican Winter League. Consisting of seven teams as of the 2020–21 season, the league's ...

, the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico, with the Criollos de Caguas. In January 2017, he won the league championship with the Criollos by defeating the Cangrejeros de Santurce. In February 2017, he managed the Criollos to a championship in the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

when they defeated Mexico 1–0 in 10 innings. It was the first Caribbean Series title for Puerto Rico since 2000. By winning his second consecutive Caribbean Series in as many tries in 2018, Matos tied the record of consecutive titles held solely by

Nap Reyes Napoleón Aguilera Reyes (November 24, 1919 – September 15, 1995) was a Major League Baseball third baseman–first baseman who played for the New York Giants from 1943 to 1945, and again in 1950. A native of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, ...

of Tigres de Marianao for six decades. In July 2021, Matos was appointed manager of the

team

. He led the team to LMB Championship Series, where they fell to the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

in 7 games. Matos returned for the beginning of the 2022 season, but was later dismissed following a 14–19 start.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Luis 1978 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Bluefield Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Caribbean Series managers Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Orioles players Indianapolis Indians players Leones de Yucatán players Major League Baseball center fielders Minor league baseball coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Mexican League baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers New Orleans Zephyrs players Ottawa Lynx players Sportspeople from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Piratas de Campeche players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Rochester Red Wings players Washington Nationals players 2006 World Baseball Classic players Bravos de Margarita players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Venezuela