Matthew Raymond Lindstrom (born February 11, 1980) is an American former 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 ...

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 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), ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies,

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 ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

College career

Lindstrom played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho).

Professional career

New York Mets

Lindstrom was selected by 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 ...

in the 10th round of the 2002 MLB draft. He made his professional debut at Rookie League Kingsport and posted an 0–6 record with a 4.84

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in twelve games with eleven games as a starting pitcher. He began next year at Single-A

Capital City A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

and was dominant, as his 2.86 ERA and 7.94 K/9 rate showed. This earned him a promotion to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

where Lindstrom would finish out the season well, as he compiled a 7–3 record with a 3.44 ERA. In , Lindstrom was promoted to St. Lucie where, at 24, he compiled a 5–5 record with a 3.73 ERA in fourteen starts. His

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

rate was staggering, however, at 2.26 BB/9. The righty found himself back at Capital City midway through the season, where his numbers improved slightly, as he posted a 3–2 record with a 3.21 ERA and much-improved control, with a 1.61 BB/9. At age 25, Lindstrom began the season at Double-A

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, in what was determined to be a make-or-break year for his career. Lindstrom went 2–5 with an ERA of 5.40 with eye-popping walk and home run rates of 6.75 BB/9 and 1.35 HR/9 in thirty-five games (ten starts, as the troubled righty was switched to bullpen duty midway through the season).

Florida Marlins

On November 20, , Lindstrom and Henry Owens were traded to the Florida Marlins in exchange for

Jason Vargas Jason Matthew Vargas (born February 2, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets and Ph ...

and Adam Bostick. Both Lindstrom and Owens were highly regarded as a top closer candidates for the season. Lindstrom's

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

often touches 100 mph and averages in the high 90's. Playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League in the 06-07 offseason, his fastball was clocked at 102 mph. On May 17, 2007, while pitching in the 8th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 MLB season, after the controlled implosion of the Pira ...

, Lindstrom's fastball was clocked at 102 mph on the stadium scoreboard. Lindstrom picked up his first MLB win against the Brewers in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

on June 2, 2007. In the final game of the 2008 regular season, Lindstrom earned a save versus the

. He threw the final pitch during actual game-play of

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

(Tom Seaver would throw a "final pitch" during the post-game activities).

Houston Astros

On December 9, 2009, Lindstrom was dealt to the Houston Astros for minor leaguers Robert Bono, Luis Bryan and a player to be named later, which became Rule 5 draft pick Jorge Jimenez, a third baseman selected from the Red Sox organization. On March 30, 2010, Lindstrom was named the Astros' closer for the 2010 season.

Colorado Rockies

After the 2010 season, Lindstrom was traded to the Colorado Rockies for two minor league pitchers: Wes Musick and Jonnathan Aristil.

Baltimore Orioles

On February 6, 2012, Lindstrom was traded with

Jason Hammel Jason Aaron Hammel (born September 2, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, ...

to the

for starter

Jeremy Guthrie Jeremy Shane Guthrie (born April 8, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and Washington Nation ...

. He had early success, not giving up an earned run on the season until May 10, the day before he was placed on the disabled list with an injury to his right middle finger. He began his minor league rehab assignment on June 22. Lindstrom returned on June 27 and had a 2.72 ERA on the season when he was dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On August 26, 2012, Lindstrom was traded to the

for

Joe Saunders Joseph Francis Saunders (born June 16, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Saunders pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and ...

. On November 1, 2012, Lindstrom's option was declined by the

Chicago White Sox

On January 19, 2013, Lindstrom was signed to a 1-year deal by the

with a 2014 option. His 2014 option was picked up on October 31, 2013, which was worth $4 million.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On February 17, 2015, Lindstrom signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. He was released by the Angels on March 28.

Second stint with the White Sox

On April 2, 2015, he signed a minor league deal with the

. On April 9, 2015, he was assigned to AAA

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. He was later released on July 10.

International career

Lindstrom was selected for the

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

at the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference tie ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindstrom, Matt 1980 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona Diamondbacks players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Idaho Binghamton Mets players Bowie Baysox players Brooklyn Cyclones players Capital City Bombers players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Corpus Christi Hooks players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Florida Marlins players Grand Canyon Rafters players Gulf Coast Orioles players Houston Astros players Jacksonville Suns players Jupiter Hammerheads players Kingsport Mets players Major League Baseball pitchers Peoria Saguaros players Ricks Vikings baseball players St. Lucie Mets players World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2009 World Baseball Classic players