Matthew Brian Meadows (born November 21, 1975) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. Meadows pitched with 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 team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

for two years. He won 11 games in back to back seasons (1998, 1999) despite having an ERA over 5.00 in those seasons. In 2000, he was traded to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, he made 22 starts for the Padres before being traded to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. He finished the season with a record of 13-10 and an ERA of 5.13 in 33 games. In 2001, he had a 1-6 record with an ERA of 6.97 in 10 games for the Royals. He was released following the 2001 season. In 2002, Meadows signed with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. From 2003-2005, Meadows pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for the Pirates, appearing in a total of 167 games over that span. In 2006, Meadows signed with the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

. He had a 5.17 ERA in 53 games for the Devil Rays. He retired following the 2006 season from baseball. Meadows graduated from

Charles Henderson High School Charles Henderson High School is a grades 9- 12 high school located in the city of Troy, Alabama. The namesake of the school, Charles Henderson, was the governor of the state of Alabama from 1915 to 1919. After his death in 1937, Henderso ...

Troy, Alabama Troy is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Alabama, United States. It was formally incorporated on February 4, 1843. Between 1763 and 1783, the area where Troy sits was part of the colony of British West Florida.The Economy of Bri ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. In the offseason, he designates time and effort in support of the

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

' Teammates for Kids Foundation. Meadows is also involved in the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to co ...

program in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. He was originally signed by

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

scout

Bill Singer William Robert Singer (born April 24, 1944) is an American former professional baseball pitcher with a 14-year career from 1964 to 1977. He played primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–72) and the California Angels (1973–75), spending h ...

. Meadows was invited to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, but he did not make the team.

External links

1975 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Montgomery, Alabama Florida Marlins players San Diego Padres players Kansas City Royals players Pittsburgh Pirates players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Gulf Coast Marlins players Kane County Cougars players Brevard County Manatees players Portland Sea Dogs players Omaha Royals players Nashville Sounds players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub