David Michael Matranga (born January 8, 1977) is an American former professional
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 ...
infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...
. He played parts of two seasons in
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 ...
(MLB) for the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
in 2003 and
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...
in 2005.
Career
Matranga played for the
Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate, the
Oklahoma Redhawks
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, in 2007. In January 2008, Matranga signed a minor league contract with 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 became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins in February 2009. After playing the entire season for their top farm team, the
New Orleans Zephyrs
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
, he became a free agent once again.
Matranga was the 86th player in major league history and the second player in Astros history to hit a
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
in his first plate appearance, doing so on June 27, 2003. Pinch-hitting in the ninth spot, Matranga batted in the fifth inning against
Joaquin Benoit, which tied the game 4-4, although the Rangers would rally to win 10–7.
As it turned out, it was his only major league hit, as he failed to get a hit in his next five plate appearances in MLB, with his final appearance being the lone one with the Angels in 2005. After being released by the team on July 9, 2005, he signed as a free agent with four teams over the next four years, although he never made it back to the big leagues.
After retiring at 32, Matranga became a sports agent, becoming Director of Scouting at PSI Sports Management.
See also
*
References
External links
MiLB.com Player Page*
1977 births
Living people
Major League Baseball second basemen
Houston Astros players
Los Angeles Angels players
Auburn Doubledays players
Round Rock Express players
New Orleans Zephyrs players
Arizona League Angels players
Arkansas Travelers players
Salt Lake Stingers players
Portland Beavers players
Oklahoma RedHawks players
Omaha Royals players
Baseball players from Orange, California
Pepperdine Waves baseball players
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