Matthew James Craig (born April 16, 1981, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

) is a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

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 ...

organization. He was drafted by the

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

in 2002 in the third round after playing three years for the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

Spiders.Matt Craig Bio
MiLB.com, Retrieved on August 11, 2007 Craig's description of himself is a "switch hitter ... that can play first and third, and can hit for a good average and assome power. "

Biography

A six-foot three-inch two hundred pound corner infielder, Craig attended Trinity Christian Academy in

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The 2020 census population was 16,661. Addison is immediately north of Dallas. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipalities labeled "towns" with a popul ...

.Matt Craig Bio
TheBaseballCube.com, Retrieved on August 11, 2007 Craig is a switch-hitter, and throws right-handed. At the end of the 2008 season, the 27-year-old Craig had only had brief stints at the Triple-A level, never appearing on a 40-man roster with four years of play at the Double-A level.
/ref>

Career

Craig played for three seasons at Richmond, batting .375 with 19 home runs and 84 RBIs in just 66 games in 2002. After being drafted by the Cubs, he was assigned to the

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in unincorporated Ada County, Idaho, near ...

, one of the single A affiliates of the Cubs. Craig moved up the Cubs minor league system, playing for the

Daytona Cubs Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Day ...

and the

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Marin ...

during the 2003–07 seasons, and was promoted to the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

on July 25, 2007, based on his strong performance with the Smokies including a .514 slugging percentage. Craig was one of seven Cubs minor league players who were suspended for 15 games at the beginning of the 2005 season for testing positive for a banned substance. Craig appealed his suspension, but it was not overturned despite third-party drug tests coming back negative. As a result of this experience, Craig has taken considerable steps to clear his name by voluntarily taking drug tests. Since the 2005 suspensions, the Cubs organization has had no players given a suspension as a result of intentional work to educate the players and raise their awareness of possible banned substances. Following strong performance with West Tennessee in 2005, the Cubs recognizing their depth in Craig's primary positions of first and third base, decided to retrain Craig as a catcher and sent him back to Daytona where he never suited up behind the plate. Matt Craig was named PCL Batter of the Week for the week of August 6–12, for a week which included an average of .522, nine RBIs, 2 home runs and a slugging percentage of .957 and to the All Star Game. Craig spent the 2008 season with the Tennessee Smokies and Iowa Cubs, including time spent on the DL list.Smokies still struggling for a clutch hit, lose 2-1 : Smokies Baseball : Knoxville News Sentinel
/ref> Craig spent most of 2008 Minor League camp with the Iowa AAA franchise, but received a call from the Cubs' vice president for player personnel, Oneri Fleita, at the end of camp informing him that he was going back to the Smokies, but after batting .352 as of June 1, was promoted to the AAA owa Cubswhere he primarily served as a pinch hitter batting .276 over 36 games.Craig Would Like to Stay on with Cubs Steve Holley Insidetheivy.com
/ref> Craig became a free agent at the end of the 2008 season. While Craig has indicated that he'd like to stay with the Cubs, he has spent what has been described as "an eternity in the minors" as part of the Cubs franchise over the last six years despite strong stats, including a career batting average over .280, and outperforming other players.Craig Would Like to Stay on with Cubs : Steve Holley : Insidetheivy.com
/ref> Scouts and sports commentators have noted Craig's versatility as a fielder, playing first base, third base and occasionally shortstop as well as his consistent offensive performance making Craig likely to be signed by another club. Despite being described as the headliner of the Cubs' free agents, it is unlikely that the Cubs will resign Craig due to their depth at his positions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Matt 1981 births Living people Baseball players from Dallas Boise Hawks players Daytona Cubs players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Iowa Cubs players Richmond Spiders baseball players