Matthew Thomas Daley (born June 23, 1982) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played 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 ...

for the

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

and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. He retired after the 2014 season and is now a professional scout for the Yankees.

Early life

Daley was born in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York, and raised in

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead ...

, where he graduated from Garden City High School in 2000 after helping GCHS win the New York State Class B baseball championship. Daley attended

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

. He pitched for Bucknell's baseball team and had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

while in college. He was a member of

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek-letter organization founded in North America ...

. He graduated with a degree in accounting and economics.

Baseball career

Colorado Rockies

Daley was signed as an amateur free agent by the

on June 11, 2004. Daley made his Minor League debut in 2004 with the

Casper Rockies Casper (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics, earlier CASPer or "CMSENS") is an admissions test developed by Harold Reiter and Kelly Dore. It was made for the McMaster University's Program for Educational Research and De ...

. He spent 2005 with the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It is located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different ...

, and split 2006 between the

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the Central Valley. They ...

and the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

. He spent the 2007 season with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. Daley spent the 2008 season with two teams, playing for the Drillers and the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

, going 4–6 in 63 games in Tulsa and Colorado Springs. He made his major league debut on April 25, 2009, against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, pitching 1 inning and getting his first

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

. Daley went from July 8 to August 16 without letting up a single run. His inning scoreless streak was the longest by a Rockies reliever in 2009. Daley split the 2011 season between Triple-A Colorado Springs and the Rockies. He had

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...

surgery in August, and missed the entire 2012 season.

New York Yankees

After the 2011 season, Daley signed a minor league contract with the

, receiving an invitation to spring training. The Yankees promoted Daley to the major leagues on September 6, 2013, and he made his first appearance with the Yankees that night. On September 26, 2013, Daley was the pitcher that replaced

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and " ...

in Rivera's last career game. After the season, Daley was non-tendered by the Yankees, making him a free agent. He was re-signed to a minor league deal on December 19, 2013. Daley began the 2014 season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and was promoted to the major leagues on April 19 replacing Cesar Cabral who had been designated for assignment after hitting 3 batters and being ejected in the previous night's game. Daley pitched 1.1 innings that night and had 6 runs (4 earned) scored against him. He was designated for assignment the next day, but cleared waivers and went back to Scranton. He was called back up to the major leagues in May, and optioned back to the minors on July 12. He was called up to the Yankees again on August 4, but designated for assignment four days later. The Yankees released Daley on September 2. Daley retired at the end of the 2014 season due to shoulder issues and was hired by the Yankees as a professional scout.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daley, Matt 1982 births Living people Asheville Tourists players Bucknell Bison baseball players Casper Rockies players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Modesto Nuts players New York Yankees players New York Yankees scouts Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Baseball players from Queens, New York Tampa Yankees players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Trenton Thunder players Tulsa Drillers players Garden City High School (New York) alumni