Matthew Thomas DeSalvo (born September 11, 1980) is a former

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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 made his major league debut with 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 ...

on May 7, , against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

going 7 innings and only giving up 3

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Career

DeSalvo graduated from Union Area High School in

New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Shenango River at the mouth of Neshannock Creek, it is northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, approximately so ...

, in 1998, and

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, United States. Its campus encompasses approximately six city blocks next to downtown Marietta and enrolls 1,200 students. History Marietta College began as the Muskin ...

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, with a bachelor's degree in environmental science, in 2003. He holds the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

record for career wins (53),

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 ...

s in a season (205), and strikeouts in a career (603.) His records for career wins and career strikeouts are NCAA All-Division records. DeSalvo was inducted into the

National College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...

in July 2016, becoming the first Division III pitcher inducted. DeSalvo was an All-League player for the Delaware Cows of the Great Lakes League, He also played for the

Danbury Westerners The Danbury Westerners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Danbury, Connecticut. The team, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, plays their home games at Rogers Park. The team played its inaugural season in 1995 ...

of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

New York Yankees

DeSalvo was signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

in . In , he posted a 9–5 record and a 3.02

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 24 starts with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

. In , his control deserted him, as he averaged 15 and 7.9 walks per 9 innings in, respectively, 78 innings at Trenton and innings at Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

. In the minor leagues from 2003 to 2006, he averaged 7 hits, 5 walks, and 8 strikeouts per 9 innings. Matt DeSalvo played 4 major league games for the New York Yankees, winning one game. Shortly afterward he was sent back to the minors to be replaced by Roger Clemens. DeSalvo made his major league debut for the Yankees on May 7, 2007, against the Seattle Mariners. He pitched 7 innings giving up 3 hits and 1 run, but received a no decision in the Yankees' 3–2 loss. On May 13, 2007, DeSalvo got his first MLB win against the Mariners. He went innings with 2 strikeouts, while only giving up 7 hits and 2 runs. On January 26, 2007, DeSalvo was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

. He cleared waivers, and was sent outright to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on February 1. DeSalvo made his major league debut for the Yankees on May 7, 2007, against the Seattle Mariners. He pitched 7 innings giving up 3 hits and 1 run, but received a no decision in the Yankees' 3–2 loss. On May 13, 2007, DeSalvo got his first MLB win against the Mariners. He went innings with 2 strikeouts, while only giving up 7 hits and 2 runs.

Atlanta Braves

On January 5, , he signed a minor league deal with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. On August 15, he was called up from the

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

to replace

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

on the Braves roster, and was briefly used in the bullpen before being sent back down on August 23. DeSalvo was released on September 4 after refusing an outright assignment to the minors.

New York Mets

On January 29, , he signed a minor league deal with the

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

. He was released by the Mets on April 4.

Tampa Bay Rays

On May 25, 2009, DeSalvo was signed to a minor league deal by the

Tampa Bay 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) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. On August 12, 2009, DeSalvo was released by the

Florida Marlins

On August 15, 2009, DeSalvo signed a minor league contract 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 ...

. On May 3, 2010, DeSalvo was released by the Florida Marlins.

York Revolution

On August 15, 2010, he signed and was activated by the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...

of the independent

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He started that same day against the Lancaster Barnstormers. He pitched 5 innings, striking out 7 and giving up 6 earned runs. He was the winning pitcher thanks to an 18 run outburst by the York team. On February 10, 2011, he signed a contract with the York Revolution. Despite being injured for much of the second half, he finished the season third in the Atlantic League in strikeouts with 108 and fourth in ERA at 3.89. He returned to pitch an inning in the final regular season game. He then pitched in both the divisional series win against Lancaster and the championship series win vs. Long Island. He was on the mound when the final out was recorded.

Lamigo Monkeys

On December 13, 2011, DeSalvo signed with the

Lamigo Monkeys The Rakuten Monkeys (), formerly known as La New Bears (2004–2010) and Lamigo Monkeys (2011–2019), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administered by the Japanese technol ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

York Revolution (second stint)

On August 23, 2014, DeSalvo signed with the

of the

. In 1 start he threw 6 innings giving up 4 hits and 4 earned runs (6.00 ERA) with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts suffering the loss. He became a free agent following the season. On August 7, 2015, DeSalvo re-signed with the Revolution. He was released the following day. In 1 start he threw 5 innings giving up 5 hits 4 earned runs (7.20 ERA) with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts and also getting a win.

Steel City Slammin' Sammies

In 2020, DeSalvo signed with the Steel City Slammin' Sammies of the Independent Washington League. In 5 starts 27 innings he struggled immensely going 2-0 with a 6.67 ERA with 20 strikeouts.

Personal life

DeSalvo is an avid reader. He has a reading list with over 400 titles, and has read about 200 so far, including

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

' ''Myth of Sisyphus'' and

Christa Wolf Christa Wolf (; Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist. She is considered one of the most important writers to emerge from the former East Germany.1980 births Living people Baseball players from New Castle, Pennsylvania Major League Baseball pitchers Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Columbus Clippers players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Richmond Braves players New York Yankees players Atlanta Braves players Marietta Pioneers baseball players New Orleans Zephyrs players Durham Bulls players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players York Revolution players National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees