Matthew Gerrit den Dekker (born August 10, 1987) is an American 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 ...

coach and former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

, who is the minor league baserunning and outfielding coach for 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 played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

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 ...

for coach Kevin O'Sullivan from 2007 to 2010 and 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 ...

(MLB) for 6 seasons from 2013 to 2018 for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and

. Den Dekker was born in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. He attended

Coral Springs Christian Academy Coral Springs Christian Academy (CSCA) was a private Christian school in Coral Springs, Florida, serving students in pre-school through 12th grade. The school was a ministry of ''First Presbyterian Church'' of Coral Springs, until the school was ...

and Westminster Academy Christian School. After graduation from high school in 2006, den Dekker enrolled at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and played outfield for the Gators, starting for four seasons. As a senior in 2010, den Dekker helped lead the Gators to the

2010 College World Series The 2010 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, June 4, 2010, as part of the 2010 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64-team double elimination tournament concluded with the 2010 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. This wa ...

. 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 ...

selected den Dekker in the sixteenth round of the

2009 Major League Baseball draft The 2009 Major League Baseball draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The drafting order is as follows: First-round selections Key Supplemental first-round selections From Baseball Americ ...

, but he elected to return to Florida for his senior season. He was then drafted in the fifth round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team picking first. ;Key ...

by the

. He played 6 years as an

in the MLB, with the Mets from 2013 to 2014, the

from 2015 to 2016, the

in 2017 before returning to the Mets in 2018. Den Dekker returned to Florida in 2019 to resume his schooling, while also becoming a student assistant coach for the Gators. In 2020, den Dekker was named the hitting and outfielding coach for the

Charleston Southern Buccaneers The Charleston Southern Buccaneers are the athletic teams that represent Charleston Southern University, located in North Charleston, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associati ...

Early life

Matt den Dekker was born in

. He has an older brother and a younger sister.

Amateur career

After his freshman year of high school, den Dekker transferred from

to Westminster Academy Christian School in Fort Lauderdale, in order to play

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

and pitch alongside his cousin, Westminster's

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

pitcher,

Kevin Chapman Kevin Chapman (born July 29, 1962) is an American actor known for playing an assortment of characters ranging from the obnoxious brother Terrence Garrity in FX's ''Rescue Me (American TV series), Rescue Me'' to street enforcer Val Savage in Clin ...

. den Dekker also played with future

teammate

Michael A. Taylor Michael Anthony Taylor (born March 26, 1991) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals, Minneso ...

at Westminster when the former was a senior and the latter was a freshman. As a junior, den Dekker finished with a .350

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and was named to the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

s All-

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

First Team. However, the few college recruiters who showed interest were mostly small schools that wanted him to pitch. Den Dekker's only Division I scholarship offer came from a

recruiter who had attended Westminster's practices and games only to scout Chapman. When Chapman signed on to play

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

, den Dekker quickly followed suit. As a freshman, he batted .234/.324/.418. As a sophomore, den Dekker hit .333/.413/.507 with 20 steals in 20 tries and 55 runs in 55 games. The center fielder was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

selection as an outfielder. Den Dekker was then chosen for Team USA's college edition. He batted .176/.375/.176 in the

2008 Haarlem Baseball Week The 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week was an international baseball competition held at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands from July 4–13, 2008. It was the 24th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Taipei, Cuba, J ...

; noted for his defense, he made one error and noted for his speed, he was thrown out in his lone attempt (gunned down by Cuban defensive legend

Ariel Pestano Ariel Osvaldo Pestano Valdés (born January 31, 1974), better known as ''El Veterano'' ("The Veteran"), is a Cuban baseball catcher, and is known as one of the greatest catchers in Cuban history. He has won both silver and gold medals in the Ol ...

in the gold medal game). Den Dekker batted .227/.292/.409 in the

2008 World University Baseball Championship The 2008 World University Baseball Championship was an under-23 international college baseball tournament that was held from July 17 to 27, 2008. The final game was held on July 27, 2008 in Brno, Czech Republic. It was the 4th time the University C ...

, and did not attempt a steal. Den Dekker hit .296/.409/.412 as a junior with 17 steals in 18 tries. He was still rated 92nd overall by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' among prospects entering the

– then was not selected until the 475th overall pick, when the

selected him in the 16th round. He returned to Florida for his senior year, hitting .358 with a team-leading 64 runs scored and a career-best 49

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

as the Gators reached the

Professional career

New York Mets

After college, den Dekker was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

. He made his pro debut that summer with the

Gulf Coast League Mets The Florida Complex League Mets are a Rookie-level affiliate for the New York Mets, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Mets. The team plays its home games at ...

, hitting .278 with five RBIs in five games before being promoted to the

Savannah Sand Gnats The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. They were a member of the A-level South Atlantic League. The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the New York Mets in their final nine seasons. The team relocated t ...

. In 2011, den Dekker played for the

St. Lucie Mets The St. Lucie Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and play their home games at Clover Park. The Mets have been members ...

and

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mi ...

. He 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 ...

in 2012. In 2013, den Dekker received his third invitation to the Mets Spring training camp. He played in a career-high 19 games and posted a .205 batting average as he went 9-for-44 with one home run and seven runs batted in while striking out 16 times. On March 24, den Dekker broke his right wrist attempting to make a play on a fly ball hit by

outfielder Austin Jackson. On August 27, the Mets promoted den Dekker to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 29. He hit his first MLB home run on September 1, off

Ross Ohlendorf Curtis Ross Ohlendorf (born August 8, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers (basebal ...

of the

. For the season, he batted .207/.270/.276.

Washington Nationals

On March 30, 2015, the Mets traded den Dekker to the Washington Nationals for pitcher

Jerry Blevins Jerry Richard Blevins (born September 6, 1983), nicknamed Gordo (Spanish for "fat"), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Blevins was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, and made ...

. Den Dekker was optioned to the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

at the end of Spring Training on April 1, 2016. He was recalled on April 6 when

Ben Revere Ben Daniel Revere (born May 3, 1988) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Angels. ...

was placed on the disabled list. After the Nationals optioned him back to Syracuse later in the season, den Dekker hit just .208 before being taken off the 40-man roster and outrighted to the minors on September 3. For the season, he batted .176/.282/.294. He elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Miami Marlins

On November 30, 2016, den Dekker signed a minor league contract with the

Miami 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

organization. On May 2, 2017, he opted out of his contract, becoming a free agent.

Detroit Tigers

On May 16, 2017, den Dekker signed a minor league deal with the

. He was called up by the Tigers on June 23. On July 5, 2017, he was designated for assignment and sent outright to the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

four days later. For the season, he batted 1-for-7. After the 2017 season, den Dekker elected free agency.

Return to the New York Mets

On February 15, 2018, den Dekker returned to the New York Mets, signing a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Den Dekker had his contract selected on July 11, 2018. He 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 ...

on July 27, 2018. On October 2, 2018, he elected to become a free agent.

Long Island Ducks

On March 26, 2019, den Dekker signed with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

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 ...

. On June 7, he announced his retirement from professional baseball. In 29 games he hit .268/.336/.446 with 2 home runs, 12 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

Coaching career

On June 10, 2020, den Dekker was named to the coaching staff at

Charleston Southern University Charleston Southern University (CSU) is a private university in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). History Charleston Southern Universit ...

Personal life

Den Dekker's cousin

is a former professional baseball player.

References

External links

Florida Gators bioHarry Wedemeijer's international tourney stats2008 World University Championship
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Den Dekker, Matt 1987 births Living people Baseball players from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Major League Baseball outfielders New York Mets players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Detroit Tigers players Florida Gators baseball players Gulf Coast Mets players Savannah Sand Gnats players St. Lucie Mets players Binghamton Mets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Las Vegas 51s players American people of Dutch-Indonesian descent New Orleans Baby Cakes players Syracuse Chiefs players Toledo Mud Hens players Long Island Ducks players Charleston Southern Buccaneers baseball coaches Coral Springs Christian Academy alumni Westminster Academy (Florida) alumni