Matthew Paul Riley (born August 2, 1979) was an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers.

Baseball career

He attended Sacramento City College. Riley was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round of the draft. He dominated for the Delmarva Shorebirds of the South Atlantic League at age 18, having an earned run average of 1.19 and 136

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 83 innings pitched. It was there that his

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

started becoming known as one of the best in the Orioles' organization at the time. He had similar success with the Frederick Keys of the Carolina League and the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

of the Double-A Eastern League in . He earned a callup to the Orioles in 1999, and though his ERA in three starts there was 7.36, he was still highly regarded by the Orioles due to his minor-league achievements that year. ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' listed him as the Orioles' top prospect in both 1999 and . However, in 2000, he made only two starts for the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

(then the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate), giving up 11 earned runs in 7 innings. He spent the rest of that season and the season recovering from his first

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), 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 bo ...

. He returned to playing in , but with little success. He went 4-10 at Bowie, with an ERA of 6.34. He showed signs of improvement in , going a combined 9-4 for Bowie and the Orioles' new Triple-A team in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and earning another callup to the major leagues, where he earned his first career win and had a 1.80 ERA in two starts. The season was the first season that he began in the majors, but he struggled there. In 14 appearances (13 starts), he logged a 3-4 record and a 5.62 ERA, and he was also sent back to Ottawa for ten starts. Finally, in , the Orioles traded him to the Texas Rangers during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

for Ramon Nivar. He was able to play briefly in the major leagues for Texas, but as a one-out

middle reliever In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League pri ...

rather than a starter. He accumulated an ERA of 9.95 over seven games and was then sent down to the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks. In July 2005, he had his second Tommy John surgery and missed the rest of the 2005 season. While attempting to come back from that surgery, he retore his ulnar collateral ligament and had to have a third Tommy John surgery on his left elbow. In , Riley played for the Las Vegas 51s and Jacksonville Suns in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system. Riley was released by the Dodgers on July 24, . After not playing baseball in 2009, Riley played for two independent league teams in 2010 — the Orange County Flyers and the York Revolution. He then retired from the game.

Personal life

Matt married Tiffany Hayward on January 14, 2006. They have 2 daughters together and reside in Tennessee.

References

External links

, o
The Baseball Cube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Matt 1979 births Living people Algodoneros de Guasave players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona League Rangers players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Contra Costa County, California Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Jacksonville Suns players Las Vegas 51s players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma RedHawks players Orange County Flyers players Ottawa Lynx players Sportspeople from Antioch, California Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento City Panthers baseball players Texas Rangers players York Revolution players