Matthew Gregory Vierling (born September 16, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

for the

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. The

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

selected Vierling in the fifth round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In ad ...

, and he made his MLB debut with them in 2021.

Early life

Vierling was born in

St. Louis Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

. His father was a former college football player for the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

. Both Matt and his younger brother Mark were dedicated baseball players throughout their childhoods. They played for one season together in 2015 on the

varsity team In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...

for

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and ...

in St. Louis where Matt led the Cadets to the Class 5 Missouri state high school baseball championship. Matt, a senior, had been moved from his usual fielding position of

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 c ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

, next to his brother at second base. That year, Vierling led Christian Brothers in most offensive metrics, batting .451 with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s, 32

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) 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 the ba ...

(RBIs), and 31

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

. He also had an 8–0

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

as a pitcher, with a 2.07

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 numb ...

(ERA).

College career

Vierling was selected in the 30th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks f ...

by his hometown St. Louis Cardinals, but did not sign with the team and honored his commitment to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Vierling attended the

, and played college baseball for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

for three seasons. As a sophomore, he batted .330 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs and was named third team All- Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). After his sophomore year, he played for the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fie ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

, where he batted .182. Vierling was named second team All-ACC as a junior after hitting for a .310 average with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Minor leagues

The

selected Vierling in the fifth round of the

. After signing with the team, he was assigned to the short-season

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were ...

. Vierling batted .420 in 12 games and was then promoted to the Class A

Lakewood Blue Claws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locati ...

. He spent the 2019 season with the

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A follow ...

. Vierling did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. After starting the 2021 season at the Phillies' alternate training site, Vierling was assigned to the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils to begin the minor league season. He was promoted to the Class AAA

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in th ...

after hitting .345 with 6 home runs and 16 RBIs in 24 games with Reading.

Major leagues (2021–2022)

On June 19, 2021, Vierling was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his Major League debut that day as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American ...

, hitting a single to right field in his first at-bat off of

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

reliever Jarlin García while also stealing second base and scoring a run. He hit his first Major League home run on September 25, 2021, in Philadelphia in a 3–0 win over 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 (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

. In 2021, he had the fastest sprint speed of all major league first basemen, at 29.2 feet/second. On June 7, 2022, he was recalled to the Phillies from AAA affiliate, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, and hit the game-winning home run off of Josh Hader. Vierling's first multi home run game was on June 17, 2022, against the Washington Nationals. On September 21, 2022, Vierling went 5-for-5, including his first walk-off hit in the 10th inning, in a 4-3 win against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the 2022 regular season he batted .246/.297/.351 in 325 at bats, with six home runs, 32 RBIs, and seven steals. He had the fastest sprint speed of all Phillies players, at 29.6 feet/second. He played 61 games in center field, 37 in right field, 30 in left field, four at second base, and two at first base. As a center fielder, he set up further away from home plate than any other major leaguer, at a depth of 332 feet.

Detroit Tigers

On January 7, 2023, the Phillies traded Vierling, infielder Nick Maton, and catcher

Donny Sands Donny Sands (born May 16, 1996) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Early life and career Sands was born in Tucson, Ari ...

to the

for pitcher Gregory Soto and infielder

Kody Clemens Kody Alec Clemens (born May 15, 1996) is an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers. Clemens is the son of sev ...

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vierling, Matt 1996 births Living people Baseball players from St. Louis Major League Baseball outfielders Philadelphia Phillies players Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players Harwich Mariners players Williamsport Crosscutters players Lakewood BlueClaws players Clearwater Threshers players Reading Fightin Phils players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players