Matthew Christopher Whiteside (born August 8, 1967) is an American former

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 ...

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 graduated from Charleston High School in Charleston, lettering in baseball,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, in 1986, and then attended

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

, graduating with a degree in physical education. While at Arkansas, Whiteside joined

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate mem ...

fraternity. Standing at 6'2" and weighing 205 pounds, the

right-hander In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply le ...

was drafted by the Texas Rangers 661st overall, in the 25th round of the draft. Whiteside spent nearly three successful seasons in the minors before making his Major League debut on August 5, , at the age of 24. His first appearance came against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

, pitching a perfect inning. In Whiteside's first season in the majors, he made 20 appearances, all in relief in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

, posting a 1.93

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

and

saving Saving is income not spent, or deferred Consumption (economics), consumption. In economics, a broader definition is any income not used for immediate consumption. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recurring Cost, costs. Methods ...

four games. From to , the lowest ERA Whiteside had in a season was 4.08, while the highest was 13.91. He started only one game in his major league career, on July 20, . Whiteside pitched four innings, giving up six

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

and five

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s and received a no-decision. After 13 games in the majors in 2001 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 ...

(who picked him up as a

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 ...

), Whiteside bounced around in the minors and international baseball (

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in ) until . By that time, he had established himself as a very successful

closer Closer or Closers may refer to: Film and television * ''Closer'' (2000 film), a documentary by Tina Gharavi * ''Closer'' (2004 film), a 2004 adaptation of Patrick Marber's play (see below), directed by Mike Nichols * ''The Closer'', a 1990 mo ...

in the minors, saving 38 games in with 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 ...

, making the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

All-Star team, and saving 27 games in for the

Syracuse SkyChiefs The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which opened in 1997 and has ...

. After the latter showing, Whiteside was called up to the majors for a two-game stint with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. He struggled in that short time—in 3 innings, he gave up eight earned runs (six hits, three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, five walks, one hit batter) for an ERA of 19.64. On July 15, 2005, Whiteside was suspended for 15 games for violating minor league baseball's steroid policy. He spent with the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

, posting a 1.69 ERA in 20 games, collecting 10 saves. In 1996, he served as a guest judge at the

Miss USA Pageant Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. In ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Baseball Reference (Minor, Japanese and Winter leagues)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteside, Matt 1967 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American sportspeople in doping cases Arkansas State Red Wolves baseball players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Missouri Butte Copper Kings players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Gastonia Rangers players Indianapolis Indians players Indios de Mayagüez players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Naranjeros de Hermosillo players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Oklahoma City 89ers players People from Charleston, Missouri Philadelphia Phillies players Richmond Braves players San Diego Padres players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toronto Blue Jays players Tulsa Drillers players Yokohama BayStars players 20th-century American sportsmen