Jesus Matos

Jesus Matos

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.

• Born July 21, 1974 in San Pedro de Macoris Dominican Republic

Biographical Information

Jesus Matos pitched five years in the Colorado Rockies chain, one year in the Canadian Baseball League and six years in Serie A1.

Matos debuted professionally as a teenager in the 1997 Dominican Summer League, going only 2-8 with a 6.36 ERA for the Rockies affiliate. In 1998, he was 1-5 with a 5.22 ERA for the DSL Rockies. Coming stateside in 1999, he was 2-1 with a 5.50 ERA for the AZL Rockies. Matos spent 2000 with the AZL Rockies (5-1, 2.54). In 2001, he was on the Tri-City Dust Devils (2-1, 2.79) and the Asheville Tourists (1-1, 5.06).

Let go by Colorado, he resurfaced in 2003 with the Calgary Outlaws of the short-lived Canadian Baseball League. The Dominican hurler had a 5-2, 3.04 record, finishing 8th in the CBL in ERA. He only walked 7 in 80 innings of work while leading the loop with 79 strikeouts. That earned him Pitcher of the Year honors.

When the CBL folded, Matos signed with Italeri Bologna in Italy. In 2004, he put on an impressive display, posting a 14-2, 1.20 record with 150 strikeouts and 24 walks in 127 IP. He then was 2-2 in the playoffs with a 1.20 ERA. He tied former major leaguer Jaime Navarro for the strikeout lead, was one behind Navarro in strikeouts and .04 behind ERA leader David Rollandini. He pitched 16 shutout innings for Bologna in the semifinals, winning two games, as they beat Parma.

In 2005, the right-hander was even more dominant. His record was 9-3, 0.88. In 122 2/3 IP, he allowed only 11 walks and 72 hits (.171 average) while striking out 141. He led Serie A1 in strikeouts and had the lowest ERA in 27 years. He allowed a 410 OPS, over 100 points ahead of runner-up Riccardo De Santis. Despite being third in innings pitched, he had the fewest walks of anybody who qualified for the ERA title. He tied Daniel Newman for 7th in wins. In the playoffs, he was 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA. He pitched 17 shutout innings in Games One and Seven in the finals to help Bologna top San Marino for the title.

Matos continued to shine in 2006. He went 7-4 with a 1.47 ERA, walking 15 and fanning 136 in 110 innings. He was second to ex-major leaguer Brian Looney in ERA, led in strikeouts for the third straight year and tied Navarro, De Santis, Cody Cillo and Junior Oberto for 5th in wins. He was named Best Pitcher of the 2006 European Cup.

In 2007, Jesus was 10-3 with a 1.77 ERA for Bologna. He was third in ERA behind Oberto and Javier J. Ortiz, led in wins, was third in lowest opponent average (.192, trailing Matteo D'Angelo and Oberto), was second with 89 strikeouts (trailing Juan Figueroa) and walked only 14 in 91 2/3 IP.

During 2008, Matos was 7-2 with a 1.84 ERA. He fanned 82 and walked 14 in 83 innings. He was 7th in the league in ERA, third in strikeouts and tied with Fabio Betto for 4th in wins. In the Matino phase of the 2009 European Cup, Matos held FC Barcelona to one run in 9 innings, fanning 10 and allowing four hits in a win over Pedro Pablo Belmonte. In the final phase of the Cup, he struck out 8 and allowed only 3 hits in 8 shutout innings against the Amsterdam Pirates; he tied Jeff Farnsworth for the best ERA in the round.

Sources:

• 2002-2007 Baseball Almanacs
• Baseball.it
• Mister Baseball
• Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database
• 2009 European Cup in Matino