Len Matuszek

Leonard James Matuszek

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 195 lb.
• School University of Toledo
• High School Archbishop Moeller High School
• Debut September 3, 1981
• Final Game April 30, 1987
• Born September 27, 1954 in Toledo, OH USA

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Biographical Information

Len Matuszek played seven years in the majors as a first baseman, third baseman and outfielder with three different teams. He was never really a regular but had one great month in 1983 when he was a September call-up with the Philadelphia Phillies and took over at first base for an unproductive Pete Rose, who had become an embarrassment at the plate by that point. Matuszek hit .275 with 6 doubles and 4 homers, slugging .525 in 28 games, helping the Phillies to a completely unexpected division title. However, having joined the team after September 1st, he was not eligible for postseason play. In 1984, with Rose gone, he got to play 101 games, although he only had 262 at-bats. He hit .248, with 17 doubles and 12 homers and his OPS+ was a solid 124, but he could never claim a full-time job.

After the 1984 season, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for three minor leaguers, but he hit just .212 in 62 games for his new team in the first half of the 1985 season and on July 9th he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for veteran first baseman Al Oliver. He hit only slightly better in L.A., at .222, and connected for just 5 homers between the two teams, but his OPS+, which was 70 overall, was actually pretty good after the trade, at 108. Both teams he had played for won their division that year, so he did get to play in the postseason for the only time of his career, getting a hit in his only at-bat in the Dodgers' loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. He bounced back with a good season in 1986, batting .261 with 9 homers in 199 at-bats, for an OPS+ of 117. However, in 1987, on an aging Dodgers team, he only got 16 plate appearances, playing his last game at the end of April, ending his playing career. He still appeared on a card in the 1988 Topps set, so he was apparently still with the team the following spring, but did not play anymore.