Matt Whiteside

Matthew Christopher Whiteside (born August 8, 1967 in Charleston, Missouri) is a former baseball pitcher. He graduated from Charleston High School in Charleston, Missouri, lettering in baseball, football, and basketball, in 1986, and then he attended Arkansas State University, graduating with a degree in physical education. While at Arkansas, Whiteside joined Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Standing at 6'2" and weighing 205 pounds, the right-hander was drafted by the Texas Rangers 661st overall in the 25th round of the 1990 draft. He spent less than three successful seasons in the minors before making his Major League debut on August 5, 1992, at the age of 24. He made his Major League debut against the Oakland Athletics, pitching a perfect inning against them. His first season in the Majors was very successful-in 20 games in relief, he posted a 1.93 ERA, saving four games.

The rest of his career was not as successful as his rookie season. Between 1993 and 2001, the lowest ERA he 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, 1997. He pitched four innings, giving up six hits and five earned runs. Even with that dismal performance, he walked away with a no-decision.

After 13 games in the majors in 2001 with the Atlanta Braves (who picked him up as a free agent), he bounced around in the minors and international baseball (Yokohama BayStars in Japan in 2003) until 2005. By that time, he had established himself as a very successful closer in the minors, saving 38 games in 2004 with the Richmond Braves, making the International League All-Star team, and saving 27 games in 2005 for the Syracuse SkyChiefs. After that impressive showing, he was called up to the majors for a short two-game stint with the Toronto Blue Jays. He struggled in that short time—in 3²⁄₃ innings, he gave up eight earned runs (six hits, three home runs, 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.^[1] He spent 2006 with the Indianapolis Indians, posting a 1.69 ERA in 20 games, collecting 10 saves.

In 1996, he served as a guest judge at the Miss USA Pageant.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference