- Matt Bush (baseball)
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Matt Bush Tampa Bay Rays — No. 44 Pitcher Born: February 8, 1986
San Diego, CaliforniaBats: Right Throws: Right Matt Bush (born February 8, 1986, in San Diego, California) is a minor league baseball pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.
Baseball career
He was selected first overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft out of Mission Bay High School. When he signed with the Padres, he received a signing bonus of $3,150,000, which is the second largest signing bonus ever given to a Padres draft pick.[1]
Bush was the first shortstop drafted first overall from high school since the Seattle Mariners took Alex Rodriguez in 1993.[2]
The Padres' selection of Bush in 2004 was controversial from the start. Justin Verlander, Jeff Niemann, Stephen Drew, and Jered Weaver were considered the top talents in the draft, but San Diego did not want to pay the premium bonus any of them would command as the top overall choice. Instead, they decided to take Bush, who was a talented high school senior from the San Diego area, but in no way near the prospect as the other candidates. The Padres' decision to bypass the top several prospects was widely criticized by baseball experts and fans in San Diego and nationwide.
Bush's pro career began poorly when he was suspended before he ever took the field for his role in a fight outside an Arizona nightclub.[3] The shortstop went on to hit .192 in 99 at bats between the Rookie-level Arizona League and the short-season Northwest League.
2005 did not bring improvement, as he hit .221 in 453 at bats for Fort Wayne.
During spring training 2006, he broke his ankle and missed half the season. Bush struggled again in 2007, hitting to just a .583 OPS as of May 28. The Padres then converted the strong-armed Bush to a pitcher. His fastball reaches a speed of 98 mph, and he has prior knowledge of pitching from his days as a high school ace. After a promising start in rookie league, Bush tore a ligament in his pitching elbow and didn't pitch again until the 2009 season.[4] On February 5, 2009, he was designated for assignment to make room for Cliff Floyd[5] shortly after it was learned that Bush was allegedly involved in a drunken assault on a high school campus.[6]
On February 10, 2009, Bush was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for either a player to be named later or cash considerations.[7] On April 1, 2009, Bush was released by the Blue Jays for violating their zero tolerance behavioral policy.[8]
On January 28, 2010, Bush signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. He played one season for the Class-A Charlotte Stone Crabs in the Florida State League before being added to the Rays' 40-man roster in November.[9] During the 2011 season, he has played for the Rays' Class AA affiliate, the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League.
References
- ^ Baseball America, Top 10 prospects 2009: LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY, http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2009/267514.html
- ^ "Bush selected by Padres with top pick in baseball draft", USA Today, June 7, 2004. Accessed August 6, 2007.
- ^ Center, Bill."Bush's suspension lifted", The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 21, 2004. Accessed August 6, 2007.
- ^ Brock, Corey. "Notes: Bush needs elbow surgery", MLB.com, August 18, 2007. Accessed June 5, 2008.
- ^ Jayson Stark (2009-02-05). "Source: Floyd, Padres agree to deal". espn.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3885820. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- ^ Brent Schrotenboer (2009-02-06). "Padres cut ties with Matt Bush". signonsandiego.com. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/06/1s6bush03277-padres-cut-ties-matt-bush/?padres. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^ Blue Jays acquire Bush
- ^ Jays release Bush
- ^ [1]
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Mission Bay High School Baseball Players
- Matt Bush Minor League Splits and Situational Stats
Preceded by
Delmon YoungFirst overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft
2004Succeeded by
Justin UptonTampa Bay Rays current roster Active roster 1 Sean Rodriguez | 2 B. J. Upton | 3 Evan Longoria | 5 Sam Fuld | 8 Desmond Jennings | 9 Elliot Johnson | 10 Kelly Shoppach | 11 Casey Kotchman | 14 David Price | 15 Reid Brignac | 16 Justin Ruggiano | 18 Ben Zobrist | 20 Matt Joyce | 21 Andy Sonnanstine | 22 Johnny Damon | 24 Dan Johnson | 27 Cesar Ramos | 28 John Jaso | 30 Brandon Guyer | 31 José Lobatón | 33 James Shields | 34 Jeff Niemann | 35 Christopher Archer | 37 Juan Cruz | 38 Robinson Chirinos | 40 Wade Davis | 41 Nevin Ashley | 43 Kyle Farnsworth | 44 Matt Bush | 45 Russ Canzler | 47 Brandon Gomes | 49 Dane De La Rosa | 50 Albert Suarez | 53 Alex Cobb | 55 Matt Moore | 56 Alexander Torres | 57 Jake McGee | 58 Jeremy Hellickson | 62 Joel Peralta | 74 J. P. Howell
Inactive roster Disabled list Coaching staff Manager 70 Joe Maddon | Bench Coach 4 Dave Martinez | 1st Base Coach 25 George Hendrick | 3rd Base Coach 6 Tom Foley | Hitting Coach 17 Derek Shelton | Pitching Coach 48 Jim Hickey | Bullpen Coach 7 Bobby Ramos | Bullpen Catcher 77 Scott Cursi | Coach 46 Stan Boroski | Coach -- Don Zimmer
Categories:- 1986 births
- Living people
- Minor league baseball players
- Sportspeople from San Diego, California
- Baseball players from California
- Arizona League Padres players
- Eugene Emeralds players
- Fort Wayne Wizards players
- Lake Elsinore Storm players
- Gulf Coast Rays players
- Charlotte Stone Crabs players
- Montgomery Biscuits players
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