- Matt Chico
-
Matt Chico Free Agent — No. -- Pitcher Born: June 10, 1983 Bats: Left Throws: Left MLB debut April 4, 2007 for the Washington Nationals Career statistics
(through 2010 season)Win-Loss 7-15 Earned Run Average 4.95 Strikeouts 128 Teams - Washington Nationals (2007-2008, 2010)
Matthew Bryan Chico (born June 10, 1983 in Fullerton, California) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Chico is of Mexican-American descent.
During the offseason, Chico and his wife, Stephanie, reside in Viera, Florida.
Contents
High school career
Chico is a graduate of Fallbrook Union High School.
College career
Chico attended the University of Southern California in 2001-2002 and then transferred to Palomar College for the 2002-2003 academic year.
Professional career
Chico was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the third round of the 2003 amateur draft.
2006
On August 7, 2006, Washington acquired Chico and fellow minor league pitcher Garrett Mock from Arizona in a trade for veteran right-handed pitcher Liván Hernández.
Chico began the 2006 season pitching for Lancaster of the high Class A California League, where he accrued a 3-4 record and a 3.75 ERA in 10 starts. Immediately prior to the trade for Hernández, he was pitching for Tennessee of the Class AA Southern League, accumulating a win-loss record of 7-2 and an ERA of 2.22 in 13 starts. After joining the Nationals organization, Chico pitched for the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League, winning 2 and losing none of his first 4 starts and compiling a 3.27 ERA.
2007
At the end of 2006, Chico had earned a spot on the Nationals' 40-man protected roster. Coming out of 2007 spring training, Chico had made the club's starting rotation, and he made his major league debut on April 4, 2007, at RFK Stadium versus the Florida Marlins.
His first major league win came on April 16, in a Nats 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Chico got off to a rocky start, on a cold and bitterly windy night, walking the bases loaded in the first inning, but escaping unscathed. He went on to pitch five innings, before walking two in the sixth and getting relieved, allowing just one run.[1]
During his next start, at Florida on April 21, 2007, in the bottom of the first inning, Chico attempted to throw a changeup to Josh Willingham. He missed the plate badly; the ball sailed over the first-base dugout.[2]
Chico ended up becoming a mainstay for the Nationals in the first half of the season. By Mid-May, four of the Nats' five starting pitchers were out with injuries, but by July 4, Chico had not missed a turn, and was second in the league with 18 starts. From June 23 to July 4, he pitched 20 innings allowing only one run.
He ended the 2007 season with a 7-9 record and an ERA of 4.63 over 167 innings.
2008
Chico emerged as the Nationals' #2 starter at the beginning of the season. However, he struggled to an 0-6 record in eight starts and three relief appearances, and was optioned to the Class AAA Columbus Clippers on May 23. After he pitched only one game for Columbus, an MRI examination in early June revealed loose bodies in his throwing elbow.[3]
On July 3, Chico underwent elbow reconstruction surgery.[4] He was expected to miss the rest of the 2008 season and most or all of the 2009 season.
2010
He returned to the major leagues on May 8 when he tossed five-plus innings and allowed two earned runs to the Florida Marlins at Nationals Park while giving up six hits, striking out three and walking none but did not get a decision. A day after pitching, Chico was designated for assignment on May 9. Chico remains on the 40-man roster and was sent down to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators.
2011
Chico began the season with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals, before being released on July 21.
References
- ^ Marc Carig (April 17, 2007). "Chico's the Man for Nats: Starter Labors Early, But Battles Back for 1st Major League Win: Nationals 5, Braves 1". Washington Post. p. E01. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/16/AR2007041601737.html.
- ^ Barry Svrluga (April 22, 2007). "Nats' Chico Has Wild Night in Miami; Marlins 9, Nationals 3". Washington Post. p. E01. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/21/AR2007042101565.html.
- ^ Bill Ladson (June 8, 2008). "MRI on Chico's elbow reveals problem; Young sits for third straight game with flu-like symptoms". MLB.com. http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080608&content_id=2869551&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was.
- ^ Mark Zuckerman (July 2, 2008). "Another crushing loss". The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/chatter/2008/Jul/02/another-crushing-loss/.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Sportsnet player stats
Categories:- 1983 births
- Living people
- Washington Nationals players
- Baseball players from California
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- USC Trojans baseball players
- Yakima Bears players
- South Bend Silver Hawks players
- El Paso Diablos players
- Lancaster JetHawks players
- Tennessee Smokies players
- Harrisburg Senators players
- Columbus Clippers players
- Hagerstown Suns players
- Syracuse Chiefs players
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
