A well regarded ballplayer, Gary Matthews earned the nickname Sarge for his take-charge dugout leadership, take-charge attitude and competitive playing. In his rookie season, as a member of the San Francisco Giants, he hit .300, 22 D, 10 T, 12 HR's and was the NL's Rookie of the Year. A consistent hitter, he never hit below .275 nor had a lower than .300 on-base-pct in his first 11 seasons. As a fact with his patience at the plate, Gary Matthews never had an on-base-pct below .350 in his first 8 years - his high being .404 in 1981 when he batted .301 for the Philadelphia Phillies. Playing for the Braves in 1979, Matthews hit .304, 34 D's, 27 HR's, 97 runs and 90 RBI's. All thru his career he was capable of turning the big play by making a remarkable running catch or by lining the game winning clutch-hit. Baseball Historian notes His leadership helped the Phillies win the NL East in 1981, and he won the MVP award in the 1983 NLCS. He was traded to the Cubs in 1984 and that year hit .291, led the league in walks, 103 and had 82 RBI's, helping the Cubs advance to the NLCS. He hit 2 home runs in Game 1 to help the Cubs win the first game, but the Padres took the series anyway in five games. Gary Matthews career: .281 BA, 2011 hits, .367 on-base-pct, 319 D, 51 T, 234 HR's, 1053 R's, 978 RBI's and 978 walks. We tip our cap to you,"Sarge"and agree with Ted Turner , who once said, " Matthews is in the game all the time. He's taking about baseball all the time. He's a lot like Pete Rose, really, He's a gamer". |