Matt Batts
| Matt Batts | |||
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| Catcher | |||
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Born: October 16, 1921 San Antonio, Texas |
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Died: July 14, 2013 (aged 91) Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 10, 1947, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 8, 1956, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .269 | ||
| Home runs | 26 | ||
| Runs batted in | 219 | ||
| Teams | |||
Matthew Daniel "Matt" Batts (October 16, 1921 – July 14, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1947 through 1956 for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, with brief trades to Baltimore and Cleveland. A slap hitter and competent defensive catcher, Batts played mostly backup roles over the course of his career; during parts of ten MLB seasons, he appeared in 546 games with a .269 batting average, 26 home runs, and 219 runs batted in. He was the uncle of former major leaguer Danny Heep.
Growing up in the sandlots of San Antonio, Batts batted and threw right-handed with exceptional speed. But in a fluke position change up, he found his niche behind the plate on a semipro team. Batts excelled as a freshman at Baylor University and was recruited by Red Sox scouts. However, in 1942 when he signed with Boston in exchange for paying his tuition, the Baylor team dropped him.
Batts' first season in the minor leagues was 1942, when he played for the Canton Terriers, Boston's affiliate in the Class C Middle Atlantic League. In 126 games, he batted for a .294 average, while hitting 10 home runs. Batts then served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II from December 1942 through December 1945; he was stationed at Randolph Field in Texas.
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