Matt Mantei | |||
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Pitcher | |||
Born: Tampa, Florida |
July 7, 1973 |||
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MLB debut | |||
June 18, 1995, for the Florida Marlins | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
July 1, 2005, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Win–loss record | 14–18 | ||
Earned run average | 4.07 | ||
Strikeouts | 396 | ||
Saves | 93 | ||
Teams | |||
Matthew Bruce Mantei [MAN-tie] (born July 7, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. In his career, Mantei played with the Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox. He batted and threw right-handed.
Mantei had four pitches. He had two fastballs, one of which regularly hit 95 MPH and occasionally hit 100, a sharp curve and an occasional slider. He was also known to throw a knuckleball earlier in his career. Two issues concerning his play were his control and his ability for his arm to stay healthy.
Between 1995 and 1996, Mantei had only pitched in 26 games for the Marlins. He missed the 1997 season due to injury and came back in 1998 to post an ERA of 2.96 in 42 games.
After starting the 1999 season with the Florida Marlins and saving 10 games, he was traded to Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Vladimir Núñez, Brad Penny and Abraham Núñez. After posting 32 saves in 1999 between the two teams. Mantei was slowed by injuries in 2000 and 2001, when a right-elbow injury ended his season in April and he underwent "Tommy John" ligament replacement surgery.
In 2002, Mantei worked hard to regain his old form. Despite the fact that he missed a month in 2003, he finished strong in the last three months of the season. He had 29 saves while posting a 2.62 ERA.