Biographical

Portrait of Mike Matheny

Mike Matheny CCardinals

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Career Summary
Years PA AVG OBP SLG DRC+ WARP
16 4287 .239 .293 .344 68 5.7
Birth Date9-22-1970
Height6' 3"
Weight225 lbs
Age53 years, 7 months, 1 days
BatsR
ThrowsR
WARP Summary

MLB Statistics

YEAR TEAM AGE G PA H 2B 3B HR BB SO HBP SB CS AVG OBP SLG DRC+ DRAA BRR FRAA BWARP
1994 MIL 23 28 59 12 3 0 1 3 13 2 0 1 .226 .293 .340 72 -2.0 -0.7 -0.6 0.0
1995 MIL 24 80 181 41 9 1 0 12 28 2 2 1 .247 .306 .313 71 -6.1 0.8 -8.3 -0.5
1996 MIL 25 106 341 64 15 2 8 14 80 3 3 2 .204 .243 .342 47 -22.7 -1.9 -7.4 -1.4
1997 MIL 26 123 356 78 16 1 4 17 68 7 0 1 .244 .294 .338 66 -13.9 -0.3 0.1 0.2
1998 MIL 27 108 341 76 13 0 6 11 63 7 1 0 .238 .278 .334 63 -15.2 -1.2 -3.8 -0.5
1999 TOR 28 57 179 35 6 0 3 12 37 1 0 0 .215 .271 .307 62 -8.3 -1.1 3.3 0.2
2000 SLN 29 128 464 109 22 1 6 32 96 4 0 0 .261 .317 .362 65 -19.5 1.2 13.2 1.7
2001 SLN 30 121 424 83 12 0 7 28 76 4 0 1 .218 .276 .304 62 -18.8 1.8 4.1 0.7
2002 SLN 31 110 363 77 12 1 3 32 49 2 1 3 .244 .313 .317 74 -10.0 -0.8 13.6 2.0
2003 SLN 32 141 498 111 18 2 8 44 81 2 1 1 .252 .320 .356 82 -9.5 0.0 1.2 1.3
2004 SLN 33 122 419 95 22 1 5 23 83 3 0 2 .247 .292 .348 67 -16.8 -1.6 12.3 1.4
2005 SFN 34 134 485 107 34 0 13 29 91 6 0 2 .242 .295 .406 83 -9.7 -1.7 -7.0 0.4
2006 SFN 35 47 177 37 8 0 3 9 30 2 0 0 .231 .276 .338 68 -6.5 1.4 -0.5 0.3
Career1305428792519096726679545814.239.293.34468-158.9-4.120.15.7

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.
Minor league stats are currently shownClick to hide.
YEAR Team Lg LG G PA oppAVG oppOBP oppSLG BABIP BPF BRAA repLVL POS_ADJ DRC+ DRC+ SD FRAA BRR DRAA BWARP
1991 HEL Rk PIO 64 284 .000 .000 .000 .343 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1992 STO A+ CLF 106 379 .000 .000 .000 .267 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1993 ELP AA TXS 107 372 .000 .000 .000 .303 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1994 MIL MLB AL 28 59 .276 .340 .444 .282 102 -2.6 1.8 1.1 72 17 -0.6 -0.7 -2.0 0.0
1994 NWO AAA AA 57 203 .000 .000 .000 .250 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1995 MIL MLB AL 80 181 .267 .341 .415 .297 103 -6.9 5.4 3.3 71 12 -8.3 0.8 -6.1 -0.5
1995 NWO AAA AA 6 20 .000 .000 .000 .333 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1996 MIL MLB AL 106 341 .279 .348 .446 .245 99 -25.2 10.5 6.3 47 11 -7.4 -1.9 -22.7 -1.4
1996 NWO AAA AA 20 69 .000 .000 .000 .292 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1997 MIL MLB AL 123 356 .273 .339 .430 .295 97 -14.1 9.8 6.3 66 12 0.1 -0.3 -13.9 0.2
1998 MIL MLB NL 108 341 .261 .327 .406 .279 99 -19.2 8.8 6.1 63 11 -3.8 -1.2 -15.2 -0.5
1998 BLT A MDW 0 9 .000 .000 .000 .400 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1999 TOR MLB AL 57 179 .274 .340 .429 .258 101 -13 5.0 3.4 62 12 3.3 -1.1 -8.3 0.2
2000 SLN MLB NL 128 464 .269 .343 .436 .323 113 -21.7 14.6 8.7 65 8 13.2 1.2 -19.5 1.7
2001 SLN MLB NL 121 424 .265 .333 .433 .252 102 -27.3 12.6 7.6 62 9 4.1 1.8 -18.8 0.7
2002 SLN MLB NL 110 363 .262 .331 .416 .275 100 -11.5 10.5 6.2 74 11 13.6 -0.8 -10.0 2.0
2003 SLN MLB NL 141 498 .267 .334 .425 .290 101 -13.9 13.1 8.7 82 11 1.2 0.0 -9.5 1.3
2004 SLN MLB NL 122 419 .267 .331 .431 .300 95 -14.9 12.5 7.5 67 9 12.3 -1.6 -16.8 1.4
2005 SFN MLB NL 134 485 .262 .324 .419 .274 98 -13.1 14.0 8.4 83 8 -7.0 -1.7 -9.7 0.4
2006 SFN MLB NL 47 177 .270 .334 .437 .262 92 -9.6 5.3 3.2 68 11 -0.5 1.4 -6.5 0.3

Statistics For All Levels

Minor league stats are currently shownClick to hide.
Year Team lvl LG PA AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG ISO SF SH
1991 HEL Rk PIO 284 253 35 72 14 0 2 92 34 19 52 2 4 .285 .343 .364 .079 5 5
1992 STO A+ CLF 379 333 42 73 13 2 6 108 46 35 81 2 2 .219 .295 .324 .105 5 5
1993 ELP AA TXS 372 339 39 86 21 2 2 117 28 17 73 1 4 .254 .283 .345 .091 13 13
1994 NWO AAA AA 203 177 20 39 10 1 4 63 21 16 39 1 1 .220 .291 .356 .136 6 6
1994 MIL MLB AL 59 53 3 12 3 0 1 18 2 3 13 0 1 .226 .293 .340 .113 0 1
1995 MIL MLB AL 181 166 13 41 9 1 0 52 21 12 28 2 1 .247 .306 .313 .066 0 1
1995 NWO AAA AA 20 17 3 6 2 0 3 17 4 0 5 0 0 .353 .450 1.000 .647 0 0
1996 NWO AAA AA 69 66 3 15 4 0 1 22 6 2 17 1 0 .227 .250 .333 .106 0 0
1996 MIL MLB AL 341 313 31 64 15 2 8 107 46 14 80 3 2 .204 .243 .342 .137 4 7
1997 MIL MLB AL 356 320 29 78 16 1 4 108 32 17 68 0 1 .244 .294 .338 .094 3 9
1998 MIL MLB NL 341 320 24 76 13 0 6 107 27 11 63 1 0 .238 .278 .334 .097 0 3
1998 BLT A MDW 9 8 1 2 1 0 0 3 2 1 3 0 0 .250 .333 .375 .125 0 0
1999 TOR MLB AL 179 163 16 35 6 0 3 50 17 12 37 0 0 .215 .271 .307 .092 1 2
2000 SLN MLB NL 464 417 43 109 22 1 6 151 47 32 96 0 0 .261 .317 .362 .101 4 7
2001 SLN MLB NL 424 381 40 83 12 0 7 116 42 28 76 0 1 .218 .276 .304 .087 3 8
2002 SLN MLB NL 363 315 31 77 12 1 3 100 35 32 49 1 3 .244 .313 .317 .073 6 8
2003 SLN MLB NL 498 441 43 111 18 2 8 157 47 44 81 1 1 .252 .320 .356 .104 3 8
2004 SLN MLB NL 419 385 28 95 22 1 5 134 50 23 83 0 2 .247 .292 .348 .101 3 5
2005 SFN MLB NL 485 443 42 107 34 0 13 180 59 29 91 0 2 .242 .295 .406 .165 4 3
2006 SFN MLB NL 177 160 10 37 8 0 3 54 18 9 30 0 0 .231 .276 .338 .106 3 3

Plate Discipline

YEAR Pits Zone% Swing% Contact% Z-Swing% O-Swing% Z-Contact% O-Contact% SwStr% CSAA

Injury History  —  No longer being updated

Last Update: 12/31/2014 23:59 ET

Date On Date Off Transaction Days Games Side Body Part Injury Severity Surgery Date Reaggravation
2006-06-01 2006-10-02 60-DL 123 108 Head Concussion Series of Foul Balls -
2004-06-03 2004-06-18 15-DL 15 14 Trunk Strain Rib Cage -
1998-06-16 1998-07-12 15-DL 26 22 Left Abdomen Strain Oblique - -

Compensation

Year Team Salary
2007 SFN $1,500,000
2006 SFN $3,350,000
2005 SFN $2,000,000
2004 SLN $4,000,000
2003 SLN $3,250,000
2002 SLN $2,500,000
2001 SLN $900,000
2000 SLN $750,000
YearsDescriptionSalary
8 yrPrevious$18,250,000
8 yrTotal$18,250,000

 

Service TimeAgentContract Status
12 y 57 dJohn Boggs3 yr/$10.5M (05-07)+$4M 08 cl opt $2M b/

Details
  • retired 2/07
  • $3M signing bonus (05:$0.5M, 06:$1M, 07:$1.5M), 05:$1M, 06:$2.25M, 07:$2.25M
  • $0.1M Gold Glove bonuses
  • signed as a free agent from STL 12/04
  • 3 year/$8.75M (02-04) 02:$2.5M, 03:$3.25M, 04:$2.75+escalator to $4M

2019 Preseason Forecast

Last Update: 1/27/2017 12:35 ET

PCT PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG DRC+ VORP FRAA WARP
Weighted Mean???????00??.000.000.00000.0?0.0

BP Annual Player Comments

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BP Articles

Click here to see articles tagged with Mike Matheny

BP Chats

DateQuestionAnswer
2015-10-22 14:00:00 (link to chat)To follow up on the Ventura question. Who is Managing a Major Leaugue team right now that shouldn't be?
(Joshua from Chicago)
Fredi Gonzalez, Ventura, Bryan Price, Walt Weiss, Brad Ausmus, Paul Molitor, Craig Counsell, Mike Matheny. (Matthew Trueblood)
2015-10-22 14:00:00 (link to chat)Brad Ausmus? Mike Matheny? Craig Counsell? But they are highly regarded as far as I've heard. Why do you think they are overrated?
(Zonk from Chi Town)
Zero managerial experience prior to taking their jobs. Habitual mismanagement of the roster and the game strategically. (Matthew Trueblood)
2015-06-18 13:00:00 (link to chat)I was in the ballpark for Austin Hedges' first career homer yesterday. What are the odds he ever becomes a starter?
(Alex from Anaheim)
Are we talking about starting for a few seasons, or for half a decade? If it's the former, then I would say very high. This isn't a Christian Bethancourt situation, where Hedges is 90 percent arm and nothing else. Hedges is a more complete defender, and I think we've seen how those types can latch on as starters without producing much with the bat-be it Mike Matheny, Brad Ausmus, young Yadier Molina, Jose Molina, Rene Rivera, whoever. Is a team going to build around Hedges, or make him a lifer? No; he's not going to hit enough for that-but employing Hedges as a starter until they find an upgrade? Yeah. Absolutely. (R.J. Anderson)
2015-06-02 18:00:00 (link to chat)You and Mike Matheny switch roles, so that you fill out the major-league roster (and he does commentary, if anyone notices). Who gets the playing time with that crowded outfield situation? Holliday is obviously near 100%, but how do you apportion the rest between Jon Jay, Jason Heyward, Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk?
(Bill from New Mexico)
I'm completely compromised when it comes to Peter Bourjos. I'd go Grichuck, Bourjos and Heyward LF/CF/RF with Jay filling in the corners and never ever setting foot in center again. (Mauricio Rubio)
2014-10-20 16:00:00 (link to chat)Thanks for chatting, Rob! Mike Matheny's averaged 92 wins a year as Cardinal manager -- more than they won under LaRussa in 2011 or 2010 or any other year since 2005. Matheny's also won an average of 7 playoff games per year, which is *twice* the rate of Francona with the Red Sox or Girardi with the Yankees. So despite what Twitter says, I think he is by definition an elite manager. Thoughts?
(Emile Waldteufel from Home of Tim Teufel)
Yes, I have seen this defense made as well. And I think there might be something to it, in that much of a manager's job is presumably getting players to work hard and cooperate with each other and spend the extra time to become better players. Matheny might be doing that really well, in order to get his team so much success.

Unfortunately, we can't see any of those managerial duties--they are basically invisible to us. So we go with what we can see, which, for Matheny, is dumb blunders in close playoff games. (Rob Arthur)
2013-10-28 18:00:00 (link to chat)Hi Mike. Why hasn't Shelby Miller pitched this off-season? Obviously Mike Matheny has lots of options at his disposal but is there something specific going on with Miller such as a hidden injury or an attitude problem?
(mmcduffe from Ottawa)
I don't have the answer, but I've heard a few theories. One theory is that Miller is gassed, and his 12% strikeout rate in September is a sign of this. Miller has become the in-case-of-emergency-break glass guy. Matheny's use of his pen has been a bit of a mystery to me. I get that he has Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal as a very strong 1-2 punch, but there have been games where he seems to be going to the well with lesser relievers. Miller and Edward Mujica don't seem to belong on the roster, and Matheny's non-usage of them is a little odd. (Mike Gianella)
2013-08-14 13:00:00 (link to chat)Any idea what Ryan Jackson did to get himself so deeply planted in Mike Matheny's doghouse? I mean, he's not going to be a star, but at this point, he'd be an upgrade on Pete Kozma, wouldn't he? Not that that's a very high bar...
(Bill from New Mexico)
I agree and I've wondered the same! Jackson was stuck out in LF when I saw Memphis back in June, and that confused me as well. (Jason Cole)
2012-05-09 13:00:00 (link to chat)Who should I send to the bullpen once Chris Carpenter is healthy (if ever?) Not who "will" I, but who "should" I?
(M. Matheny from under the Arch)
Doubling up on Cardinals questions. This is a tough one. Lynn has pitched too well to demote him back to the bullpen. Maybe Lohse? It's such a tiny sample (and mostly from several years ago) that I'm embarrassed to cite it, but his career K/BB in the bullpen is 3.00, compared to 2.07 as a starter. If you subscribe to the idea that the least talented/successful starter, and/or the one with no future development at stake, should be the one to go, then Lohse seems like the guy. Good problem to have, though, as they say.

By the way, I like to think that Mike Matheny actually hangs out under the Arch while he's pondering roster moves like this one. (Ben Lindbergh)
2011-11-15 13:00:00 (link to chat)Easy, obvious one to get you started. What's your opinion on Mike Matheny as TLR replacement in St. Louis?
(Bill from New Mexico)
Well, I'm not sure if any managerial choice evaluation is easy or obvious, especially for a guy who has zero prior managing experience, but I don't think Matheny is necessarily a bad choice. Yes, there's the experience thing, but he is well-liked within the organization, by fans, and by the players, which is important. He's also a former catcher with a high baseball IQ. Whether or not he'll make the kinds of moves we sabermetric types like to see from a manager is yet to be seen. Former player types generally don't tend to, but it's not as if the MLB managerial bar is set super high in this regard. Mozeliak said he'll talk with him and provide him with important data to help him make decisions, so I think Matheny will be a good enough choice. The one drawback you could maybe point to is that Albert Pujols reportedly would have preferred Oquendo, though making a managerial decision based on one player-especially one you could lose anyway-probably isn't good policy. (Derek Carty)


BP Roundtables

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Advanced Catching Metrics

Year lvl CSAA Framing Runs Blocking Chances EPAA Blocking Runs SB Attempts SRAA TRAA Throwing Runs FRAA Adj. FRAA
1994 mlb -.003 -0.5 734 .001 -0.1 15 .014 .002 -0.1 -0.4 -0.6
1995 mlb -.013 -7.4 2094 .000 -0.1 30 .028 -.004 -0.5 -7.4 -8.3
1996 mlb -.005 -6.0 4094 .000 0.0 70 -.017 .001 0.8 -5.4 -7.4
1997 mlb .000 0.3 4446 .000 -0.1 92 -.028 .001 1.6 2.9 0.1
1998 mlb -.004 -3.7 3626 -.001 0.7 77 .013 .001 -0.6 -3.7 -3.8
1999 mlb .005 3.0 2356 .000 -0.1 54 -.017 .003 0.6 3.6 3.3
2000 mlb .004 5.9 5148 -.001 1.5 88 -.099 -.002 6.0 13.6 13.2
2001 mlb -.001 -0.6 4853 .000 0.3 56 -.085 -.006 3.4 4.0 4.1
2002 mlb .008 7.3 3792 -.002 1.7 61 -.005 -.003 0.4 9.5 13.6
2003 mlb .002 2.2 5339 .000 0.3 50 .013 -.005 -0.1 1.9 1.2
2004 mlb .007 7.7 4559 -.001 1.6 52 .007 -.003 0.1 9.2 12.3
2005 mlb -.009 -12.1 5816 -.001 0.9 93 -.074 -.004 4.5 -8.1 -7.0
2006 mlb .000 0.2 1811 .000 0.2 29 -.008 -.002 0.2 0.2 -0.5

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