Former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz, a first-round draft pick and popular teammate during his eight seasons in big league ball, died at the age of 37, the club said Tuesday.
The cause of his death was not immediately disclosed.
The left-handed hurler played at the University of San Diego where he was the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2008, leading him to be the fourth overall pick of that June’s MLB Draft by Baltimore.
He quickly made the big club and started his eight-year-long MLB career with Baltimore the following spring.
His best season as a starting pitcher came in 2010, winning a career-high 10 games in 32 starts. Matusz found more success later in his career as a workhorse relief pitcher, appearing in 186 games out of Baltimore’s bullpen between 2013 and 2015.
The southpaw had an inexplicably dominant career against Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz. In 30 plate appearance against Matusz, “Big Papi” struck out 13 times, collected just four hits, one walk and no home runs.
Matusz finished up his career pitching in one game for the 2016 Chicago Cubs, who went on to win the World Series that fall for the first time since 1908.
