Former Orioles, Cubs pitcher Brian Matusz dies aged 37

By Lachlan Wellington January 10, 2025 23:52

Photo by Matthew Hazlett / Getty Images file

Former MLB pitcher, Brian Matusz, has died at the age of 37. The Orioles announced Matusz’ passing, however, the cause of death is yet to be disclosed.

Matusz spent time with both the Orioles and Cubs in his professional MLB career, originally entering the MLB Amateur Draft back in 2005 where the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim selected him in the Fourth Round straight out of St Mary’s HS in Phoenix, Arizona. Matusz elected to go to college though.

In High School, Matusz posted some impressive stats in 2004 in his junior year, holding an overall record of 8-2 with an ERA of just 0.95 and he was named All-State for Arizona. During his 2005 senior season, Matusz went 8-1 with a 0.5 ERA and was Arizona Player of the Year.

In College, Matusz played at the University of San Diego where he won the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year award in 2008, finishing his career as the school’s all-time strikeouts leader with 396. Matusz was also a two-time finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, led the NCAA with 141 k’s during his 2008 junior year and held a stat line of 12 wins with a 1.71 ERA- the fourth-best single-season mark in the school’s history at the time. This all helped him to his high draft pick at June’s MLB draft in Baltimore.

Eventually drafted back in 2008 by the Orioles with the No.4 pick in the First Round. Matusz spent almost his entire eight-year playing career with the Orioles, however, also played for the Chicago Cubs for a brief stint in the 2016 season.

During his MLB career, south-paw Matusz pitched in 280 games- starting 69 with an overall record of 27-41 with a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 2.1 and a career Earned Run Average (ERA) of 4.92, according to Baseball-Rerference.com. 279 of these games came for the O’s with the other coming for the Cubs that was also a start.

The thing Matusz is perhaps most remembered for during his MLB playing career is his dominant record against Hall of Fame slugger, David Oritz. Matusz struck “Big Papi” out 13 times in 30 plate appearances as Oritz collected just one walk, four hits and no home runs against the lefty.

The Baltimore Orioles released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) starting with “Our hearts are heavy tonight as we mourn the passing of former Oriole, Brian Matusz.”

Matusz pitched in the postseason for the Orioles in 2012 and 2014, however, was traded by Baltimore to the Atlanta Braves in May of 2016 after he had an ERA of 12.00 in seven games. The Braves released Matusz a week later and he joined the Cubs where he spent most of his time in the minors barring one major-league start. Matusz's career ended in 2019.

Tributes have been pouring in for the former pitcher, "Brian was one of the best players to ever wear a Torero uniform," San Diego baseball head coach Brock Ungricht added. "His dedication to the USD community and passion for the game of baseball were evident to all who knew him. Brian's unexpected passing leaves a void in our hearts, but his legacy will continue to inspire us, both on and off the field. We will forever be grateful for his friendship and unwavering support of San Diego baseball. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Off the field, Matusz was involved in the community- such as being an integral figure in the Casey Cares Foundation who bring joy to critically ill children in the Baltimore area. Thoughts are with Brian’s family and friends in this time of immense grief.