Matt Maloney (baseball)
Matthew Michael Maloney is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins.
Maloney played college baseball at the University of Mississippi, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 3rd round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft.
Early life
Matthew Michael Maloney was born on January 6, 1984, in Sandusky, Ohio. He attended and graduated from Huron High School in 2002Career
Philadelphia Phillies
Maloney started his career in 2005 with the short-season class-A Batavia Muckdogs, where he pitched eight games and went 2–1 with a 3.89 ERA.He spent all of 2006 with the Lakewood BlueClaws, and was the South Atlantic League's Most Outstanding Pitcher for the season. He was named a mid-season and post-season All-Star and was named a Low Class A All-Star by Baseball America. Maloney started 27 games for the BlueClaws and led the league in most categories, including wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts, innings, and strikeouts. He had three 10-strikeout games and was named Phillies' Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Maloney started the 2007 season in double-A Reading. He started 21 games for the double-A Phillies and was named a mid- and post-season All-Star for the Eastern League after posting a 9–7 record with a 3.94 ERA.
Cincinnati Reds
Maloney was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on July 30 in exchange for starter Kyle Lohse. He started his Reds tenure with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, where he started four games and went 2–2 with a 2.57 ERA and 39 strikeouts. After the conclusion of the Double-A season, Maloney was promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats. He started three games for the Bats and was 2–1 with a 3.18 ERA and 23 strikeouts. His 2007 totals for all three affiliates was 13–10 with 3.64 ERA and 144 strikeouts in innings.Maloney played the 2008 season at Louisville. He threw two complete games on the season and missed a no-hitter by two outs during the season. Maloney spent nearly a month on the disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle, and made one rehab start for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Reds. He finished the season 11–5 with a 4.50 ERA in 25 starts. Maloney tied Rico Beltran for second-most strikeouts in a season by a Bats pitcher with 132. Following the season, he was added to the Reds' 40-man roster, in order to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. Maloney subsequently played winter ball in the Venezuelan Winter League for the Navegantes del Magallanes. He pitched in six games and was 1–4 with a 3.42 ERA and 17 strikeouts.
Maloney started the 2009 season at Louisville again and started 10 games for the Bats with a 4–3 record and a 2.00 ERA. On June 6, he was recalled by the Reds to start against the Chicago Cubs. Maloney allowed six hits and two runs while striking out four. He was in line for the win, but the bullpen blew the one-run lead and the Reds eventually won 4–3 in 11 innings. Maloney finished his first stint in the big leagues with an 0–2 record and a 6.11 ERA in three starts.
Maloney was sent back down to Louisville on June 20 and started 12 more games, posting a 5–6 record and a 4.04 ERA. He was promoted again, and started against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maloney was sent back down, this time to the Double-A Carolina Mudcats between the games of an August 30 double header, and pitched one game of relief, getting the win. He was promoted with roster expansion in September to finish the year with the Reds. Although bothered by a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, he pitched much better in his third stint, going 2–1 with a 2.65 ERA.
As a batter over the season, Maloney enjoyed success. He hit.316 for Louisville with a homer and two RBI, and hit the homer off of future Pittsburgh Pirates big-leaguer Daniel McCutchen. He also became the first Reds pitcher to get a hit in his first Major League plate appearance since Scott Randall in 2003.
For Louisville and Carolina, Maloney was 9–9 with a 3.00 ERA and 130 strikeouts. He was 2-4 for the Reds with a 4.87 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Baseball America rated Maloney's control best in the organization following the season. He was the only left-hander to start for the Reds in 2009 and only the second in a 236-game stretch. Maloney was 10–7 with a 3.34 ERA in 24 games for Louisville in 2010, striking out 104 in innings. For the Reds, he went 2–2 with a 3.05 ERA in seven games, and struck out 13 in innings.