The day Buck Showalter was hired as Orioles manager in 2010, Brian Matusz took the mound as their starting pitcher.
Showalter’s first game in the dugout wouldn’t be for a few days, but the turnaround of one of MLB’s worst teams began that night in Kansas City against the Royals. Matusz exited the game in the fourth inning and the Orioles were en route to their 71st loss in 102 games, but Baltimore’s bats rallied for a comeback win in extra innings.
When Showalter officially took over five days later, the Orioles spent the next two months as one of the American League’s best teams with a 34-23 record down the stretch. It would take until 2012 for the Orioles to establish themselves as contenders and for Matusz to find his footing in the bullpen, but the ensuing five seasons had Baltimore win more games than any other team in the AL.
“Some of the successful runs we had in Baltimore, he helped fuel a lot of those,” Showalter said on the phone Wednesday afternoon.
Showalter said he was stunned to learn of Matusz’s death this week. Matusz was 37.
Matusz died Monday in Phoenix, but it remains unclear how. Phoenix police responded to a call Monday at 2:45 p.m. at a home near 44th Street and Campbell Avenue and found Matusz dead, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. Police are still investigating Matusz’s death. The cause and manner of death have yet to be determined, according to the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner.
Showalter said he spoke with many of Matusz’s teammates during his eight-year Orioles career after learning of his death. The left-hander pitched all but one of his 280 major league games with the Orioles.
“Brian was engaging, smiled easily, had a lot of quiet self confidence,” Showalter said. “I don’t know. I’m kind of gathering my thoughts on it right now. … It’s tough. We all as we get older get in touch with our mortality. But it’s just too young.
“When something happens like this, I’ve always had a grip on reality, but this one, you kind of go, ‘Wow.’”
Matusz became an Oriole when the club selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 draft. The University of San Diego standout was a highly touted prospect before his MLB debut in 2009 and put together a solid rookie campaign in 2010, finishing fifth in American League Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 4.30 ERA in 175 2/3 innings.
Brian Matusz, former Orioles first-round draft pick, dies at 37
But he struggled as a starting pitcher in 2011 and 2012 and became a crucial member of Showalter’s bullpens from 2013 to 2015, posting a 3.32 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings.
“He had three really good years for us as a relief pitcher. He was a great teammate and great with the fans,” Showalter said. “He was very highly rated coming out of college. I think he always felt like there was another level he could go to. He had a very talented hand. He could do a lot of things with the baseball. He had long fingers and could manipulate the ball, could change shapes, he had a great changeup. When he got it going, it was pretty to watch.”
One of the first memories that came to Showalter’s mind was Matusz striking out Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton in the first-ever AL wild-card game in 2012. Hamilton, who blasted a career-high 43 homers that season, was the lone batter Matusz retired as Showalter brought the southpaw in to face the left-handed slugger who represented the tying run in the eighth inning. Matusz struck him out on three pitches, all fastballs, en route to a 5-1 victory, the Orioles’ first playoff win since 1997.
Joe Saunders, the Orioles’ starting pitcher for that wild-card win, said it was “unbelievably sad” to hear about Matusz’s death.
“So tragic and unfair,” Saunders said. “He will truly be missed.”
Matusz’s success in the bullpen in 2012 spurred Showalter’s usage of him as a lefty specialist the following three seasons before he was traded in 2016, his final year in the major leagues. His success against Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz made Matusz a fan favorite, even earning the lefty his own commercial on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network about his dominance of “Big Papi.”
The Brian Matusz vs. David Ortiz MASN commercial.
"Big Papi: 450 home runs, 1,500 RBIs, nine-time All-Star … legend.
"But against Brian Matusz … mere mortal." pic.twitter.com/tk1uT6aGPu
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) January 8, 2025
Matusz faced Ortiz the second most of any batter in his career and held the Hall of Famer to a .139 average and a paltry .408 OPS. Ortiz struck out in 13 of his 30 plate appearances against Matusz.
“When we were trying to make our mark in the American League East with the bullies Boston and New York, a left-handed pitcher was always big, especially against the Yankees, because they had so many left-handed bats back then,” Showalter said. “And then, obviously, with David, being able to take that bat out of play after the sixth inning was huge for me. Brian played a big part in the success of those Orioles teams. He negated a lot of the left-handed bats of the Yankees and allowed me to not have to worry about Ortiz after the sixth inning.”
The continuity of the Orioles’ bullpen during those years was a hallmark of those teams. Zack Britton, Darren O’Day, Brad Brach and Matusz formed a stellar relief corps that helped lead the Orioles to the AL’s best record in 2014 and a spot in the AL Championship Series.
“When you’re down there in the bullpen with people for seven months, there’s a bond there,” Showalter said. “We had a heck of a group down there for a long time.”
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
