Matt Stairs
From BR Bullpen
Matthew Wade Stairs
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 175-210 lb.
- High School Fredericton High School
- Debut May 29, 1992
- Born February 27, 1968 in St. John, NB CAN
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[edit] Introduction
Matt Stairs has played 15 seasons in the major leagues as of 2007, hitting more than 200 home runs. So far, he has been the only major league player born in St. John, New Brunswick during the 20th century, although there were several players born there in the 19th century.
[edit] Amateur career
Matt Stairs played hockey, rugby and baseball as a youngster but a knee injury in 1986 ended his hockey dreams. In 1987, he played for Canada in the Junior World Championships and the team won the Bronze. The next year, he was on the Canadian Olympic team and also was MVP of Haarlem Baseball Week. In the 1988 Baseball World Cup, he hit .362/.367/.511 and was named the top shortstop in the tournament, the only All-Star from a team that didn't make the final four. He was then signed by scout Bill MacKenzie of the 1989 Expos as an undrafted free agent and became a good Major League hitter (with rather high on-base percentage) despite his deceivingly short, squat, chunky frame and tendency to strike out quite frequently. His build was deemed by Bill James to be an ideal one for a hitter, giving a small strike zone and power, the optimal mix of talents - James calls it the Yogi Berra or Kirby Puckett body style.
[edit] The minors
He made three minor league stops that year, batting .256/~.304/.349 for the Jamestown Expos (14 games), .284/~.353/.418 as the third baseman of the Rockford Expos (44 games) and .189/~.261/.250 for the West Palm Beach Expos (36 outings). In 1990, Stairs hit .339/~.472/.470 for West Palm Beach, stealing 15 in 17 tries but fielding just .899 as a 3B-SS. Moving up to the Jacksonville Expos, he batted .254/~.315/.346 and fielded .885.
In 1990-1991, Stairs won the Mexican Pacific League batting title with a .330/~.396/.507 batting line as the third baseman for the Mayos de Navojoa. Matt was also a force to be reckoned with in the USA in 1991. He batted .333/~.410/.509 for the Harrisburg Senators, reached double digits in all three extra-base hit categories and stole 23 bases. He was voted the MVP of the Eastern League and led the league in slugging, hits (168), total bases (257) and average. He hit for the cycle on August 23 and helped power Harrisburg to the best record. Baseball America named him the 9th-best prospect in the EL and the best second baseman in AA and he made the EL All-Star team as a utility infielder.
[edit] 1992-96: the major/minor shuffle
In 1992, Matt hit .267/~.347/.426 for the Indianapolis Indians, moving to the outfield due to his poor infield glove. He only stole 11 in 22 tries and never exhibited stolen base success in the majors as he had in his early career. He saw his first major league playing time, he hit .167/.333/.233 in 13 games for the 1992 Expos. In '93, the Canadian was 3 for 8 for the Expos, then .280/~.338/.416 in 34 games with the Ottawa Lynx. Matt was then sold to the Chunichi Dragons, where he batted .250/.289/.432. Had he produced more or felt more at home, he might have developed a long career in NPB like so many others rejected by MLB after a short glance. He was not performing enough for a gaijin and returned to the USA, where he continued to battle for time.
In 1994, Stairs was back in AA with the New Britain Red Sox and hit .309/.407/.486 in 93 outings. He came close to the EL OBP lead had he played enough to qualify and raised his OBP 8 points. He hit .284/~.353/.491 for the '95 Pawtucket Red Sox and then batted .261/.298/.388 as a bench man for the 1995 Red Sox. Boston let him go and he caught on with the Oakland A's chain. In '96, Stairs clubbed a .344/~.372/.578 line in 51 games for the Edmonton Trappers and .277/.367/.547 for the 1996 A's, finally getting an extended look in the majors and showing what he could do.
[edit] Oakland
Stairs blossomed with the A's. He hit over 20 homers for four straight years, drove in 100 twice, had an OPS+ from 127-151 the first three years, slugged .500 three times and was 8th in the 1999 AL in home runs with 38. His best year was with the 1997 A's when he hit .298/.386/.582. When Oakland returned to prominence in '99, Stairs was the top home run threat on a team that included Eric Chavez, Jason Giambi, John Jaha, Miguel Tejada and Ben Grieve. After the 2000 A's season, he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs for Eric Ireland after a .227 year with a 98 OPS+.
[edit] Three years in the NL
Stairs hit .250/.358/.462 for the 2001 Cubs, then moved to the 2002 Brewers as a free agent, batting .244/.349/.478. A free agent once more, the hired gun hit .292/.389/.561 with 20 homers for the 2003 Pirates, one of the rare good pickups by Pittsburgh. Stairs asked to return to Pittsburgh for a minimal salary, but Dave Littlefield refused to bring him back, instead signing washed-up Raul Mondesi to play right field instead.
[edit] Kansas City, Texas, Detroit and Toronto
Stairs finally found a second long-time home with the Kansas City Royals, joining them in 2004 and batting .267/.345/.451 his first year, then .275/.373/.444 as a solid offensive threat for the club. He represented Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and went 2 for 9 with a double, 4 walks and 4 RBI. He tied for the club lead in walks with Corey Koskie and was second to Adam Stern in RBI.
Stairs hit .261/.352/.429 for the 2006 Royals at age 38, then was dealt to the Texas Rangers for Joselo Diaz. After a month and a half with Texas (hitting .210/.273/.370), he was waived and picked up by the Detroit Tigers for the late stretch. He batted .244/.295/.463 in 14 games for the 2006 Tigers as they clinched the playoffs.
Stairs moved to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2007 and saw expanded playing time when 1B Lyle Overbay was injured.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 1991 MVP Eastern League Harrisburg Senators
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1997-2000,2003 & 2007)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1999)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 2 (1998 & 1999)
[edit] Primary Sources
1989-2006 Baseball Almanacs, 1990 and 1995 Baseball Guides, Japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland and "Baseball a Royal treat for Stairs" by Andrew Neff in the Bangor Daily News of July 29, 2006
[edit] Further Reading
- Danny Gallagher: "Stairs climbed to solid career", in Remembering the Montreal Expos, Scoop Press, Toronto, ON, 2005, pp. 165-168.
