Matt Stinson

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Matt Stinson
Chicago Cubs — No. 37
Starting Pitcher
Born: March 4, 1989
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Bats: Right Throws: Right 
MLB debut
April 5, 2012 for the Cleveland Indians
Teams
  • Cleveland Indians (2012-14)
  • Boston Red Sox (2014)
  • Chicago Cubs (2015-)


Matt Stinson is a Canadian baseball pitcher who is currently with the Chicago Cubs. He was drafted in the second round, 45th overall, during the 2010 draft for Cleveland. He made his debut for the team in 2012.

Early Career

Matt Stinson was born in Brampton, Canada, a suburb of Toronto. He started playing baseball in high school at the age of 15, and after two years with his high school, he joined Everest Academy in 2008 until graduation in 2010. After being drafted by the Cleveland Indians, he spent the 2010 season with the AA Akron Aeros, making 35 appearances and 26 starts. Stinson went 3-8 with a 3.46 ERA, having not won a single game at home. Stinson often criticized the lack of crowd support at Akron games. After starting 2011 in AA with three starts, Stinson was called up to AAA Columbus Clippers, making 58 appearances, all but one in relief. Stinson went 5-1 with a 2.46 ERA. He was invited to spring training for 2012 and eventually earned his first call up to the majors shortly afterwards.

Cleveland Indians

Stinson made his first MLB start for the Cleveland Indians on April 5, 2012, against the Chicago White Sox. He had a rough start to the season, losing his first three starts before earning his first win on April 22, 2012, against Detroit. He wavered in form throughout the next two months, enduring a rough stretch in June when he did not exit the fifth inning in three straight games, all losses.

After his start on July 22, when he gave up three runs in the fifth inning before being pulled, Stinson made some harsh criticisms on Indians manager Manny Acta and how he was handling the chemistry within the team. Stinson then pitched relief against Tampa on July 27 and 28 before eventually being optioned to AAA shortly after his last appearance. In his first start back with the Columbus Clippers, Stinson pitched 8 scoreless innings on six hits and six strikeouts. Stinson pitched 6.1 innings in his next start on August 5, allowing one run. Stinson earned a call up to the majors the next day and started on August 9. In his first game back against Baltimore, Stinson gave up four home runs, and threw down his glove in disgust after giving up his fourth home run.

Stinson's losing streak continued into September, until he won his first game in the majors since early July with a 7.1 inning performance against the White Sox on September 17. Stinson won again on September 27 against Boston. Stinson ended the season 7-15, with a 5.85 ERA.

Stinson started 2013 on the rotation but after going 1-3 in his first four starts, Stinson publically criticized the infield for making errors during the games he pitched. As a result, Stinson was moved to the bullpen, usually pitching in blowout situations. He received two wins while in relief, on May 7 and May 10 against Detroit and Toronto respectively. Despite that, his ERA remained high throughout the season, nearing 7 earned runs on average. When Jeff Karstens went to the DL, Stinson was placed back on the rotation starting from May 15 onwards.

Stinson remained on the rotation, but racked up more losses during the course of the season. Stinson did get a complete game against the Minnesota Twins on June 26, his first in his career. Later on, he managed to get two straight wins for the first time in nearly a year on July 20, and improved to 7-10 on the season. However, Stinson then went on a losing streak of sorts, dropping eight of the next nine starts. (losing against Texas, Baltimore, Detroit, Seattle, Oakland, getting a no decision from the Angels, losing against Minnesota, White Sox, and Kansas City) Stinson was then demoted to the bullpe, where he remained for the rest of the season. Stinson got his first win in two months on September 21 as he pitched the final two innings for hometown Cleveland against Minnesota in extra innings. He also finished with a lower ERA (5.58) than the previous season, though he ended up starting less games overall.

Stinson started off on a bad streak to the 2014 season. He didn't get his first win of the season until May 16, pitching 7.1 innings in a 9-0 win over Washington. That put Stinson at 1-6 for the season. Stinson's ERA was very high at the beginning of the season, putting his rotation status in doubt. Stinson managed to string togethr to straight wins a row on June 6 against Houston and June 12 against the Chicago Cubs. Despite the slow progress, Stinson remained at 3-9, with 3 no decisions, before being traded to Boston shortly after his start on June 18 in return for catcher Dusty Brown.

Boston Red Sox

Stinson entered a stacked starting rotation, starting alongside Felix Hernandez, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, and Clay Buchholz. His first start for the Red Sox was a 3-0 win over Oakland on June 24, his first win over an American League opponent since September 2013. He pitched well in the next start against the Yankees, but got a no-decision.

Stinson pitched a perfect game on August 3, 2014, against his former team Cleveland Indians. Getting 10 strikeouts, Stinson was aided by a struggling team at the plate, as only five batters managed to hit the ball in the outfield. The rest either struck out or grounded out, or popped out in the infield. Stinson became the first Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter since 2008, and the first perfect game thrower since Cy Young back in 1904, when the team was called the Boston Americans.

Stinson continued on his form for the rest of the season, setting career highs in ERA (5.00) and in wins (going 10-14 for the whole season). He pitched in the ALDS in the postseason against Texas, going 5+ innings in a win over Texas. He also pitched in the ALCS against Minnesota, but was batted around during that matchup, allowing 4 runs in the loss. Despite this, the Red Sox beat the Twins in six games, advancing to the World Series facing the Philadelphia Phillies. Stinson pitched Game 1, and had difficulty pitching against them as he allowed 6 runs in 3+ innings, and hit two batters in the process. When he was pulled from the game, Stinson was booed off the mound. The Red Sox lost the game and the series in five games.

Chicago Cubs

Shortly after the World Series, Stinson was traded to the Chicago Cubs in return for Zack Greinke, despite Stinson telling the front office that he wanted to stay with the Red Sox and sign an extension. Stinson entered 2015 on the last year of his contract, and was dismayed that he was traded away just days after the Red Sox lost the series.