Matt Murton | |||
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Murton with the Hanshin Tigers
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Free agent | |||
Outfielder | |||
Born: Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
October 3, 1981 |||
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Professional debut | |||
MLB: July 8, 2005, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
NPB: March 26, 2010, for the Hanshin Tigers | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .286 | ||
Hits | 415 | ||
Home runs | 29 | ||
Runs batted in | 112 | ||
NPB statistics (through 2015) |
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Batting average | .310 | ||
Hits | 1020 | ||
Home runs | 77 | ||
Runs batted in | 417 | ||
Teams | |||
Matthew Henry Murton (born October 3, 1981), nicknamed "Thunder Matt", is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He previously played five years in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Colorado Rockies.
Murton was drafted out of Georgia Tech baseball in the supplemental first round of the 2003 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox. Murton played just 155 games in the Red Sox organization, with the Lowell Spinners and the Sarasota Red Sox, hitting for a high on-base percentage and average power.
Murton was acquired at the 2004 trading deadline by the Chicago Cubs along with Red Sox star shortstop and fellow former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Nomar Garciaparra as part of a four-team blockbuster deal. He spent the rest of the year with the Single-A Daytona Cubs.
He started 2005 with the Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx and on July 8, he was called up along with Adam Greenberg, replacing the struggling Corey Patterson, and Jason Dubois. On the same day, he went 2-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly against the Florida Marlins in his major league debut. He continued his success in the majors over the rest of the season, hitting .321 with two stolen bases, seven home runs, and an on-base percentage of .386 in 51 games in 2005.