3B Travis Mattair, the Phillies 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft has made a decision to return to the baseball diamond after a one year “retirement”. Excellent work over at http://www.phoulballz.com in picking up the story and interviewing Mattair. Mattair, who is soon to be 22, spent both 2008 and 2009 in Lakewood and hit .236/.326/.333 in a disappointing 2009 campaign. In 450 AB’s, Mattair had 3 HR and 39 RBI to go along with 12 SB.
Mattair has placed himself behind the eight ball underperforming in 2009 and then with his self-imposed exile (trying to earn some minutes on the Boise State basketball team) last year, however, with that being said, he is a player who the Phils put a good deal of stock into at one point. It should be interesting to see what Mattair can do to earn a minor league roster spot in 2011 after a full year away from the game.
Phuture Phillies 
That’s really interesting news, and I’ll be rooting for him since I was a big supporter of him during his first tenure with the organization. That being said, he really didn’t show us anything with the bat, and losing a year certainly couldn’t have helped that. Given that the guy reportedly has some serious fielding skills, I wonder if the Phils will really put some effort into turning his swing around.
– Jeff
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As a player of Boise State baseball, I assure everyone Travis my not have fulfilled his expectations like the franchise had hoped. however he and I put a significant amount of time into both his and my swing over the past 6 months or so. As goes for his fielding abilities, they are far beyond the average D1 athlete. Assuming his swing holds up over the next season i dont doubt he wont make the 40 man roster for 2013 season. And if he continues to work and progress at the plate like I saw, he just might be a competetor for a starting 3B position second to Beltre.
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did you just awaken from a 10-month deep freeze?
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The generosity of the Phils org in welcoming him back may turn out only as Mattair’s way of staying with them long enough to gain his college tuition paid.
He showed next to nothing as a two year baseball pro in the system, despite enthusiasm of many here about his being a “find” who could soon enough respond to the team’s almost desperate need for a 3rd baseman.
I view his leaving the org and wish to return to be a most cynical two-facedness that will yield no benefit to the Phils…but a college support system for him.
He has shown that he can’t field nor hit in his pro years. Were I the GM, i’d be very cautious about accepting him back with that record and going permissive absentee, leaving the org in the lurch. He DID receive 2nd round bonus money which would pay his tuition.
With his showing few baseball skills to build on, and his “athleticism” being the unsatisfied hope behind his drafting, IMO he should be told to go fry his own fish. There remains only a tiny chance for him to develop enough skill in field and at plate before he hangs them up again; and he is behind maybe two or more years in any development scheme.
Sorry. I am not a member of a welcoming committee.
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Maybe he just likes playing baseball? That would be pretty weird though right?
Also isn’t the whole college fund in case baseball doesn’t work out thing not dependent on playing a certain amount of years? So I doubt he’s coming back to collect a paycheck as it’s been proven and explained millions of times that minor league ball players barely make more than minimum wage.
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Art D you obviously know nothin about Mattair. Anyone on this site who knows anything about how he plays clearly knows that his best tool is his glove(“he’s shown he can’t field). The only thing he’s lackin is his bat which maybe just takes him longer to develope in the pro ranks. But down playing his glove is nonsense, cause he clearly has that.
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Let’s not over analyze this. We have another guy in the organization with Potential. He has great hands, size and make up. Let’s see if we can get this guy to swing the bat. Either way, we lose nothing. I am thrilled he is back. We are so thin at that position he can only help.
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DITTO
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Article says Mattair’s tuition would have been paid due to the contract he signed out of High School regardless, so he does not need to put anymore time in service. Mattair’s issue was if he started collecting his tuition payments now he would only have a mere 10 years to finish his education, and since he was then planning to go back into professional baseball he thought his lengthy baseball career might impinge on his quest to finish his education within that 10 year period.
Guess that overly generous situation arises from a player procurement system that is based on bribing and begging these guys not to go to College. No always acceptable solution on the horizon , unless a great number of Colleges decide they can no longer afford a Baseball Team , like Cal did.
As to Mattair , not really blocked by any great talents projected to Lakewood, and maybe they could even shift some people around at Clearwater, though the lower level to start might be better. Hope they don’t give any special considerations in this situation, as it would send a bad message to any other problematic types who might decide to go walk-about.
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Someone mentioned “great make-up”. Where? He got his bonus, stunk it up, then quit. He may be a nice young man, but he has not displayed “great make up”.
As far as the Phillies showing generosity in accepting him back, I think that is false. They have nothing to lose. They already wasted that bonus money and college tuition on him. They might as well accept him back on the slight chance they can recoup some value from him.
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Not sure I get the anomosity towards the kid. He’s coming back to give baseball another shot. No doubt it’s a longer shot now than it was before he retired but don’t see why anyone is opposed to his return. It does no harm to the organization.
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To those who think that he might have some ulterior motive and he is trying to just soak the Phils out of their money: Mattair wouldn’t be the first twenty year old to not to what he wants to do with his life. Kids make moves like this all of the time i.e. leaving college because they want to work full-time, etc. It’s a classy move by the Phils to allow him back. But then again, I’m naive enough to believe that he’s not just trying to soak the team for his tuition. Of course, the College fund gives him ten years t0 complete his degree, so even if he had already taken a year of college, he would still have nine years to complete a bachelor degree – that’s plenty of time (even if he washes out of babeball in, say, two years).
Who knows? He sounds like a decent kid from a solid upbringing, and it gives us another guy to root for.
– Jeff
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Sorry I thought this was a free country. Is it hard to believe different people want different things. We are wannabes and as such can’t understand foregoing talent. Maybe the kid was just sick of baseball.
Is that a crime? It’s not like he took the money and ran. If his mind is
now 100% on baseball, just think of it as recuperation time. If you are worried about the front office, go buys some t-shirts and such.
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You never know but there can’t be too many instances where someone did this and then had a successful major league career. It’s not like he learned to hit a breaking pitch while perfecting his jump shot.
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Welcome back Travis.
We need infielders. I hope you blossom into the next Mike Schmidt.
Take it slow, work hard. We are pulling for you to have a break out year
in Lakewood.
He already had his college all set when he signed his first contract.
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No need for negativity. Good luck Travis. May your renewed passion for baseball translate into success.
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Wow.
Where did all the hostility toward Mattair come from?
Kid is huge, athletic, and can field. Had to be somewhat of a shock when he found out he really couldn’t hit professional-quality pitching.
Hope a miracle occurs and he figures something out with the bat. Not likely, but I’m sure not rooting against him. We need all the 3Bs in the system we can get.
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The need for 3b in the system is over blown on this site. Most all great 3b start out as shortstops anyway. Schmidt, Longoria, ARod, Wright and Zimmerman were all shortstops before they got to the majors. The system doesn’t need Thirdbasemen, it needs good Shortstops.
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Assuming he can still field excellently and hit over .200 he will likely be a defensive benefit for the staff at either Lakewood or Clearwater, depending on where Buschini ends up.
I’d still like to see Dugan get a tryout at 3B.
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you name six guys out of how many what are you talking about great thirdbaseman start out as shortstop. so out of all the great third basemen you name six and decide we need shortstops. brilliant. schmidt play on two bad knees in college coulnt play short so he a great shortstop. a rod was a high school shortstop never heard he was great fielder at short first time
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Look: I hope the guy turns out to be Rolen at 3rd without the surly disposition. I just have bad feelings about a guy who took many thou$oud$ from the Phils, and then decided that baseball was not his game after 2 pro years.
Did he know that when you are given that kind of money you’d be expected to dedicate yourself, wholly, to pro baseball AS YOUR OWN OBLIGATION UNDERTAKEN. Walking away in 24 plus months with those many thousands in your bank account is, to me, an indication of character lacking. He must have understood that by walking away and expecting to return (when?) MAYBE sometime, he was placing his baseball self in extreme jeopardy given his pro ball returns showing a great need to improve his game. He gave the Phils no choice about that: “Goodbye.”
Walking away instead of giving himself over to effort and working at his trade shows me that he considered himself incapable, or unwilling, to do that kind of hard work. As a PRO ($) athlete, he should have a proper attitude, i.e., when the going gets tough the tough get going. He didn’t have that kind of “toughness” and determination and work ethic that a MLB player must have to develope hitting and fielding skills in a very difficult proving ground and to be a competent MLB player.
I never heard anybody write or say that he is an excellent fielder; if true, that’s fine. But he OWES his best efforts to the org that filled his bank account expecting his effort to be in line with his high draft choice…He turned his back on them…not appreciated nor in any way to be expected. But the pocket change still jingles in his pocket.
However, IF he did show growing skills with possible good expectations, that would give a real shot and I’d welcome him back. But he has shown next to nothing at the plate and in his character.
Now… in the event he ends up as a sterling 3rd baseman and slugger with 25 plus HRs together with a high OBA, I will be here to apologize and eat crow. Who wants to take that bet?
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1. You don’t know why he ‘retired’ or what the situation was, 2. You have no clue what money ‘jingles in his pocket’ or what he has done with it, 3. Who are you to judge?
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Wow. Do we forget he’s 21? I am over 40 now, but when I was 21 I surely didn’t know what I wanted in life, and was probably still in college focusing on getting drunk and getting girls.
We forget the age of these kids. Give him some slack! And at the end of the day, the animosity is a little ridiculous isn’t it? It’s like the money, etc. he’s getting is coming from some of the people on this site. Chill folks. Considering teams have accepted back people with drug addictions, arrests, etc., and some of them have turned things around, isn’t a little silly to be so bitter about a 21 year old kid who was a tad confused?
And at the end of the day – we all benefit if he does well. We have no downside if he doesn’t.
Chillax:)
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It is easy. The real world is less attractive than playing baseball at any level. Good for him to be able to make that choice. I would love to have that option. Like someone said in an earlier post, it is another position player with potential. Good Luck to Travis.
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Make him a leftfielder—let him concentrate on hitting, and just catch the fly balls when they come out to him.
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First of all I want to mention he isn’t a kid in real life, most people are seniors in college and are considering a masters program, etc. In baseball terms he is to a degree, at 21 should be in high A at least. In the grand scheme of things its not a whole lot of money and if he can milk out a few more bucks and delay entering the real world for a few more yrs then more power to him. He isn’t blocking the next Zimmerman so why not give him another shot.
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Mikemike, you are such an idiot, you make nowheels look like Einstein. A-Rod won 2 Gold Gloves at SS, but this is the first time you have he was a good fielding SS?
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mike77
And you make yourself look like mike77.
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mike (IQ)77
All the players you name are large men generally considered the wrong body type for SS. Mattair has two to four inches on all of them. dah!
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This is a nice little human interest story, but on the baseball side, to me, this is barely a footnote.
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mike 77 you are the idiot to say we should draft shortstop because the are the great thirdbasemen stupid idiot statement by a stupid person, I said how do you know he was a great fielding shorttop in high school. if you ever play sports you would know ,that on most high school teams the pitchers are also the shortstops because they are great athlethe. did you ever play sports> and gold gloves dont always go to the best player
case in point jeter won some and he has very limited range. ripken had no range and won them. did you ever see a game. or do you just look up stats,.???
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Travis Mattair is the best third baseman in minor league baseball defensively. The best. In an interview with baseball america post-2009 season he was mentioned by one writer as just that. Anyone who saw him play in Lakewood knows this to be the case.
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What are we even arguing at this point? I’m lost.
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It’s irritating reading blatantly counterfactual claims. Let’s clean them up and move on.
1. Cal Ripken, when he was a SS, had not just average range, but spectacular range for his day. He had a cannon arm, played deep, and was a great athlete. He led the AL in defensive range stats for 6 consecutive years.
2. A-Rod was a well above average defensive SS. Again, check his fielding stats–very good range, good consistency.
3. Mattair is an exceptional defender at 3B. Check his (PO+A)/GM versus any of the SALLY League 3Bs in 2009, or the 2010 Lakewood bunch. Mattair plays a lot like Rolen–dives a lot, cannon arm, pretty consistent.
To echo a thought above, I really can’t figure out what we’re arguing about either. The system does need potential 3Bs who could either be low-level SSs now, or low-level 3Bs. Valle seems to have adapted to catching this year, so he’s off the radar for that particular position switch. Mattair is a long-shot to make it as a hitter, but his defense would play in the big leagues.
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Glad to see we have several people capable of patience, fellow-feeling, a kind attitude. I hope all of you are parents or will be, because that kind of attitude is what helps kids grow up and thrive. It also makes for a healthier sports fandom.
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Diamond – with all due respect, I don’t think anybody has anything but respect and good feelings for Travis Mattair. Nobody wishes him ill; to the contrary, everyone who reads this site would like him to succeed. But baseball is a business, not a charity and comments by most readers simply reflect whether we believe he is likely to progress and have a shot at being a big league player. Objectively, those odds seem exceedingly long as he has never showed any real improvement as a hitting prospect and, given that lack of progress, it seems like the most remote of possiblities that he has a long-term future in baseball. If he can’t do it, it’s no big deal – he’ll join the real world with the rest of us and get on with his life.
This has nothing to do with one’s children. In fact, I know, two of my children are high school athletes who play multiple sports with varying abilities and varying levels of success. To me, there is nothing more annoying and depressing than parents who view their children’s sports progress as critical and have agendas with their children’s coaches. In fact, I think one of the great ways for a child to learn about failure, success and sacrifice is for the player to be a borderline player in a sport who has to work to get into the game. Having that situation teaches a child: (a) the world does not revolve around you – the coach’s job is for the TEAM to win, not for you to play; (b) the likelihood that you will be able to earn a living playing sports is remote, at the very best – get used to it, get through school and have a game plan for succeeding at life, not just sports; (c) if you love playing the sport and you want more playing time it is up to YOU to get better, not for the coach to figure how to use you – like anything in life, if you want something, work for it and make the coach’s decision hard; and (d) even if you work your hardest and do your best, it may not work out in that sport, but that does not make your effort meaningless or less significant – keep your head up and keep trying and you will succeed in something in life where you do put that level of effort into achieving success.
So I think sports can teach all kinds of good life lessons even for those who can’t make it past the junior varsity team, or the college team or low A ball in the minors. So, while I sit and root for Travis Mattair, I cannot sit around and feel sorry for him if he does not make it. If he’s a good guy and does his best I am sure things will turn out well for him and, who knows, the whole experience just might make him a better person (although, frankly, he was interviewed on this site a few years ago and seemed like a really nice kid).
Okay, I’ll get off my soap box now.
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Having said all of that, I DO feel sorry for children who can’t make it in the sports world and for whom sports is a ticket out of a very difficult way of life or an opportunity to obtain an education that, otherwise, would not be available to that person. But the reason I care is not because of the possibility of success in sports . but because sports is an entree to a new and better life.
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We’ve seen great glove, no hit third basemen before. John Vukovich comes to mind. Even Abraham Nunez had his moments.
It’s certainly possible the kid had never experienced that kind of failure before. It’s quite humbling. Some kids work harder, and he may have tried that. If usually doesn’t work if you don’t have the talent. And sometimes time away from the game can clear one’s head and they come back with a new perspective and are able to maximize their potential.
It costs the Phillies little if anything. So why not give the kid another shot?
And about the short stops becoming third basemen. It does seem that the dominant third basemen in the game today mostly started out as shortstops. I’m not sure it’s a real strategy, but with the dearth of good middle infield talent in the Phillies’ system, I’ve often wondered why they don’t take one draft and draft shortstops the way they draft pitchers. They seem to spend more than half their picks on pitchers. Maybe they need to take a shot at shortstops the same way and hope to strike gold. If they can pick up some talent, they can always move redundant talent to other positions or in trades. But it seems the Phils rarely draft more than one or two shortstops per year.
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Absolutely great kid, wish him all the best…Would like nothing more than a breakout 2011 from Moose…
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ak the problem is a lot of kids cant move positon.. a lot have tried and failed,burrell moved from third to left and was a bad outfielder, you just cant make say kids who play second can play outfield or short, most times a second basemen doesn’t have the arm to play short or third, or a third basemen doesnt have the range to play short. the majors is a whole different stage .And to draft a shortstops to play third to me is stupid unless the kid projects to have the arm and reflexs to play third, Third basemen to be good must have reflex and some range, case in point I Point out about felix not being a great third basemen and got riped, but the stats came out and showed he had no range to his left and was bad on charging balls, had most accurate arm i have seen at third, remmeber errors dont reflex how good a guy is, most guys with errors get them because they get to more balls than others so will make more errors,
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At least on the pro level Burrell moved from first to outfield . Probably to keep Tavis Lee from crying. Bigtime mistake!
But you get a big DITTO for your thoughts Mike.
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This is an absolutely great kid. I don’t think many of you can appreciate what its like for a kid to be an absolute star his whole life and to then suddenly fail miserably. He needed some time away for perspective and presumably he has that now plus a bit more maturity. His glove and arm are major league quality today and he looks like Rolen on the field. His problem is he needs to just slow down and let his abilities flow. That plus learn how to hit off speed pitches… Remember he comes from Washington, not exactly a hot bed of talent and played a short season. Since we have zero major league 3B prospects (I don’t thnk Overbeck is a serious propsect to ever start at 3B in the majors), of course the prganization welcomed him back, and I’ll be rooting hard for him to succeed.
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Yeah, a year off to clear his head might is probably the best thing for him. He wasn’t cutting it before – maybe a year off will give him some perspective and allow him to take the game as it comes to him.
He does have some skill with the glove. Hopefully he can find a decent hitting coach to work with. With his size, he could hit for some power.
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Sometimes you don’t realize what you really want to do until you try something else. Good luck, Travis.
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It’s called a sunk cost. The bonus is gone; the day to day cost of keeping him on and developing is lower than finding a new person with equal or higher potential
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Now Travis Mattair would be a “Sleeper” if he shows any signs of hitting a ball 3 times out of 10! 😉 Ha Ha!
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Bottom line is the system does not have viable 3B options and can afford to give second chances. I cannot see how a guy could leave and come back to find his baseball self. At least the organization can bring down their cost average on this guy. Can anyone provide some insight on how Hewitt is so bad? Talk about an incredible bust.
At the same time, you look at a guy like Garcia who finally found his stroke after 5 years in the minors and still has a long way to go in making it to the big league.
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The Phillies inability to produce a mlb 3B reminds me of Andy Reid’s problem drafting WRs. It took 9 years, but they finally figured it out with DJax and Maclin. Drafting 3B seems to be the Phillies achilles heel, yet I expect quite a few homegrown stud SPs and RPs to bubble up to the big club over the next few years (May, Cosart, Colvin, Biddle, Worley, DeFratus, etc…).
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Remember the name Maikel Franco.
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Travis will be fine, he’s one hard working kid that was stuggling with what to do in life he will come back and do fine. How many of you that write and criticize him have ever played the game? put some thought into this .. he can hit and will hit just needs the time before it comes together Good Luck Travis
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Work ethic? Basketball and football offers? All of this stuff is BS. He never put the time in and spent the winters at home screwing around. Threw a tantrum because he failed to move past Low A, found out that college basketball was a complete pipe dream too, and now turning back to hide from real life for a while more. Charismatic kid who is a good filler player for Lakewood or Clearwater, but basically he’s a bum with the makeup of a petulant child. Sunk cost is right, but the lottery ticket doesn’t cost the Phils anything.
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