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Michael Scott Matheny (born September 22, 1970) is an American former professional baseball catcher and the current manager of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB), a position he has held since 2012.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mike Matheny statistics and history )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Managers and coaches: Mike Matheny )〕 A product of the University of Michigan, Matheny was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth round of the 1991 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut for the Brewers in 1994 and retired in 2006 with the San Francisco Giants. He also played for the Toronto Blue Jays and Cardinals during his thirteen-year catching career. Though not a prodigious hitter, Matheny was one of the most accomplished defensive catchers of his era, winning four Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. Further, he established major league records among catchers for consecutive games played without committing an error (252), and consecutive chances fielded without an error (1,565). Matheny is one of only three Major League catchers with an errorless season of at least 100 games, and he set a Giants single-season team record in 2005 for catcher's fielding percentage at .999. He retired from playing due to persisting concussion symptoms, and has since become an advocate for its prevention and for improved catcher safety. After his playing career, Matheny coached Little League Baseball. The Cardinals hired him to manage following the 2011 season in spite of having no previous professional experience. In 2015, he became the first manager in MLB history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons, and, in 2014, just the fifth to a League Championship Series appearance in each of his first three. His furthest title claim occurred in 2013, when the Cardinals won the National League pennant, only to fall to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. ==Early life and amateur career== Matheny grew up in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, just minutes from the city of Columbus. He graduated from Reynoldsburg High School, where he captained the baseball and football teams.〔 Receiving little attention from nearby Ohio State University, University of Michigan (UM) coach Bud Middaugh offered him a scholarship to attend UM. Because of his defensive and throwing skills, Matheny drew the notice of major league scouts while in high school. The Toronto Blue Jays drafted him in the 31st round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft but waited two days until after the draft ended to inform Matheny they had chosen him. At first, they refused to disclose to him in which round they had selected him.〔 Two days before he was due to attend his first class, Blue Jays general manager Pat Gillick appeared at Matheny's home to convince him to sign. Gillick was ready to offer a deal normally reserved for second-round picks. During that time, teams held the right to negotiate with their draft picks until the moment they entered their first classroom of the following academic year. The Blue Jays constantly called Matheny until the morning of his first class, hoping he would sign.〔 Confounded by the Blue Jays' overtures, Matheny was convinced that he would not be a very good professional player at that point, so he chose to attend college instead. Prior to proceeding to his first class, he called the Blue Jays from his dormitory room to inform them that he decided to attend the University of Michigan. At UM, Matheny co-captained the Wolverines baseball team.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mike Matheny )〕 He was a member of the 1989 Connie Mack championship team.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mike Matheny」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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