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Matt Alexander
Matt Alexander - Wichita Aeros.jpg
Outfielder
Born: (1947-01-30) January 30, 1947 (age 77)
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Batted: Switch Threw: Right
debut
August 23, 1973, for the Chicago Cubs
Last appearance
October 3, 1981, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average .214
Runs scored 111
Stolen bases 103
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Matthew Alexander (born January 30, 1947) is a retired Major League baseball player. He was a utility player for the Chicago Cubs 1973–1974, Oakland Athletics 1975–1977 and Pittsburgh Pirates 1978–1981. He holds the record for most appearances as a pinch runner in MLB history.

Playing career

In his later years, Alexander was used mostly as a pinch runner by manager Chuck Tanner, and so earned the sobriquet "Matt the Scat." Tanner had managed in Oakland in 1976 and brought Alexander to Pittsburgh after he became manager of the Pirates. Alexander helped the Athletics win the 1975 American League Western Division and the Pirates win the 1979 World Series. He played every non-pitching position in his major league career except catcher and first base.

In nine seasons he played in 374 games and had 168 at-bats, 111 runs, 36 hits, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 4 RBI, 103 stolen bases, 18 walks, a .214 batting average, an .294 on-base percentage, .262 slugging percentage, 44 total bases, 8 sacrifice hits and 1 intentional walk. He is one of only seven players (excluding pitchers) to have played at least 100 games and have more games played than at-bats.

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