Brian Matusz, who helped bring the University of San Diego baseball team to national prominence before pitching eight seasons in the major leagues, has died.
Matusz, 37, was found dead Monday in a Phoenix home, according to an NBC News report. No cause of death has been announced. A Phoenix Police Department spokesman said a “death investigation” will be conducted, according to the report.
“I was saddened and heartbroken when I heard the news early Tuesday morning,” former USD head coach Rich Hill said by phone from Honolulu, where he is the head coach at Hawaii. “My heart absolutely aches for his mom and dad and also his brother.
“Brian and I remained close over the years and I loved his gentle, laid-back spirit off the field. On the mound, he was such a talented, ferocious competitor.”
A native of Cave Creek, Ariz., Matusz starred at Phoenix’s St. Mary’s High School. He was a fourth-round pick by the Angels in the 2005 MLB Draft, but chose college over the pros out of high school.
With Matusz and fellow left-hander Josh Romanski, USD had its first big-name recruits.
Hill even walked the players to their first classes to make sure they weren’t spirited away by a last-minute sales pitch from the pros.
Their impact was immediate.
The Toreros opened the 2006 season with perhaps the program’s greatest moment, sweeping top-ranked Texas, the 2005 national champion, in a three-game series at USD’s Cunningham Stadium.
In his first collegiate appearance, Matusz allowed two runs on three hits in four innings to earn a save in the series opener.
Current USD head coach Brock Ungricht was a junior at San Diego State when he crossed paths with Matusz in a series between the crosstown rivals during the pitcher’s freshman year.
“He threw me a 3-2 changeup that I thought was in the dirt, but was at my knees for strike three,” recalled Ungricht, who was among 10 strikeout victims that day.
Matusz limited SDSU coach Tony Gwynn’s Aztecs to three hits and one run over eight innings in a 3-1 USD win.
“I didn’t know who he was, but I remember Coach Gwynn said that was a great pitch, and he never gave anyone credit,” Ungricht remembered with a smile. “More than that, Brian really, really loved USD. Everything Coach Hill created here, and with his teammates, meant everything to him, from what he told me.”
Over three years at USD, Matusz established himself as the finest pitcher in Toreros history.
He was a finalist for the 2008 Golden Spikes Award after leading the nation with 141 strikeouts while compiling a 1.71 ERA. That year, he tied a school record with 17 strikeouts in a win over Harvard.
Matusz left USD as the program’s all-time strikeouts leader (396).
“He was part of that 2006 to 2008 group that swept No. 1 Texas and changed the trajectory of USD baseball,” Hill said. “His accolades speak for themselves, but what people didn’t see was his humble, down-to-earth nature, the huge heart for his community and teammates.”
The Baltimore Orioles took Matusz with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft. He rose quickly through the minor leagues, making his major league debut only 14 months after being selected. His first appearance was a memorable one, getting the victory over the Detroit Tigers after allowing six hits and one earned run with five strikeouts over five innings.
Injuries and inconsistency marked Matusz’s time as a starter with the Orioles, though he found success out of the bullpen.
In 2012, he posted a 1.35 ERA in 18 relief appearances while helping Baltimore reach the postseason for the first time in 15 years. Matusz appeared in all five games of the O’s ALDS series against the Yankees. From 2013-15, Matusz made 186 relief appearances for Baltimore, compiling a 3.32 ERA.
Matusz was notable as Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz’s nemesis. In 30 plate appearances against Matusz, Big Papi was 4-for-29 (.138) with 13 strikeouts.
Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter, Matusz’s manager with the O’s, told The Baltimore Banner: “He was a big part of our success. We were very picky about getting the right attitude, makeup, guys who would fit into who we wanted to be. Brian was one of them. …
“I’m going to dwell on the great memories of Brian and that smile and how much he enjoyed the success we had there. He loved to compete; he had a talented hand. It’s just a lesson to all of us how fleeting things can be.”
Former Orioles teammate and San Diego native Adam Jones tweeted: “Wow. Just wow. RIP to a good friend and teammate. We had some amazing times on and off the field. Rest easy my friend. Wow.”
Matusz made his last major league appearance in a 2016 start for the Chicago Cubs. He pitched in 280 games (69 starts), compiling a 27-41 record with 462 strikeouts and a 4.92 ERA.
Huge banners of Matusz and former USD third baseman Kris Bryant, hang on a wall high above the first-base dugout at USD’s ballpark, which was redone in 2013 as Fowler Park, commemorating the program’s top pitcher and hitter.
“He will be missed,” Ungricht said of Matusz. “But as I told the team today, looking up at that banner, he is always watching over the Toreros.”
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