Changes: Matt Murton

Revision as of 02:33, 19 February 2007

Template:Infobox MLB player Matthew Henry Murton (born October 3, 1981 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is an outfielder who currently plays Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs. Murton was acquired (in 2004) from the Boston Red Sox along with Nomar Garciaparra in the famous 4-team deal with the Boston Red Sox to bring Garciaparra to Chicago and was a single-A outfielder at the time. He spent the rest of the year on the single-A Daytona Cubs. He started 2005 with the AA 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, hitting .321 with two stolen bases, seven home runs, and an on-base-percentage of .386 in 51 games in 2005 and became one of the only highlights of a disappointing end to the Cubs 2005 season. His surprise success, as well as red hair and clutch hitting made him a fan favorite and earned him nicknames, such as "Thunder Matt", "Big Red" and "The Big Murt." He went from being one of the less well-known prospects in the Cubs organization in early 2005 to being the starting left fielder on the Cubs 2006 team.

On August 3, 2006, Murton went 4 for 4 with 4 doubles and 5 RBI in game 2 of a double-header against the Arizona Diamondbacks, matching a Major League record for doubles in a single game. He finished the year leading the Cubs in batting average, at .297, with 13 home runs and 62 runs batted in.

External links

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+{{Infobox MLB player|
-'''Matthew Henry Murton''' (born [[October 3rd]], [[1981]]) is the starting [[left fielder]] for the [[Chicago Cubs]] as of the [[2006]] season, having rookied the previous year platooning with members of the Cub bench. He was acquired from the [[Boston Red Sox]] at the trade deadline in [[2004]] with Nomar Garciaparra in a four team deal that also landed [[Doug Mientkiewicz]] in [[Boston Red Sox|Boston]].
+bgcolor1=gray|
+bgcolor2=#0E3386|
+bgcolor3=red|
+textcolor1=black|
+textcolor2=red|
+textcolor3=blue|
+name=Matt Murton|
+image=Matt_Murton.jpg|
+team=[[Chicago Cubs]]|
+number=19|
+position=Outfielder|
+bats=right|
+throws=right|
+debutdate=July 8|
+debutyear=2005|
+debutteam=Chicago Cubs
+}}
+'''Matthew Henry Murton''' (born [[October 3]], [[1981]] in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]]) is an outfielder who currently plays [[Major League Baseball]] for the [[Chicago Cubs]]. Murton was acquired (in [[2004 in baseball|2004]]) from the [[Boston Red Sox]] along with [[Nomar Garciaparra]] in the famous 4-team deal with the Boston Red Sox to bring Garciaparra to Chicago and was a single-A outfielder at the time. He spent the rest of the year on the single-A [[Daytona Cubs]]. He started [[2005]] with the AA [[West Tenn Diamond Jaxx]] and on [[July 8]], he was called up along with [[Adam Greenberg (outfielder)|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, hitting .321 with two [[stolen bases]],  seven [[home runs]], and an [[on-base-percentage]] of .386 in 51 games in 2005 and became one of the only highlights of a disappointing end to the [[Chicago Cubs|Cubs]] 2005 season. His surprise success, as well as [[red hair]] and clutch hitting made him a fan favorite and earned him nicknames, such as "Thunder Matt", "Big Red" and "The Big Murt."  He went from being one of the less well-known prospects in the [[Chicago Cubs|Cubs]] organization in early 2005 to being the starting [[left fielder]] on the Cubs [[2006]] team.
+On [[August 3]], [[2006 in baseball|2006]], Murton went 4 for 4 with 4 doubles and 5 RBI in game 2 of a double-header against the Arizona Diamondbacks, matching a Major League record for doubles in a single game. He finished the year leading the Cubs in [[batting average]], at .297, with 13 home runs and 62 [[runs batted in]].
-==Scouting Report==
-Matt is a patient contact hitter with some power who draws a lot of walks and does a good job of hitting to the opposite field. He hits noticeably better against lefties, although he does has shown the ability to have moderate success against right handers as well.
-==Rookie Year==
+==External links==
+* [http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player.jsp?player_id=444875 MLB.com: Matt Murton]
-Sharing left field duties with a platoon of other bench players, Matt made 51 appearances in his rookie season, his first being a start in left field on [[July 8th]] against the [[Florida Marlins]], going 2 for 2 with a [[double]] and an [[RBI]]. Over the course of the season, he hit for a .321 average with a .386 OBP and .521 SLG, [[RBI|driving in]] 14 and scoring 19 [[Runs]] during two stints with the major league club between [[July 8th]] - [[August 19th]] and [[August 30th]] - the season's end.
+*[http://thundermatt.blogspot.com/ Thunder Matt's Saloon (Cubs fan site)]
+[[Category:1981 births|Murton, Matt]]
+[[Category:Chicago Cubs players|Murton, Matt]]
+[[Category:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's baseball players|Murton, Matt]]
+[[Category:Major league outfielders|Murton, Matt]]
+[[Category:Major league players from Florida|Murton, Matt]]
+[[Category:Major league left fielders|Murton, Matt]]
+[[Category:Players|Murton, Matt]]
+{{Left_fielder_stub}}