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.
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
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, 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.