Matt Stairs

Matthew Wade Stairs (born February 27, 1968) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter, who holds the record for most pinch-hit home runs in Major League Baseball (MLB) history with 23.

After playing Bantam & Midget baseball, at age 16 and 17, he played for the local Marysville Royals of the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League and was voted "Rookie of The Year" in 1984 and the league's Most Valuable Player in 1985.

He was also named Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League MVP in 1987 and '88 while playing for the Fredericton Schooners.

He attended the National Baseball Institute (NBI) in Vancouver, British Columbia for one year and played for Canada at the 1987 World Amateur Championships in Italy where he was named to the "World All-Star" team.

In 1988, he joined the Canadian Junior National team after graduating from Fredericton High School.

From there he went on to play for the Canadian Olympic Team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

On January 17, 1989, Stairs was signed as an international free agent by the Montreal Expos.

Stairs was then assigned to low single-A Jamestown Expos where he played second and third base.

He played Double-A ball in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for the Harrisburg Senators, where he led the league in hitting and was voted the Eastern League's 1991 Most Valuable Player.

In 1992 and 1993, he moved up to Triple-A (Indianapolis and Ottawa, respectively), with only brief appearances in the majors.

Over his career, Stairs has played for six other minor league teams: The Indianapolis Indians (Triple-A) in 1992, the Ottawa Lynx (Triple-A) in 1993, the New Britain Red Sox (Double-A) in 1994, the Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A) in 1995, the Edmonton Trappers (Triple-A) in 1996 and a few rehab games for the Nashville Sounds (Triple-A) in 2003.

His totals in the minors include a .291 batting average with 46 home runs and 237 RBI.

Stairs began his Major League career in 1992 with the Montreal Expos, with whom he played sporadically throughout the season.

He ended up only playing in 19 games for the Expos from 1992 to 1993.

On June 8, 1993, Stairs' contract was purchased by the Chunichi Dragons of the NPB.

He played 60 games for the Dragons that season, hitting .250, with six home runs and 23 RBI in 142 at bats.

On December 15, 1993, he was re-signed as a free agent by Montreal.

Stairs was sold on February 18, 1994, to the Boston Red Sox and assigned to the Double-A New Britain Red Sox for the 1994 season, where he batted .309 with nine home runs and 61 RBI in 93 games.

He started the 1995 season with the Pawtucket farm club until being called up to the major leagues in June 1995.

He played in 39 games for the Red Sox, hitting .261 with a home run and 17 RBI.

At the end of the season, he accepted an offer to play with the Oakland Athletics after becoming a free agent.

Stairs had the best years of his career playing for the Athletics.

He was called up from Triple-A Edmonton in 1996, after crushing International League pitching to a tune of a .344 average with eight home runs and 41 RBI over the first 51 games.

He played mostly in right field and as a designated hitter, alongside superstars Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, and Jose Canseco, throughout his tenure in Oakland.

In his July 5, 1996 debut with Oakland, Stairs tied a major league record with six runs batted in during one inning.

That first inning performance included a grand slam and a two-run single (subsequently broken by Fernando Tatís in 1999).

In 1999, he finished 17th in the American League in the MVP race with a .258 batting average, 38 home runs and 102 RBI in 146 games.

After five seasons with the Athletics, during which he hit 122 home runs and drove in 315 RBI, he was traded on November 20, 2000, to the Chicago Cubs for minor league pitcher Eric Ireland.

On December 19, 2000, Stairs agreed to a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Cubs to avoid arbitration.

The trade was largely seen as a cost-cutting move by the cash-strapped Athletics—Stairs was set to earn $3.2 million for the 2001 season, and his production had dropped in 2000, hitting just .227 with 21 home runs and 81 RBI.

He served as the first baseman for the Cubs in 2001.

His pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning of Game 4 in the 2008 National League Championship Series off the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton was called "one of the most memorable home runs in Phillies history".

In his career, Stairs played for more teams than any position player in MLB history (12 – technically 13 teams, but 12 franchises, as he played for the Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals); Edwin Jackson holds the record for pitchers and all players at 14.

He was the second Canadian-born player ever to hit more than thirty-five home runs in a season, and only the second to hit more than 25 home runs and drive in more than 100 runs in back-to-back seasons.

He ranks either first or second in power hitting categories for Canadian major leaguers.

Stairs also holds the all-time MLB record of home runs hit as a pinch-hitter with 23.

His ability to pinch hit made him a valuable asset to several teams and earned him the nickname "Matt Stairs – Professional Hitter".

Stairs, Larry Walker, Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, and Joey Votto are the only Canadian MLB players to hit at least 200 career home runs.

On February 4, 2015, Stairs was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Born in Saint John and grew up in Tay Creek New Brunswick, Stairs showed athletic ability at an early age, playing Beaver League baseball a year before his age eligibility; he also excelled in hockey.