Matt Wieters

Matthew Richard Wieters (born May 21, 1986) is an American former professional baseball catcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, and St. Louis Cardinals.

Wieters was born on May 21, 1986, in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

He played high school baseball at Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

He played under Coach John Chalus, where he and the Knights made it to the AAAA state championship series.

Wieters attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and played college baseball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

He is one of just three players in Georgia Tech history to earn first-team All-America honors on at least two occasions.

In 2006, Wieters played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL).

He hit .307 with eight home runs for Orleans, and was named the league's outstanding pro prospect.

Wieters played college baseball for Georgia Tech and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles with the fifth overall selection in the 2007 MLB draft.

He was named a first-team All-America by Rivals.com and first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2007, first-team All-America by Baseball America and second-team All-ACC in 2006, and the ACC Rookie of the Year, Freshman All-America and first-team All-ACC in 2005.

He finished 2007 having played in 169 consecutive games.

Wieters served as Tech's primary closer for his first two years and as one of two closers his junior season.

Wieters was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles with the 5th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft and signed a contract with a $6 million signing bonus on August 15, 2007.

That winter, he played for the Honolulu Sharks, hitting .283 in 31 games with one home run, 17 runs batted in, nine doubles, one triple, 44 total bases, and 12 walks.

Going into the 2008 season, he was ranked 12th by Baseball America on their 2008 Top 100 Prospects List and was the highest ranked catcher on the list.

He attended 2008 spring training with the Orioles, starting the season with their Class A affiliate the Frederick Keys.

He gained a midseason promotion to the Double-A Bowie Baysox.

In 130 games for the Keys and Baysox, hit a combined .355 BA/.454 OBP/.600 SLG with 27 home runs and 91 RBI.

Wieters earned the 2008 Minor League Player of the Year honors from Baseball America.

According to Clay Davenport's measure EqA, Wieters had one of the single best seasons in recorded minor league history.

His EqAs of .301 and .349 were the highest marks in their respective leagues in the last 40 years (although this would later turn out to be partially a result of inflated league difficulty factors ).

Wieters participated in the 2008 Arizona Fall League season, playing for the Surprise Rafters.

He was also selected to play in the Fall League's Rising Stars game.

He made his MLB debut in 2009.

Wieters is a four-time MLB All-Star and has won two Gold Glove Awards.

Wieters hit .343 in 35 spring training at bats for the Orioles in 2009, but was sent down to Triple-A Norfolk to start the season.

He was named the No. 2 prospect in MiLB by Minor League News in the MLN FAB50 Baseball 2009 rankings.

Wieters made his major league debut on May 29, 2009, against the Detroit Tigers.

Wieters' first major league hit came the next night, a triple, off of Detroit's Justin Verlander.

Wieters hit his first career home run June 17 against the Mets, a two-run home run off of Mets starter Tim Redding.

Wieters changed his jersey number after his rookie season from 15 to 32, which was what he wore in college at Georgia Tech.

Although Wieters disappointed some observers because of his difficulties handling the Baltimore pitching staff, he established himself as a solid defensive catcher in 2010, throwing out many runners, while also hitting for power and a fairly good average at the plate.

Wieters earned a Fielding Bible Award and a Gold Glove in 2011 as the best defensive catcher in MLB, and American League, respectively.

On April 16, 2012, Wieters helped the Orioles rally to beat the Chicago White Sox in 10 innings by hitting his first career grand slam.

Wieters was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2013.

Wieters finished his junior season ranked tied for sixth in the Yellow Jacket record books with 54 career doubles with 198 runs batted in along with 16 saves in his three years on the Flats.

He also ranked 13th with a .359 career batting average and 418 total bases, tying for 16th with 35 home runs and 18th with 253 hits in his college career.

Wieters played for the Orioles through the 2016 season before becoming a free agent.

He has also played for the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals.