Matt Stairs

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Matt Stairs

Position	Right Fielder
Current Team	Toronto Blue Jays
Experience	14 years
Age	38
Height	5 ft. 9 In.
Weight	215 lb.
Bats	Left
Throws	Right
2006 Salary	$1,350,000

Matthew Wade Stairs (born February 27, 1968 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada) is a Major League Baseball player who plays for The Toronto Blue Jays. In the off-season, he calls Bangor, Maine his home while coaching hockey.

Growing up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Matt Stairs showed athletic ability at an early age, playing Beaver League baseball a year before his age eligibility. After Bantam & Midget baseball, at age 16 he played for the Marysville team in the New Brunswick Senior Baseball league where he was voted "Rookie of The Year" and in his second year was named the league's Most Valuable Player.

After attending the Baseball Institute School in Vancouver, British Columbia for one year, he joined the Canadian Junior National team from where he went on to play for the Canadian Olympic Team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He played for Canada at the World Amateur Championships in Italy where he was named to the "World All-Star" team.

Signed by the Montreal Expos to a minor league contract, Stairs played AA ball in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where he led the league in hitting and was voted the Eastern League’s 1991 M.V.P. In 1992 and 1993, he moved up to AAA ball (Indianapolis and Ottawa, respectively), with only brief appearances in the majors. On June 8, 1993, his contract was purchased by the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese league. After the season, on December 15, 1993 was re-signed as a Free Agent by Montreal, before being sold on February 18, 1994 to the Boston Red Sox and assigned to Class AA New Britain for the 1994 season. He then started the 1995 season with the Pawtucket farm club until being called up to the major leagues in June 1995. At the end of the season, he accepted an offer to play with the Oakland Athletics. After being called up from AAA Edmonton, Stairs immediately joined a very elite circle when he tied a Major League Baseball record for driving in six runs in one inning.

After four more seasons with the Athletics, during which he hit 122 home runs and drove in 315 RBIs, on November 20, 2000 he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Eric Ireland. 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, as he hit just .227 with 21 home runs and 81 RBIs.

He is only the second Canadian born player to ever 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 of any Canadian to ever play in the Major Leagues. He is one of only two Canadian MLB players to hit more than 200 career home runs, (the other is former major league outfielder Larry Walker).

Stairs can play left field, right field, and first base, though his age and increasingly poor speed have earned him a reputation as a defensive liability in the outfield. He still possesses a strong throwing arm, however, and is considered a perfectly capable fielder at first.

Stairs played for Canada at the World Baseball Classic as the team's Designated Hitter.

At the 2006 Major League Baseball trade deadline, he was traded to the Rangers from the Kansas City Royals. On September 15, 2006, the Detroit Tigers claimed him off waivers from the Rangers.[1]. On the day he was claimed, he immediately went to Detroit, arriving at Comerica Park halfway through the game and immediately took Marcus Thames' place in the lineup.

On December 7, 2006 Stairs and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a one year deal.

[edit] Career Statistics

Matt Stairs (Updated as of November 27, 2006)

	Games	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA
Career	1416	4243	633	1125	243	11	220	751	25	.265

[edit] See also

• Players from Canada in MLB

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis