Jon Matlack
From The Met Wiki
Jon Matlack was a lefthanded pitcher for the Mets from 1971 to 1977. He had 82 wins and 1023 strikeouts in 203 games with the team. Matlack had 26 shutouts as a Met.
Matlack was selected by the Mets with the fourth overall pick in the free agent draft in 1967. He pitched his first major league game on July 11, 1971 at Cincinnati. Jon made seven appearances with the Mets in the ’71 season.
In 1972, Matlack had 169 strikeouts and a 2.32 earned run average. He won 15 games during the season and was named the National League Rookie of the Year. In the first game of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium on April 23, Jon recorded his first major league win as the Mets defeated the Cubs, 8-2. He pitched his first shutout with a 7-0 win over the Phillies at Shea on May 30. Matlack pitched a four-hit shutout and scored a run for a 4-0 Mets victory over the Giants on July 12 at Shea. He shut out the Pirates with a 10-inning four-hitter for a 1-0 Mets win in the first game of a doubleheader at Pittsburgh on July 27. Jon also threw a five-hit shutout for a 5-0 Mets triumph over the Pirates on September 18 at Shea.
Matlack struck out 205 batters in 1973. This total set a Mets record for lefthanders that stood for 35 years. Jon had 242 innings pitched and recorded 14 wins in the Mets’ pennant-winning season. On April 7, Matlack pitched a complete game as the Mets defeated the Phillies, 3-2, at Shea. He pitched all nine innings for a 4-2 Mets victory over the Dodgers at Shea on June 9. Jon pitched a one-hit shutout on July 10 for a 1-0 Mets win over the Astros at Shea. He struck out 11 batters in a 7-3 Mets triumph over the Cardinals at Shea on August 3. Matlack also had a complete game shutout for a 2-0 Mets win over the Cardinals on September 22 at Shea.
In the ’73 post-season, Matlack pitched in four games for the Mets. He had a 1.40 ERA with a total of 20 strikeouts At Cincinnati on October 7, Jon pitched a two-hit shutout as the Mets defeated the Reds, 5-0, in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. He also recorded the win in the Mets’ 6-1 victory over the Athletics in Game 4 of the World Series at Shea on October 17.
Jon led the National League and tied a Mets team record with 7 shutouts in 1974. He had 14 complete games, a 2.41 ERA and one scoreless inning pitched at the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh during the year. At San Francisco on April 28, Matlack hurled a four-hit shutout as the Mets defeated the Giants, 6-0, in the first game of a doubleheader. He pitched a four-hitter for a 6-0 Mets win over the Expos at Shea on May 18. Jon held the Cardinals to one hit for a 4-0 complete game win on June 29 at Shea. He pitched a four-hit shutout for a 3-0 victory at Los Angeles on August 13. Matlack also drove in two runs and pitched a complete game three-hitter for a 4-0 Mets triumph on September 22 at Pittsburgh.
In 1975, Matlack had a 16-12 won-lost record and 154 strikeouts. He struck out four batters to earn the win and co-MVP honors at the All-Star Game in Milwaukee. Jon pitched a complete game four-hitter for a 2-0 Mets victory over the Astros at Shea on June 2. At Los Angeles on June 12, he pitched a three-hitter in the Mets’ 2-0 win over the Dodgers. Matlack pitched all nine innings for the win as the Mets defeated the Cubs, 7-2, on July 2 at Shea. He held the Pirates to five hits for a complete game win and a 6-0 Mets triumph at Pittsburgh on August 2. Jon also pitched a complete game and hit a two-run single in a 6-1 Mets win over the Dodgers on August 29 at Los Angeles.
Matlack led all Mets pitchers with 35 games started in 1976. He recorded 17 wins, including a team-leading six shutouts during the season. Jon pitched a four-hit complete game for a 1-0 Mets win over the Expos at Shea on April 10. He pitched a six-hitter as the Mets defeated the Cardinals, 8-0, on April 20 at Shea. At San Diego on June 10, Matlack pitched a five-hit shutout for a 6-0 Mets victory over the Padres. He threw a five-hitter and scored two runs for a 13-0 Mets win over the Cardinals at Shea on July 1. Jon pitched a complete game for the win in a 2-1 Mets triumph over the Dodgers on August 28 at Shea. He also had a complete game win in the Mets’ 11-0 victory on September 7 at Chicago.
Jon pitched 169 innings in 26 games in 1977. He recorded 7 wins and 123 strikeouts for the year. At Shea on May 13, Matlack pitched a complete game for a 3-0 Mets victory over the Dodgers. He hurled a five-hitter as the Mets defeated the Giants, 2-0 on May 18 at Shea. Jon struck out nine batters and recorded the win in the Mets’ 4-2 triumph over the Cubs at Shea on July 12. He pitched a seven-hit shutout for a 5-0 Mets victory on July 22 at San Diego. Matlack recorded his final win as a Met in the team’s 6-3 victory in the second game of a doubleheader at St. Louis on September 30.
On December 8, 1977, Matlack was traded to the Texas Rangers. He had a 43-45 won-lost record and a 3.41 ERA in 158 games with the Rangers. Jon concluded his playing career in 1983. He went on to become a minor league coach in the Padres and White Sox organizations. In 1996, Matlack served as the pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers.
