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 May 3, 2007 - SAN ANGELO, Texas – Matt Duff has already proven that a player can rise from independent baseball all the way up to the Major Leagues. He will try to prove it once again this summer and his journey will begin in San Angelo.
The Colts announced today that they have signed right-handed pitcher Matt Duff (pictured right), a former St. Louis Cardinal with 10 years of professional baseball experience.
“There’s no place I’d rather play than under Doc Edwards,” Duff said, referring to the Colts’ second-year manager. The two had previously been together when Duff played for Edwards in Sioux Falls in 2001.
In 2002, the Mississippi native was 0-0 in seven relief appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up just three hits and three runs, all earned, in 5 2/3 innings. After spending the entire 2001 season in the independent Northern League, the Cardinals signed him in April of 2002. He began that season playing on the Single-A level for Potomac but quickly ascended to New Haven (AA), where he posted an 11-1 record with a 1.38 ERA in 47 appearances, good enough to earn him a spot on the big-league club.
“I am in somewhat of a neat position because I’ve seen the game at the highest level, so to be able to lend that experience to these other guys is very valuable,” Duff said, acknowledging his time spent in the Major Leagues.
Duff, 6’1” and 215 lbs., attended Ole Miss but was not drafted and so he began his career with Springfield of the independent Frontier League in 1997. Towards the end of that season, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed him and he spent the next three years in their organization, reaching Double-A before his release in March of 2001.
Following his stint in the Majors, the 32-year-old played with three different Triple-A teams from 2003 to 2005, which is the year he had Tommy John’s surgery. Last year, he started the season with Dunedin, the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, but ended the season with the Alexandria Aces here in the United League.
Throughout his pro career, he has been a member of five different ML organizations: the Pirates, the Florida Marlins, the Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox, and the Blue Jays. He has an impressive Minor League lifetime record of 47-31 with a 3.25 ERA. In addition, Duff has had only two seasons where he finished with a record below .500 and in 595 2/3 career innings pitched, he has 638 strikeouts.
The Colts also announced that they have re-signed left-handed pitcher Brantley
Jordan, who served as the club’s closer in 2006.
Last year, Jordan was second in the league in saves (15) and second in appearances (35). The Austin native was 6-4 with a 3.92 ERA and recorded 35 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched last season.
The Cardinals selected Jordan in the 29th round of the 2003 draft and the lefty played in the Cards’ system for two seasons. After spending a short time on the independent scene, he worked his way into the Boston Red Sox organization, ascending to the Double-A level with Portland of the Eastern League in 2005.
The 26-year-old played for one of the best college baseball programs in the country, pitching for the University of Texas and winning the National Championship in 2002 as a member of the Longhorns.
Advertising, ticket, and group information are available by calling the box office at (325) 942-6587. All Colts games are broadcast live on “Cool 100” – KCLL 100.1 FM and online at the Colts’ official website, www.sanangelocolts.com.
The San Angelo Colts are a part of a six-team league that make up United League Baseball. The independent league has teams located in San Angelo, Laredo, Amarillo, Edinburg, and Rio Grande Valley, Texas as well as Alexandria, Louisiana, and began play in the 2006 season.
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