Rookie of the Year: Jon Matlack, 1972

Pitcher, New York Mets

Age:  22

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 205

Prior to 1972:

A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania Matlack began pitching in Little League. After high school and a successful stint playing American Legion baseball, he was drafted by the Mets in 1967 as the fourth overall pick. In his first brief minor league assignment with Williamsport of the Class AA Eastern League in ’67 he was unimpressive with an 0-1 record and 14.40 ERA in two starts. It got better from there. In 1968 Matlack was with Raleigh-Durham of the Class A Carolina League where he produced a 13-6 tally with a 2.76 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 173 innings pitched. In 1969 he moved up to the Tidewater Tides of the Class AAA International League, where his record was 14-7 with a 4.14 ERA. He spent 1970 with Tidewater as well and went 12-11 with a 4.13 ERA. Matlack started the 1971 season with Tidewater prior to a mid-season stint with the Mets. He had an 0-3 record in 7 major league games and was 11-7 with a 3.97 ERA for Tidewater. Matlack played in Puerto Rico that winter and stuck with the Mets in the spring of ’72.

1972 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 34

Games Started – 32 [15, tied with Steve Blass]

Complete Games – 8

Wins – 15 [12, tied with four others]

Losses – 10

PCT - .600 [16]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 4 [6, tied with seven others]

Innings Pitched – 244 [12]

Hits – 215 [12, tied with Tom Seaver & Mike Torrez]

Runs – 79

Earned Runs – 63

Home Runs – 14

Bases on Balls – 71 [16, tied with Rick Wise & Ernie McAnally]

Strikeouts – 169 [10]

ERA – 2.32 [4]

Hit Batters – 2

Balks – 1 [16, tied with many others]

Wild Pitches – 7

Most strikeouts, game – 9 (in 7 IP) vs. St. Louis 6/25, (in 9 IP) vs. San Francisco 7/12, (in 8 IP) at San Francisco 7/22, (in 8 IP) vs. Chicago 9/4, (in 8.1 IP) at Montreal 10/4

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 8 IP) at San Francisco 7/22

Batting

PA – 93, AB – 78, R – 6, H – 10, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 10, SO – 44, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .128, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 5, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 42

Put Outs – 8

Assists – 33

Errors – 1

DP – 1

Pct. - .976

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

NL ROY Voting:

Jon Matlack, NYM.: 19 of 24 votes, 79% share

Dave Rader, SF.: 4 votes, 17% share

John Milner, NYM.: 1 vote, 4% share

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Mets went 83-73 to finish third in the NL Eastern Division, 13.5 games behind the division-winning Pittsburgh Pirates while the pitching staff led the league in strikeouts (1059).   

Aftermath of ‘72:

Matlack suffered a fractured skull during the 1973 season when he was hit in the head by a line drive by Atlanta’s Marty Perez, but he recovered to compile a 14-16 record with a 3.20 ERA and 205 strikeouts. He was at his best from mid-August until the end of the season as he went 5-1 as the Mets surged to the NL East title. He won a game against Cincinnati in the NLCS and was 1-2 with a 2.16 ERA in the World Series loss to Oakland. While his record was a mediocre 13-15 in 1974, Matlack’s ERA was a very respectable 2.41, and he was an All-Star selection who compiled a league-leading 7 shutouts and also struck out 195 batters. He was 16-12 for the 82-80 Mets in 1975 with a 3.38 ERA, again being chosen for the All-Star Game. Matlack went 17-10 in 1976 with a 2.95 ERA, 153 strikeouts, and 16 complete games, representing the Mets in a third straight All-Star Game.  He struggled with a sore shoulder to a 7-15 record with a 64-98 team in 1977 and his ERA rose to 4.21. In the offseason the Mets traded Matlack to the Texas Rangers as part of a four-team deal. In 1978 he bounced back to 15-13 with a 2.27 ERA. Elbow surgery reduced him to 13 appearances and a 5-4 tally in 1979. Matlack was a .500 pitcher in 1980 with a 10-10 record as well as a 3.68 ERA and 142 strikeouts. He dropped to 4-7 during the strike-interrupted 1981 season and lost his spot in the starting rotation to John Butcher in ’82. As a reliever and occasional starter Matlack appeared in 33 games and compiled a 7-7 record with a 3.53 ERA. He played one more season with the Rangers in 1983 with mediocre results and was released, thus ending his career.  Matlack’s overall major league record was 125-126. He totaled 2363 innings pitched with a 3.18 ERA and 1516 strikeouts. With the Mets he went 82-81 with a 3.03 ERA and 1023 strikeouts over the course of 1448 innings pitched and was a three-time All-Star. He later became a minor league pitching coach.     

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.