Matt Capps

[William Malone]

Matthew Discus Capps was born on September 3, 1983 in Douglasville, Georgia.

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in four seven of the 2002 MLB Draft. He reached the Majors in 2005, and pitched five seasons for the Pirates. Capps had a 3.61 ERA with 67 saves over 271 appearances during his time in Pittsburgh, but was non-tendered after posting a 5.80 ERA during the 2009 campaign.

He was picked up by the Washington Nationals on a one year deal, and made the All-Star team in 2010 after a strong first half. They traded him to the Minnesota Twins for catching prospect Wilson Ramos at the deadline, and Capps got even better down the stretch. He had a 2.74 ERA and 1.304 WHIP with Washington, compared to a 2.00 ERA and 1.185 WHIP after the trade to Minnesota. His acquisition helped solidify a bullpen that had struggled in the aftermath of losing superstar closer Joe Nathan to an elbow injury during spring training. The Twins were sitting in second place the day they traded for Capps, and they wound up winning the AL Central by six games.

Capps struggled to duplicate his All-Star performance in 2011, struggling to the tune of a 4.25 ERA over 69 outings. Joe Nathan was even worse in his return from Tommy John surgery, owning a 4.84 ERA in 48 appearances. They traded the closer role back-and-forth throughout the season, as Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was desperately hoping one of them would eventually get going. Capps finished with 15 saves, and Nathan had 14. 

Despite his rough 2011 season, the Twins still resigned Capps to a one year deal with an option for 2013. Twins general manager confidently stated "we believe Matt Capps will bounce back" when speaking to season ticket holders during the off-season. His prediction appeared to be coming true, as Capps got off to a great start in 2012. Through 25 appearances, he was 14-for-15 in save chances with a 2.96 ERA and a 0.986 WHIP. However, Ryan's prediction was eventually ruined by the injury bug. Shoulder inflammation landed Capps on the disabled list in late June. He returned for two appearances after the All-Star break, before landing right back on the disabled list. Capps returned for one game in September, tossing a shutout inning against the New York Yankees on September 24th. Minnesota declined his option after the season, making Capps a free agent.

He was never able to get fully healthy after that. The Cleveland Indians signed Capps to a minor league deal in 2013, but he underwent shoulder surgery after appearing in just six Triple-A games for them. Cleveland signed him to a second minor league deal in 2014, but this time he only pitched in four minor league games before getting shut down. Capps didn't pitch at all in 2015, before trying to make a comeback on a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016. While he was healthy enough to be active for entire Triple-A campaign, Capps was mostly ineffective and retired after the season.

Capps has worked on the Pirates broadcast team since 2018. He began as a studio analyst, and is currently a rotating color commentator for both their television and radio broadcasts.

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