Former Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz has passed away at age 37, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
Matusz, a left-hander, starred at the University of San Diego. The Orioles drafted him fourth overall in 2008. The 6’5″ hurler reached the majors by the end of his first full professional season. He took a full slate of 32 turns through the rotation the following year. Matusz posted a 4.30 earned run average across 175 2/3 innings and finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year balloting.
After running into some struggles over the next two seasons, Matusz moved to the bullpen. He tossed around 50 innings with an ERA of 3.53 or better in each season between 2013-15. Baltimore traded Matusz to Atlanta early in the ’16 season. The Braves released him without getting him into a game, but he returned to the majors with the Cubs later in the year. Matusz finished his career with stints in Triple-A, Mexico and independent ball.
Over parts of eight seasons, Matusz pitched to a 4.92 ERA through 528 2/3 innings. He won 27 games and recorded 462 strikeouts. He started 69 of his 280 MLB appearances. MLBTR sends our condolences to Matusz’s family, friends and former teammates.
So sad. Such a young, promising pitcher.
Whoa. far too young. Condolences to his family and friends.
Very sad. Anybody know the cause of death?
What I came here to see. This is jarring news.
@horaceallen what a disgusting thing to admit.
Whatever you believe, it’s not the time nor place. Just a chance to remember Brian and honor his life cut short too soon.
You all need help – a man died for goodness sake
I don’t think it’s in bad taste to wonder why a young person passed away.
@joel well you would be very wrong.
I agree with Joel. When it’s Mays passing away at 80+, you don’t wonder so much, but when a guy dies at 37, it’s only natural to wonder why.
@AgentF To wonder why is natural I agree but when no CoD is provided for a person so young it’s best to keep that wondering private and be respectful of the family in a tough time. You had someone earlier in this thread basically using what is an obit for Brian as a platform to spew their irrelevant conspiratorial viewpoint. That’s 100% inexcusable.
Not trying to apply that to everyone else but even openly wondering is a bit rude, my dude. Just leave you well-wishes, keep that wondering private or in a close circle, and move on. This news is less than 24hrs old and you have people openly speculating on his CoD? Not cool dude…comes off like desensitization via too much internet tbh with you.
@Joel to wonder why is natural. To openly speculate about CoD in what basically amounts to an obit for the player? In poor taste.
nice high horse
@waymann asking for a cause to be announced is ghoulish. The cause is irrelevant: the death is what matters. It’s sickening behavior that should lead to (but of course will not with this moronic audience) some introspection
Insane reaction, asking is ghoulish lol you better be mother Theresa homeboy
The family is keeping it the cause of death to themselves for now. Poor kid, that’s way too early to go.
Being cagey about the cause of death isn’t going to bring him back.
Might save lives in the future if it was a certain thing though.
@LFGSD619 we all know what it is, dude…why is seeing the words written on a screen so important to you? Desensitized via too much internet or something?
@Waymann We *don’t* all know what it is. Usually when they’re cagey about it it’s one of two things. And then you get cases like Ryan Costello where it was a SCD and they were cagey about it because *reasons*
@Waymann Update: It was a drug overdose. And they knew it was a drug overdose all along
espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43412251/ex-oriole-brian-m…
Wow. That is not something i was expecting to see. Way too young.
R.I.P. Brian
Omg this can’t be real he’s so young!!
RIP. It’s sad to see someone go so young.
My utmost condolences to his family and friends. I remember hearing about him for years in SD and loosely following his career.
So sad!
I remember his last game in the majors. It was his only game with the Cubs. He gave up 6 quick runs in 3 innings. The Cubs came back to win in extras 7-6 on a Lester squeeze bunt. I’m sure it wasn’t ideal for him but I’m glad that memory is a part of that magical season.
I was at this game. Was at wrigley to watch the mariners vs cubs series. If I remember right Arrieta was the original listed starter but he was scratched and they brought in Matutz for the spot start. That game was crazy, and even though the mariners lost it brought some lifelong memories. Because of this game I’d looked up Brian Matutz a few times since, and was very sad to see this news
And today is Jon Lester’s birthday, so I had been thinking about this game earlier this morning, so seeing this today was a little eerie
Rest in peace, Brian. Hope your family and friends remember the good times during this tough time.
R.I.P. Brian Matusz
RIP
Goodness. Was always a big fan of him. My dad and I went to see him pitch in 2010 I think it was vs Toronto. We got tickets behind home plate to watch him pitch, which we never did, and he got hit by a liner in the first inning and didn’t return. He had some huge outs for the Orioles out of the pen. Praying for his family.
RIP, too young
Wow boy. Let’s hope this isn’t another Brad Halsey situation.
R.I.P far too young
Wow. Too young. RIP.
RIP B.M.
Wow. Way too young. Rest in peace. He was a nice bullpen arm during mid 2010s for the Orioles.
Condolences to family.
Brian was part of that plan to bring my Os back to relevance cicra 2008. Good dude. I remember for awhile he had a section in the upper deck right field side. Didn’t give it much thought then but, in hindsight, free ticket section for those in need. Yes?!
After
10 +/- consecutive years of losing baseball including crazy experimental FO and hybrid FO folly as it’s foundation, Peter Angelos finally had a moment of sanity. He brings in Andy MacPhail. (2007?). Through trades and drafts, and DFA maneuvering, Andy laid out the foundation for that classic small market 5 year run of winning baseball that us fans were desperate for … including bringing in Buck Showalter as manager.
RIP.
RIP Brian…..
rest in peace
RIP
Hot damn 37 is way too young. Just a reminder that none of us know when our time will come so live life to the fullest.
Brian was flat out DOMINANT at USD! Rest easy lefty.
No way. Very sad. Was just thinking about him recently while I was working on an Immaculate Grid.
Rest in peace, Brian.
So sorry Brain passed away.Such a young age. 🙁 It looks like Bob Veale of the Pirates passed away as well.
Damn I’m 39… How did this happen? We live in a world filled with tragedy and little explanation as to why. Young men dying in their 20s and 30s is a worldwide issue, albeit for many different reasons. Just another example here
Everybody knows why even if they don’t want to admit it…
Could be any number of things
@fahq it’s not about not wanting to admit it, dude. It’s about having the wherewithal to know that, when a CoD isn’t provided, that you can have some small measure of respect for the man’s family to not callously discuss a topic that you’re going to forget about in the next 5 minutes regardless.
I know I’m trying to reason with the guy named FahQ but c’mon brother…at least have some small measure of compassion and humanity.
@Waymann How exactly is it disrespectful?
@LFGSD619 FahQ said nearly the exact same thing that I did in the other message you replied to (“we know what it is”). Why are you taking issue with me saying it in the other comment but not FahQ saying it here? Legitimately confused.
I feel like my point is clear, no CoD provided normally means the family is keeping it private and it’s best not to openly speculate. You’re right that I did speculate in the other message…but only did so to make the larger point that people like “Anyone know CoD?” are probably feigning ignorance as if they’ve never seen a young person pass away with no CoD provided. You really think that those inquiring couldn’t possibly come to a reasonable conclusion of why no CoD was provided by the family? You honestly think that was motivated by some pure motive and not some terminally online desensitized need to know all the details?
Because you replied to me directly. And like I said before, no CoD was provided for Ryan Costello and it turned out to be a SCD. And even that was only found out because his parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor who performed his physical earlier that year, which was not reported on this site.
Anyway, it’s a fool’s errand to expect people not to speculate. Nor is it particularly disrespectful seeing as being cagey about the CoD won’t bring him back.
So is your issue the substance of what I said or that I replied to you directly?
Not really sure what point you’re making with the “not going to bring him back” comments. Do you think Brian’s family thinks that not revealing the CoD is some form of necromancy or something? Isn’t it much more likely that they are dealing with a large amount of grief and trying to mitigate the pain where they can? Why do they need to reveal the CoD to satisfy some randoms on the internet?
As for your Ryan Costello analogy, I had to look that one up tbh with you…it appears the family didn’t provide a CoD because there wasn’t one at the time. If you’re taking some issues with that they didn’t backtrack later to provide a CoD later once one was established…not sure what to say to you in that case. The overly online and their morbid curiosity doesn’t create a requirement for the family. Clearly a “not your business” situation at that point dude. You’ve gotta know that, right?
Wrt Ryan Costello, they absolutely knew at the time. While no public CoD typically means one of two things, Ryan Costello proves that that isn’t the case 100% of the time.
I smell anti-vax trash
I smell myocarditis.
I smell lying scum
RIP Brian. So young… condolences to his family and loved ones.
I’ve seen him at YS pitch against the Yankees. He also received a WS ring in 2016 with the Cubs.
Wow. I remember watching him pitch against Santa Clara University while he was at USD. 37 is way too young, whatever the cause of death. RIP.
Wow. Just the other day my wife and I were going through some storage. We found two bobbleheads…an Orioles Nick Markakis and a Bowie Baysox Brian Matusz. Very sad news, All condolences to his family and friends
Such a shock. RIP from Birdland.
R.I.P
oh, wow. way too soon. rest in peace.
That is going. Sad to hear.
Horrible news. His family and loved ones in my thoughts
Condolences to family and friends of Brian Matusz, way too young to pass away..
Life is short, enjoy every day.
Wow. I remember when he was a rookie, had a decent year but then it seemed like Baltimore rushed him to the majors. Weird to think a guy who hadn’t played in the majors since I was a kid was only ten years older than myself.
Very sorry to hear this. Way too young. Thoughts to the family and rest in peace.
Bless his family. May he rest in peace. I used to work at USD. Man you never know.
I thought he was gonna be great, rest in peace young man. Hoping the best for his family.
This is really sad. Someone so young. I wonder what happened.
I was a USD booster and saw many of their games. The team would have a camping at the beach weekend with lots of running up stairs and the beach. As a break I would host a BBQ at my house. Bryan was along with two others on the team All Americans. He was always one of the most polite and respectful young men I ever met even knowing big things were in his future. He was at an reunion event last year at USD for his old coach and he seemed great. Horrible news and I feel for his family and all who knew him. Rest in Peace for a beautiful soul.
RIP Brian
So sad and so young.May he Rest In Peace
No! 37?! Prayers sent to his loved ones
This is a tragedy and so young. Exactly my age. Feel terrible for the family.
I thought he was going to be great once in the pen… And he was. What happened in ’16? Injury? Off the field? Just skill cliff? That’s almost a yips like stat line and then to never really come close to a comeback again… It isn’t in article, not trying to be insensitive asking
A year older than me, way too young to go. I really just hope his family is taken care of and can find some semblance of peace kindness during this time. Dude was definitely a gamer for my O’s, never backed down against anyone, and was damn dominant against lefty hitters with a .213/.272/.363 triple slash and a 4.74 SO/W ratio against those lefties.
Wait, what??!!?!?! That’s terrible! My gosh, I’m floored. Sad sad news. ..but not forgotten. Condolences to his family.
Sad. I remember watching him when he was at USD.
So young – that is awful. My condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace, Brian.
Rather than speculate with conspiracy theories, take your time to reflect. If you know someone struggling with issues. Be a friend. Be a family member. Check in on them. Show you care
It was a drug overdose.
Matusz died of a drug overdose. His mother found drug paraphernalia next to his body.
msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/cause-of-death-revealed-f…