Matthew John (Matt) Kata...he and his new bride, Jillian, wed Nov. 20, 2007 and make their home in Round Rock,
TX...Matt graduated in 1996 from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, OH, then attended Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, TN...Kata was part of Arizona's Hometown Tour that traveled through the state in January to connect with fans.
2006
Spent the entire season at Louisville (AAA) in the Cincinnati organization...acquired by the
Reds via a waiver claim from Philadelphia on March 15...optioned to Louisville on March 29 as one of the
last cuts in Spring Training...designated for assignment on April 7...cleared waivers and was outrighted to
Louisville on April 17...batted .263 (87-331) with 45 runs, 20 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 34 RBI in
113 games...made 70 starts in the outfield and 32 starts in the infield...ranked 12th in the International
League batting .342 (26-76) in the month of June, raising his batting average to a season-high .296...batted
.278 (27-97) as a right-handed batter and .256 (34-234) left-handed.
2007
Played in 31 games with the Rangers...started 14 times and at five different positions: six at third
base, four in left field, two at shortstop, one at second base and one at first base...hit .186 (13-70) with two doubles,
two home runs and six RBI...had five multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit games, April 13 at Seattle and
May 5 vs. Toronto...was granted free agency on June 12 and signed a Minor League contract with
Pittsburgh the following day...was sent to Triple-A Indianapolis upon his arrival...recalled from Triple-A
Indianapolis on June 30...appeared in 15 games from July 3- 31 and batted .214 (6-28) with three doubles and
two RBI...designated for assignment on Aug. 2 to make room on the 25-man roster for P Matt
Morris...recalled on Aug. 14 and hit .346 (9-26) with two doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBI over the
remaining 13 August games...overall, hit .250 (22-88) in 47 games with the Pirates...batted .278 (20-72)
with five doubles, one triple, two home runs and 5 RBI over 16 games/two stints with Indianapolis.
2005
Acquired July 21 for RHP Tim Worrell. ... Singled in his first Phillies at-bat, July 24.
2004
A .450 (27-for-60) exhibition season gave Matt a solid grasp on the utility job for Opening Day, which developed into
a starting role when Roberto Alomar went down with a hand fracture just 13 games into the season...unfortunately, Kata's
year was derailed a little over a month later on May 29, when he took an awkward spill diving for a ground ball in Dodger
Stadium, suffering a dislocated left shoulder...he was placed on the disabled list the following day and underwent seasonending
surgery to repair a torn labrum on July 2 by Dr. Lewis Yocum...in healthier times, Matty had a career-best 8-game
hitting streak from April 18-26 during which he batted .455 (15-for-33)...he collected a career-high tying 4 RBI on April 25
against the Padres...he opened the May 21 contest at Florida with a home run off of southpaw Darren Oliver, Kata's first
career leadoff home run, the ninth in team history and first since Craig Counsell off Colorado's Denny Neagle on July 8,
2003.
2003
Matt's steady rise through the system continued with his first taste of Triple-A action and culminated with 3 1/2 months of duty with the big-league club ... a Spring Training invitee, Matt opened the season on the disabled list with an intercostal muscle strain ... he finally took the field on April 19 and hit safely in 13 of his first 15 games with Tucson at a .379 clip (25-for-66) with 9 multi-hit affairs ... he posted a pair of 4-RBI games (April 27 vs. Tacoma and May 6 vs. Albuquerque) ... Kata had an 11-game hitting streak from May 15-26 in which he batted .327 (16-for-49) ... he broke out of an 8-for-50 drought that spanned 8 games by going 8-for-15 in what turned out to be his final 3 games at the Triple-A level ... Matt was recalled on June 15 when Junior Spivey was placed on the disabled list and got his first action that day in Minnesota as a pinch runner, scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth ... Kata reached base via a hit or walk in his next 16 contests, which included 15 starting assignments ... he was 2-for-4 in his first start on June 17 in Houston and took Jeriome Robertson deep for his first career roundtripper, followed immediately by an Alex Cintron blast ... Matt started 15 consecutive games at second base from June 23-July 8 ... he was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and a career-high 4 RBI on June 24 against the Astros ... he matched a franchise record and established a career-high with 5 hits on June 30 in Colorado, including a solo homer in the sixth inning and a go-ahead, RBI double in the 12th ... he was the leadoff man in 8 straight games from June 29-July 6, hitting.378 (14-for-37) ... he boasted a .387 average (29-for-75) while hitting safely in 14 of 17 games from June 23-July 11 ... Matt made his first career start at third base on July 25 in Los Angeles and hit a game-tying homer in the fourth inning of an eventual 2-1 win in 15 innings ... he batted leadoff in 21 of 26 games from August 5-31 but hit only .242 (22-for-91) ... Matt hit from the top spot in the order in 36 games, reaching base to leadoff the game 10 times (7 singles, 2 doubles, 1 walk) and scoring on 7 of those occasions ... he batted .286 (44-for-154) with 26 runs, 9 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers and 13 RBI in the leadoff spot ... he hit .372 (16-for-43) with 19 RBI with runners in scoring position and posted a .538 clip (7-for-13) with 11 RBI with runners on third base ... among National League rookies, Matt was tied for third with 5 triples; seventh with 23 multi-hit games, a .420 slugging percentage and 28 extra-base hits; ninth with 42 runs and 121 total bases; tied for ninth with 25 walks; and tenth with 16 doubles and 29 RBIs.
How obtained:
Signed as Arizona's ninth round selection in the 1999 June free agent draft.
2002
Matt erupted onto the Double-A scene with a big season for El Paso...he led the Texas League in at-bats (578),
total bases (256) and runs (95), ranked second with 172 hits, tied for third with 9 triples, fourth with 53 extra-base
hits and ninth with a .298 average...among all Double-A hitters, he ranked second in runs and hits and third in total
bases...his 172 hits ranked sixth among all minor leaguers...he hit safely in his first 8 games at a .421 clip
(16-for-38) with 11 runs scored...he batted .410 (25-for-61) with 16 runs scored while hitting safely in 12 of 13
contests to begin the season...he followed with a 10-game hitting streak from April 21-May 2, boasting a .405 average
(17-for-42) with 9 runs, 6 RBI...on April 25 vs. Shreveport, he went just 1-for-7, but the hit was a game-winning single
in the 13th inning...he earned Texas League co-Player-of-the-Week honors with teammate Chad Tracy for April 22-28 after
hitting .407 (11-for-27) with 5 runs scored and 4 RBI...overall for April, he hit .387 (41-for-106) with 23 runs, 9
doubles and 15 RBI...he registered a 12-game hitting streak from May 15-26 with a .345 average (19-for-55), scoring at
least once in 7 straight games from May 19-25...on June 1 vs. Tulsa, Matt was 5-for-6 with 4 doubles, which tied for the
most among minor leaguers, and 4 RBI in El Paso's 18-17 victory...he played for the Western Division team in the Texas
League All-Star Game on June 17, going 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI from the leadoff spot to earn the game's Most
Valuable Player honors...rolled through a 7-game hitting streak from June 24-30 with a .452 average (14-for-31), scoring
in 7 straight contests for the second time on the season... he ended a personal 46-game homerless streak with a pair of
homers on August 23 at Shreveport...concluded his season in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak, which began on August
17, with a .385 average (25-for-65), 13 runs scored, 5 doubles, 4 homers and 8 RBI...on the season, he hit safely in 102
contest with 51 multi-hit outings...Matt appeared in 32 games for Scottsdale of the Arizona Fall League.
2001
He was named to Baseball America's High Class-A All-Star team...he went 2-for-3 in the California
League/Carolina League All-Star game at Lancaster...he was selected as Batter-of-the-Week for April 23-29, including a
grand slam and 6 RBI on April 24 at Lake Elsinore...he reached base safely by hit or walk in 25 consecutive games from
May 6-June 2...he swiped 4 bases as the JetHawks tied a minor league season-high with 10 steals at Lake Elsinore on
August 16.
2000
He was second among Arizona minor leaguers with 38 steals...the fifth-toughest batter to strikeout in the Midwest League, he fanned once every 10.12 plate appearances...he tied a league season-high with 4 stolen bases vs. Dayton on August 5... he made 1 pitching appearance and took the loss, allowing a walk and a run in 0.1 inning on June 9 at Michigan.
