Matthew John "Matt" LaChappa (born June 6, 1975) is an American baseball pitcher who pitched in the San Diego Padres minor league system. LaChappa is known for being a "Padre for life", having signed a minor league contract with the team for over twenty years since suffering a heart attack during a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes game on April 6, 1996.[1][2] LaChappa currently resides with his family at the Barona Indian Reservation.[3]
| Matt LaChappa | |
|---|---|
| San Diego Padres | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: June 29, 1975 San Diego, California | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MiLB debut | |
| 1993, for the Arizona League Padres | |
| MiLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 18-19 |
| Earned run average | 4.80 |
| Strikeouts | 277 |
| WHIP | 1.489 |
| Teams | |
Baseball career
editLaChappa was a second-round draft choice during the 1993 Major League Baseball draft from El Capitan High School.[4] He began his minor league career with the Arizona League Padres in 1993, moving to Class A Springfield Sultans in 1994, and finally Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga Quakes the following year. He won 11 games for the Quakes.[5]
"Padre for life"
editIn 1996, while warming up in the bullpen to enter what would have been the first game of his season as a relief pitcher, LaChappa collapsed and suffered a heart attack.[6] The Quakes athletic trainer performed CPR on LaChappa for 20 minutes until he was taken to a local hospital. At the hospital, he suffered a second heart attack.[4] LaChappa survived, but suffered brain damage from the lack of oxygen and is mostly confined to a wheelchair and has difficulty moving and speaking. Since the incident, the Padres organization has signed him yearly to a basic Minor League contract so that he can maintain his health insurance. The Padres have also named a Little League field after him in Lakeside, California.[4] The Matt LaChappa Athletic Scholarship Foundation was also established to assist high school students to pay for their college education.[7]
References
edit- ^ Heikkila, Aarne; Fryer, Joe (April 15, 2015). "Classy Organization: Padres Keep Sick Pitcher on Payroll 20 Years After Last Throw". NBC Nightly News. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ Phillips, Preston (April 10, 2015). "Keeping Their Word: The Padres lifelong rookie". KGTV. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ Whitley, Jordan (June 4, 2015). "Padre for life: Former player Matt LaChappa's dream to be a Friar lives on". Fox 5 San Diego. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ a b c Bisheff, Steve (November 24, 2005). "Padres' compassion hits a home run". Orange County Register. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ Sullivan, Tim (June 28, 2006). "Padres continue to treat fallen LaChappa as one of their own". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ Brock, Corey (April 14, 2015). "'Padre for life' LaChappa hosted by club at Petco Park". Major League Baseball. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ Wirthman, Lisa (September 28, 2015). "A Padre For Life: Why The San Diego Padres Keep Re-Signing This Ex-Pitcher". Northwestern MutualVoice. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)