15°
By PAUL HERRMANN
Bridgeport The Bridgeport Bluefish today announced the signing of outfielder Joe Mather. Mather joins the Bluefish for his second season in the Atlantic League and 14th of professional baseball.
Joe is a polished veteran that will be a great addition to our outfield, says Bluefish manager Willie Upshaw. He is a solid all-around player with a powerful bat and strong defensive ability. We look forward to his contributions this year.
The former Major Leaguer split the 2013 campaign between the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League and the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Cincinnati Reds) of the Southern League. He appeared in 44 combined games, recording a .209 batting average with seven doubles, four home runs, 10 runs scored and 14 RBI.
The 31-year-old has played parts of four seasons at the Major League level as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008 and 2010, Atlanta Braves in 2011, and Chicago Cubs in 2012. Mather had his best big league season as a rookie, compiling a .241 batting average with seven doubles, eight home runs and 18 RBI in 54 games with the Cardinals. In 229 career MLB games, the outfielder has recorded a .219 batting average with a .357 slugging percentage, 26 doubles, 14 home runs, seven stolen bases, 49 runs scored and 49 RBI.
In 2012, the Idaho native played the entire season with the Chicago Cubs registering a .209 batting average with 11 doubles, five home runs and 19 RBI in 103 games. The slugger posted his best minor league season in 2011 when he split the year with the Triple-A Colorado Springs and Triple-A Gwinnett, posting a .306 batting average with 19 doubles, one triple and seven home runs in 73 games before being recalled to the Atlanta Braves. In 935 career minor league games, Mather owns a .258 batting average with 203 doubles, 20 triples, 128 home runs, 488 RBI, 502 runs scored and 70 stolen bases.
Joe was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round (104th overall) of the 2001 MLB Amateur Draft.
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