Matt Alexander

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Matt Alexander

|image=Matt Alexander - Wichita Aeros.jpg

|position=Outfielder

|bats=Switch

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1947|1|30}}

|birth_place=Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=August 23

|debutyear=1973

|debutteam=Chicago Cubs

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=October 3

|finalyear=1981

|finalteam=Pittsburgh Pirates

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.214

|stat2label=Runs scored

|stat2value=111

|stat3label=Stolen bases

|stat3value=103

|teams=

Chicago Cubs ({{mlby|1973}}–{{mlby|1974}})
Oakland Athletics ({{mlby|1975}}–{{mlby|1977}})
Pittsburgh Pirates ({{mlby|1978}}–{{mlby|1981}})

|highlights=

World Series champion ({{wsy|1979}})

}}

Matthew Alexander (born January 30, 1947){{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alexama01.shtml|title=Matt Alexander Stats - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}} is an American retired professional baseball player. He was a utility player in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He holds the record for most appearances as a pinch runner in MLB history.{{Cite web|last=admin|title=Matt Alexander – Society for American Baseball Research|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/matt-alexander/|access-date=2021-03-05|language=en-US}}

Playing career

In his later years, Alexander was used mostly as a pinch runner by manager Chuck Tanner, and so earned the sobriquet "Matt the Scat". Tanner had managed in Oakland in 1976 and brought Alexander with him after he became the manager of the Pirates. Alexander helped the Athletics win the 1975 American League West Division title and the Pirates in the 1979 World Series. He played every non-pitching position in his major league career except catcher and first base.

He is one of only seven players (excluding pitchers) to have played at least 100 games and have more games played than at-bats.{{cite book|last=Spatz|first=Lyle|title=TheSABR Baseball List & Record Book – Baseball's Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics|year=2007|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=United States|isbn=9781416532453|pages=496}}