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PERSONAL:
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- Matt's father and grandfather were firefighters.
- Treanor's mother, Carmela, said, "At 4 years old, Matt could play with the big kids, because when our son Michael was 6 he wanted to play T-ball and his only partner was his 2-year old brother, Matt. So he'd get him out in the backyard and he'd throw, and Matt learned to catch. If he didn't he'd get hurt."
- In 10 years, Treanor played 890 minor league games with 2,744 at-bats before getting brought up to the Major Leagues on June 1, 2004.
The Marlins brought Treanor up from Triple-A Albuquerque to replace Ramon Castro, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Playing against the Cincinnati Reds, first baseman Sean Casey used the opportunity to give the Marlins 28-year-old rookie catcher a pat on the back. Casey said: "Man, congratulations, I've got the chills right now. I'm really excited for you."
Taken back by the sincerity of the Reds' first baseman who was batting a gaudy .391 at the time, Treanor replied: "'Thanks, man. It's been 11 years coming.' I was ready to cry. I thought, 'I've got to compose myself.'"
As if his emotions weren't high enough, Treanor found himself catching a perfect game for 6 2/3 innings. Dontrelle Willis retired the first 20 batters he faced before Casey broke up the historic bid with an opposite-field single. Willis then walked Ken Griffey, Jr., and D'Angelo Jimenez slapped an RBI single to center.
The Reds went on to win, 3-1, with Casey belting a two-run homer in the ninth off reliever Matt Perisho. Treanor scored the Marlins only run, and he did so with a collision at the plate with Javier Valentin. The wind was momentarily knocked out of him, but he played on, and focused on helping Willis. (Joe Frisaro-MLB.com-6/2/04)
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Matt's older brother, Michael, never was able to see his accomplishments on and off the field.
"It stinks, man, it really stinks," Treanor said. "I've had all this great stuff happen to me the last year and a half. I got married. I made it to the big leagues. And I wasn't able to share that with him—at least in the physical sense. It's been hard on me."
On Dec. 18, 2002, in Venice, Calif., Michael Treanor was shot four times while sitting in his car outside the restaurant where he worked as a bar manager. He died instantly. His murder, believed to be committed by a man on a bicycle, has not been solved by the Los Angeles Police Department, which Treanor believes "fumbled [the investigation] from the beginning."
"It weighs on me because we'd like to know what happened and who did it, and I'd like to see a face behind it," Matt said.
"At the same time, we've gone through such a healing process in the last few years to forget about the actual act of dying and think about his life. If somebody were to get caught and we had to go through a trial, that could be harder on my family than if we didn't know at all."
Treanor is one of eight children. He keeps pictures of Michael all over his locker. He carries a silver dollar from 1976, his birth year, that Michael gave him in his wallet.
"I'm always thinking of my brother," Treanor said. "My father-in-law always tells me, `When you're out on the field, in the cage and you're working, you're not there by yourself. You're playing with your brother. Your brother's watching the whole time.'
"And I do believe my success the last couple years has helped my family have something positive to think about rather than linger on the negative stuff that weighs you down." (Michael Russo-Florida Sun Sentinel-3/27/05)
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During the offseason before 2007 spring training, Treanor worked out in Cris Carter's FAST Program. Formerly located in Boca Raton, the facility now is in Coral Springs, Florida. Dontrelle Willis, former Marlin Juan Pierre, and Treanor's wife, beach volleyball star Misty May-Treanor, all have trained there.
"If you've seen me run in the games, it's not too pretty and I didn't even realize it," said Treanor, before Wednesday's first full-squad workout. "Going there is not to try and start stealing bases, but to be more efficient and using what I do have to maximize my potential."
Three key areas are emphasized: speed, endurance and explosion. Besides improving his running style, the explosion part of the training helped quicken Matt's footwork behind the plate.
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Playing all those years in the minors, Matt had to find a way to stay in the game financially. He found offseason jobs, including valet work at Disneyland. He was a non-union laborer making $6 an hour at one point working for a contractor, and he unloaded trucks during the graveyard shift at a Wal-Mart in Scarborough, Maine.
Treanor said he didn't want to have to depend on his family for money, so he didn't ask. The family didn't have enough to give, anyway. They are a large family. Matt was the fourth of eight children -- four boys, four girls. Matt's father, Michael, worked as a fireman and his mother worked for the Catholic Church.
Matt learned about work ethic at an early age. His father, to earn some extra money, used to wash windows. He'd leave the fire department and come home to pick Matt up, then they'd work together. (Cary Osborne-Dodgers Magazine-August, 2012)
FAMOUS WIFE
- Matt and U.S. Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May became engaged during the 2004 season. He met her at a sports therapy center in Orange, California in November, 2003. They began dating in January 2004 and were engaged in March. Then, they were married in November, 2004.
When Treatnor heard his fiancée had just won the Olympic gold medal in women's beach volleyball, he broke down and cried. Misty teamed with Kerri Walsh to form a dominant beach volleyball duo.
"Oh, man, I'm a mess," Treanor said after Misty May's victory. "I feel like I just had a kid. It's like being in the delivery room. I knew she ws going to do it because of her attitude."
They had a November 2004 wedding in Southern California, followed by a honeymoon in Bora Bora.
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May, who won six volleyball tournaments in 2004, has 31 pro titles and owns world records for 15 straight tournament victories and 90 straight match victories. She met Treanor after knee surgery caused him to miss winter ball in 2003.
"I was in for therapy. She was doing conditioning," Treanor said. "We went out as a group but weren't looking to get together. The next day at therapy, somebody came up to me and said, `She wants you to ask her out.'"
So, Treanor cracked, "I'd never complain about that injury."
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On May 14, 2007, Matt's wife, Misty May-Treanor, tied beach volleyball history. Misty and her partner, Kerri Walsh, won their third straight AVP (www.avp.com) tournament, claiming the Glendale Open in Glendale, Ariz.
For May-Treanor, it was tournament win No. 72, matching Holly McPeak for the most on the women's tour. And on May 20, 2007, Misty broke the tie with win #73.
"She actually took it all in stride, she didn't mention anything about it," Matt Treanor said. "I congratulated her, because I know it's a huge deal. But she was more concerned with the way she and Kerri played. They didn't play as well as they wanted to.
"Their ultimate goal is to be in the Olympics, and getting ready for that, she didn't make any mention of the record. She rarely talks about her individual play. She tells me how she feels."
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On April 15, 2008, Misty-May, the Olympic gold medalist in volleyball and wife of Marlins catcher Matt, was the guest of the Chicago Cubs game with Cincinnati, and she led the Wrigley Field crowd during the seventh-inning stretch as it sang, Take Me Out To The Ball Game.
"I gave her a few tips," Matt said. "I told her not to get ahead of herself because the organist plays slow. I told her not to screw it up because they would boo her out of the stadium. If they knew she was my wife, they would have booed her anyway."
Treanor's wife threw out a first pitch at Wrigley Field in 2004 after joining with Kerri Walsh to win the gold medal in Greece.
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Matt plays hurt. He is very respected within the game.
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There is a price for the Treanors' shared success: Because 2008 was an Olympic year, they spent about two weeks together during baseball season.
Matt stayed at their home outside Miami. Misty lived at the couple's other residence, in California, close to many of the beach volleyball events.
"Two different worlds, almost," Misty said. "There's a lot of sacrifice. We don't get to see a lot of our family, and sometimes we don't get to see each other."
"It gets hard after a while," Matt said. "But we knew that going in. Sometimes I'd say something like, 'This sucks,' but there was an ultimate goal. ... We made a pact: We do what we have to do, and, hopefully, at the end, we can retire early and enjoy each other and our kids."
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At the start of the 2012 season, Treanor's walk-up music was from the 1980s show "The A-Team." He's a big fan of TV show theme songs.
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During the 2012 Olympics Treanor's wife Misty (going for the Gold medal in beach volleyball) shouted, "Go Dodgers" at a T.V. camera after winning her second match.
And on August 8, 2012, Matt's eyes welled up with tears when his wife won her third Olympic gold medal with teammate Kerri Walsh Jennings in the women's beach volleyball final.
"It was tears of joy," Treanor said. "Honestly, the tears didn't flow right away, because there was a bunch of people in the room. I had to step out.
"It's a swarming effect. There are all these thoughts and emotions that come in your head and it's just about Misty and what she wanted to do. I'm not afraid to cry," said Treanor. "I'm not afraid to snap a bat over my neck or whatever it is. That's the way I am. That is the way I'm built. Being Irish-Italian doesn't always help, either."
Matt described the look on his wife's face after winning the gold to that of a pregnant woman sporting a special glow and aura. Speaking of that look, he said it might be time that the couple start a family, with the odds of May-Treanor competing in the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics not as likely.
"Sometimes the unknown is a little scary, but it isn't scary right now for me, just because I know Misty was able to go out and do what she did."
TRANSACTIONS
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June 1994: The Royals chose Matt in the 4th round, out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.
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July 29, 1997: The Royals traded Matt to the Marlins for Matt Whisenant.
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December 10, 2008: The Marlins released Treanor.
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December 18, 2008: Treanor signed a one-year contract with the Tigers.
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November 6, 2009: Matt became a free agent rather than allow the Tigers to send him to Triple-A.
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December 18, 2009: Treanor signed with the Brewers.
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March 22, 2010: The Rangers sent INF Ray Olmedo to the Brewers, acquiring Matt.
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December 13, 2010: Treanor signed a one-year, $850,000 contract with the Rangers.
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March 28, 2011: The Royals sent a player to be named, or cash, to the Rangers, acquiring Treanor.
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August 31, 2011: The Rangers sent cash considerations to the Royals, acquiring Treanor.
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November 15, 2011: Matt signed with the Dodgers. It was a guaranteed one-year contract for $850,000 plus an option for 2013 or buyout of $150,000.
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October 29, 2012: The Dodgers declined their option on Treanor that was for $950,000, by paying him $150,000 with Matt becoming a free agent.
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December 17, 2013: The Indians signed veteran catcher Matt Treanor to a Minor League contract that includes an invitation to attend Spring Training.
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