Wieter's father, Richard, was a pitcher in the Braves and White Sox organizations from 1977-1982, peaking in Double-A. He was drafted by the Braves in the 5th round in 1977. 

Richard Wieters is still a legend on the fields and playgrounds of Charleston, South Carolina, where he hit many home runs and threw a lot of fastballs at the Citadel, with a military academy environment.

And Richard taught his son the importance of industriousness and focus. A bad day today merely served as an incentive to do better tomorrow.

Matt's mother is a retired high school English teacher in Goose Creek, S.C.

Richard Wieters, a Charleston accountant, has blessed his son with a thoughtful baseball mind as well as an ideal body.

Matt's maternal uncle, Mike Shields, was a pitcher in the Braves' system. His grandfather, Bill Shields, played semi-pro baseball in Kentucky. His sister, Rebecca, two years older and 6-foot-2, was an all-conference volley ball player at the College of Charleston.

Matt's heroes growing up were Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones. So how did he end up behind the plate? "The foot speed sort of moved me a little bit toward catching, and I've always loved it," he said. And as far as switch-hitting, Chipper wasn't really the inspiration. Wieters said, "My Dad actually started me switch-hitting when I was 5, so it was something he envisioned coming through the minor leagues. He realized how rare a switch-hitting catcher could be."

In 2004, Wieters graduated from Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. That year, he was rated the #1 prospect in South Carolina and #60 in the nation. He was an all-America, all-state, and all-region selection after hitting .407 with seven home runs and 34 RBI as a catcher. On the mound, he had a 5-2 record with a 2.76 ERA, recording 72 strikeouts in 51 innings.

Wieters' high school team also featured future Major Leaguer Justin Smoak.

Wieters was used as the closer for Georgia Tech, stepping from behind the plate and going to the mound to wrap things up with his 94-98 mph fastball.

 In the summer of 2006, Wieters hit .307/.417/.533 in the Cape Cod League, finishing second in on-base percentage and third in slugging.

Matt finished his college career with a .358 batting average and a .477 on-base percentage at Georgia Tech, where he followed Boston's Jason Varitek as the only All-American catchers in school history.

Wieters was very consistent during his college career, batting above .350 with 10 homers or more in all three of his college seasons. He also reached base in 55 consecutive games this year and finished sixth in school history in doubles (54), seventh in RBIs (198), and 13th in batting average (.359).

Matt is an intense competitor. But he is also a true leader, an impressive person. He just plain looks like he belongs on a Major League field, moving with confidence without being cocky. He is just the right mix of confidence and humility.

He has excellent makeup, knows how to play the game, but also absorbs instruction. He has the instincts for the game scouts love to see. He is a level-headed, intelligent leader with outstanding makeup.

"The best tool he's got is the one between his ears," Norfolk manager Gary Allenson said in 2009. "For someone who has been written about so much and the expectations are so high, he has handled himself well."

Though Wieters signed too late to play during the regular season in 2007, he went to Hawaii Winter Baseball in the fall and ranked as the league's top prospect, batting .283/.364/.415 with 9 doubles, a home run, and 17 RBI in 106 at-bats.

Matt is very likable. And he is also very coachable—eager to learn. He is a first-class professional all the way.

During the winter before 2008 spring training, Baseball America rated Matt as the #1 prospect in the Orioles' farm system. And Wieters was again at #1 when B.A. ranked the Baltimore organization's prospects before 2009 spring camps.

"Mr. Wieters is what we'd probably call a complete player," said Frederick Keys hitting coach J.J. Cannon, soon after Matt joined the team in 2008. "When he came here, he was already advanced. You don't change anything with a guy like him."

What makes Wieters' future so heavy with potential is not just his talent on the field but the intangibles that make him a well-rounded person. Adjusting to life after college can be trying. Add to that the pressure of a $6 million investment from a Major League ballclub, and things have the potential for becoming overwhelming.

"I think the biggest adjustment maturity-wise and being ready to play every day is that you actually do play every day," Wieters said. "It's catching five, six games a week and DHing the other day. You come from college where you play four, maybe five games a week, and now you're playing seven, every week.

"He's a rare specimen," Cannon said, comparing Wieters' prowess at the plate to former Orioles great Eddie Murray. "As far as switch-hitters, big tall guys, somebody like [Murray]. Big guys, from both sides of the plate, that can hit for power.  (June 16, 2008-Amanda Comak MLB.com)

Wieters was the 2008 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year. And he received the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year Award from the Orioles.

If he had enough at-bats to qualify, he would have led the Eastern League in batting (.365), on-base percentage (.460), and slugging percentage (.625).

In April 2009, Matt hit the very first home run in the history of Gwinnett Stadium, home of the Braves' Triple-A franchise located just north of Atlanta.

Matt is very generous in his time for the fans, signing autographs longer than most anyone in the game. He seems to want everyone to love baseball as much as he does.

Wieters likes to be in a leadership position. "I like being a leader," he says. "I like being a guy where some guys come up to me and ask what he should be doing here or what he should be doing there. Baseball is what I know, and what I enjoy being around. You're always going to be learning, and hopefully you can be teaching as well."

Matt has a low-maintenance personality. "My family thinks I’m too calm sometimes, but that’s the way I function,” Wieters said. “I try not to worry too much about good press or bad press, because you’re going to get both. It’s life. It’s baseball. You’re going to have ups and downs.”

September 28, 2012: Wieters was with his wife, Maria, for the birth of their son, Maverick Luther. The youngster has some good genes. His mother, Maria, was a cross country runner at Georgia Tech.

The Wieters family now plan their schedules around trips to Oriole Park at Camden Yards. They've got it down to a science during baseball season, with Richard, a CPA, getting Fridays off (after April 15), and the two packing the car up and driving from Goose Creek, S.C. to Baltimore in time for Friday night's game.

The Wieters attend every home weekend series and do one road trip a year, with the goal to see every Major League ballpark.

"Sometimes, still, I want to pinch myself, this is every kid's dream," Pam said.

"But watching him play in Baltimore, in front of that gigantic crowd, I still have the same feelings watching him play that I did when he was little, playing in the playground. It's Matt playing ball and I've enjoyed every minute of it."

Ever since Wieters started playing baseball, Pam has had an accompanying scrapbook. They've gotten less grandiose over the years, morphing into more articles than designs and mementos, as Wieters went off to Georgia Tech and the media coverage became more extensive. But there are still photos, taken with Pam's old camera, to accompany the stories and help create a lasting memory.

"One day, I think he will look at them all, or Maverick will look at them with me," Pam said, referring to Matt's son. 

A quiet leader in the Orioles' clubhouse, Wieters has never been the type to seek out the spotlight, despite the media glare that comes with being a college phenom and first-round draft pick. His mother, Pam, who was in attendance at the Orioles' game in which he was introduced at as the club's top draft selection, as well as his Major League debut, is similarly low-key when talking about some of her favorite moments watching her son play.

"They are not memories of home runs or anything that he did athletically," she said, although Pam's favorite play is watching Matt throwing out a baserunner at second. "It's just seeing him interact with his teammates, seeing that big grin come across his face when a teammate would do something that amused him. Every step of the way has had its special moments, and just seeing the way he loves the game and enjoyed every aspect of it.

"He's able to keep those emotions in check. I'm not saying he doesn't feel things less than other people. He's probably far more sensitive than other people would imagine. But he's able to keep a calm, collect demeanor and act as if nothing rattles him."  (Brittany Ghiroli-MLB.com-5/12/13)

On June 29, 2012 Wieters belted a three-run home run that landed on Eutaw Street, just in front of the warehouse that is one of Camden Yards defining features. To commemorate the feat, accomplished 68 times in the ballpark's 21-year history, the team places plaques along the street with the player's name, team, and date, and the distance the home run traveled.

But Wieters' shiny, new plaque includes a typo—his name is spelled "Weiters." When he was shown the mistake, he said, "I can't believe that." No other names on Eutaw Street appear to be incorrect. A member of the ballpark operations staff said they will correct the error.

Matt's sister, Rebecca, played volleyball at the College of Charleston.

Wieters was named the starting catcher for the 2014 All-Star Game.

Bud Norris boasted his biggest smile when discussing batterymate Matt Wieters.Matt went through Tommy John surgery and was out most of the 2014 season.

"I'm extremely excited to get Matt back behind the plate, not only from the throwing side of the game, but also from the leadership standpoint," Norris said. "Understanding the opposing lineups, the way he calls games and of course, the way he contributes offensively.We missed a big piece of our clubhouse in 2014. To get him back healthy is going to make us that much better."(Kolligan – mlb.com – 3/2/15)

BIRTHDAY BASH

May 21, 2016: Matt Wieters played the hero role for the Orioles on his 30th birthday. Wieters slugged a three-run home run off Angels closer Joe Smith with two outs in the ninth inning to propel the O's to a comeback win, 3-1, at Angel Stadium.

"I think I will remember this one," Weiters said. "It's good to get a win tonight. It's a tough win, but a good win."

"Gaus threw the ball great tonight," Wieters said. "To be able to at least take him off the hook for the loss, he threw the ball too well to get a loss." (A Laymance - MLB.com - May 22, 2016)

Aug 20-22, 2016: Matt was on the paternity list.

August 19, 2016:  Matt and his wife, Maria, welcomed their second son, Michah. 

Feb 24, 2017: Wieters always considered the Nationals as a good fit for him. It was the National League team he knew best and he would be able to remain close to Baltimore. Even though one of the Nats' first moves this offseason was to trade for catcher Derek Norris, Wieters still thought of Washington as one of his potential landing spots.

Still, after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Orioles, Wieters admitted it was a little different walking into the Nationals' clubhouse, when the team officially announced the signing.

"It's something in baseball that's always crazy like that," Wieters said. "You never know where it'll be a fit ... Once we were able to finally start to getting into talking with teams, Washington came back as kind of a team that was interested and thought I could help them. I thought it was a good fit for me, as always."

Wieters said he was not surprised he remained a free agent so long, even as his offseason lingered into February, about a week after most teams started Spring Training. He saw the slow-developing market for numerous other free agent sluggers and was especially prepared for a long process after injuring his left wrist when a five-gallon glass water jug shattered while he was trying to put it into his garage. That injury prevented him from doing baseball activity for 10 weeks, and Wieters considered himself fortunate that he avoided any nerve or artery damage, although it put him about two or three weeks behind his normal schedule.

"Right from the get-go they said, 'You're very lucky where this injury was that it's not worse'," Wieters said.

It made Wieters even more excited to get started with the Nationals, where he participated in a team workout for the first time. Wieters predicted he might take a week before he is ready to play in Grapefruit League games.

And even though he is coming in late, he still should have enough time to learn a new pitching staff. "As a catcher, I'd love to have as much as possible," he said. "But at the same time, with the staff here and the starting staff here, these guys have been doing it for a while. They have the pedigree. They know what they're doing. Being able to kind of just listen to them and hear from them on how they like to pitch will help me out a lot." (J Collier - MLB.com - Feb 24, 2017)

Matt didn't want to build up his reception at Camden Yards during a Nats loss to the Orioles. But the catcher's return certainly struck a chord, as he received a pair of standing ovations in the first two innings of the series opener against the Nationals.

First, the Orioles played a video montage of Wieters' eight years in Baltimore as he warmed up Nats starter Gio Gonzalez, bringing the crowd to its feet. They roared even louder in the top of the third inning as Wieters stepped to the plate. O's starter Kevin Gausman stepped off the mound to allow Wieters the moment and he stood back and waved to show his gratitude for his second ovation of the night.

"I knew O's fans aren't going to stop until you give them a little bit of an acknowledgement," Wieters said after the game. "So I just wanted to say thank you for my time here and get on with the at-bat, get on with the game."

"You always hope that you'll play for the same team [throughout your entire career], but it was something to where I really didn't know what was going to happen," said Wieters, who became a free agent when the O's didn't extend a qualifying offer to him last offseason.

"I didn't have some offers for a while in the offseason because of the wrist injury, so I didn't really know what was going to happen. But I was OK with that. It was a matter of I always believed we're in certain places at certain times for a reason, and I was in Baltimore for so many years for a reason, and now in D.C."  (Ghiroli - mlb.com 5/8/17)

Jan 4, 2018: Nationals catcher Matt Wieters has altered his workout routine and dietary plans this  2018 offseason as he aims to bounce back from a difficult first season in Washington. Wieters arrived at Nationals WinterFest looking a bit slimmer, having begun his workout plan and starting to be more aware of the calories he's consuming. After playing the past few seasons around 235 pounds, he said he plans to play this season around 225, the weight he primarily played at as a rookie and earlier in his career.

"I feel good. I do feel like cleaning up the diet a little bit has made me feel a lot better," Wieters said. "I don't know about 10 years, but I do feel a little younger." The question remains what kind of role Wieters will play. While he is in line to be the starting catcher, the Nationals have said they plan on reducing his workload a bit to get maximum production. Wieters played in 123 games last season, but the team plans to split his time even more drastically. 

Wieters said no one had spoken to him about a plan to reduce his workload, and his overhauled offseason routine was geared toward potentially catching more games. "I'm trying to go the other way," he said. "Where I'm trying to get in better shape and even better to where I can catch more. I like being behind the plate. It's tough for me going into the season where 120, 130 [games] isn't the goal for me.

"At the same time, whatever is going to be best for the team and best for how I'm feeling. I'm excited because I do feel like ... with [Severino] back there, we have the ability to, if I need a day off, I can get it. We'll see what that plan is like moving forward. My goal now is to come in as good of shape as I can and catch 130 if I need to." (J Collier - MLB.com - Jan 4, 2018)

Just A Few Questions for Matt:

Toughest crowd you ever experienced as a player?

"Philly and Boston are two places you know you better play well or you're going to hear about it," Wieters said.

Favorite sports broadcaster: past or present?

"Harry Caray. I remember getting home from school (in South Carolina) and Cubs games would be on TV (on WGN). You never knew what Harry would say, and that made it interesting."

If you could play any position in any sport, what would it be?

"Compete on the PGA tour for a living," Matt said.

Favorite concert all time?

"Hootie and the Blowfish in Charleston, SC, when I was in high school.

"I got to meet Darius Rucker (frontman for Hootie and the Blowfish, who is also from Charleston) after a game at Tampa Bay in 2011. He was playing a postgame concert."

 TRANSACTIONS

June 2007: Wieters was the 5th player selected in the draft, out of Georgia Tech. He signed with the Orioles for a bonus of $6 million, via scout Dave Jennings.

January 18, 2013: Wieters and the Orioles avoided arbitration, agreeing on a $5.5 million contract. He can also receive an additional $100,000 for winning another Gold Glove, $75,000 for making his third straight All-Star team, and $75,000 for winning a Silver Slugger Award.

February 6, 2014: Matt and the Orioles avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a $7.7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million.

January 16, 2015: Wieters and the O's again avoided arbitration, agreeing on a one-year, $8.275 million pact for 2015.

November 13, 2015: Matt agreed with the Orioles one-year $15 million contract. He became just the second free agent to accept his qualifying offer, following in the footsteps of Colby Rasmus.

Nov 3, 2016: Wieters elected free agency.

February 21, 2017: Matt signed with the Nationals, a two-year, $21 million deal.

Oct 29, 2018: Matt elected free agency.

February 26, 2019: Wieters signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals' organization.

Oct 31, 2019: Matt chose free agency.

Jan. 19, 2020: Matt signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals.  The deal was worth $2 million with $1 million in incentives.

He will hit more and more home runs as he learns to hit the ball with more backspin.

Matt has an advanced approach at the plate, exhibiting excellent poise and patience. He doesn't chase pitches. When he gets something he can hit, he does something with it, producing line drives to all parts of the park.

And if he has a bad at-bat, it doesn't affect his next at-bat. You might see a pitch where he looks bad and strikes out, and in his very next at-bat against the same pitcher he hits a double.

His pitch recognition is very impressive, as is his plate discipline. He has a keen understanding of the strike zone. So he puts himself in hitter's counts more than most any hitters.

Pitchers constantly worked away from Wieters in college, and he developed a bad habit of stepping toward the plate to cover the outer half, which short-circuits his power a bit and leaves him vulnerable to inside pitches. The Orioles worked with him to get his lower half in better position and have him step toward the pitcher to free his swing up inside, and they expect he'll be able to make that adjustment. (Will Lingo-Baseball America-1/01/08)

On April 5, 2008, in his minor league debut, Wieters drilled two home runs in his first three at-bats at Class A Frederick.

Matt's bat stays in the hitting zone a long time. And his bat speed is impressive.

Matt kept swinging and swinging and swinging. Caleb Thielbar kept pitching, pitching and pitching some more.

The Cardinals catcher and Twins reliever engaged in an epic battle in the third inning of St. Louis' 6-4 win in the second game of a seven-inning doubleheader. With the bases loaded and two outs, Wieters fouled off 14 pitches in a 19-pitch at-bat before Thielbar got him to fly out to the center-field warning track, ending the inning and escaping the jam after the Cards went up 5-2 in that inning.

Pitches 10 through 15 were all fastballs that Wieters fouled off into empty seats at Busch Stadium. Pitch No. 16 was a high slider. Thielbar threw 10 consecutive 3-2 pitches in the strike zone.

"I guess after coming in and walking a guy, walking in a run, I was just kind of determined not to do another one," Thielbar said. "Even still, I can't believe I threw that many strikes in a row. You just never know when something crazy's going to happen in this game. Just one of those things where sometimes you run into a guy, that for whatever reason, just doesn't put the ball in play. It's wild sometimes. I've never seen anything like that, personally, much less being the one actually on the mound for it." 

"I knew it was going to take everything to try and get a hit and drive in two runs there," Wieters said. "One pitch for a hit might have been better than 19 for an out."

Finally, Wieters launched a fastball that looked like it was going to get out. Twins center fielder LaMonte Wade Jr. backed up to the warning track before making the catch.  (Rogers - mlb.com - 9/8/2020)

(Sarah Langs on Sports:  "Matt Wieters saw 19 pitches in his last plate appearance.  There have been 5,400 instances this season of a player having at least 4 PA in a game and seeing fewer pitches than that -- total!")

Matt's size, 6-feet-5 and 225 pounds, tends to hamper his agility and receiving ability. But he receives the ball well with his soft hands, and has good throwing mechanics, also. He has drawn comparisons to Twins catcher Joe Mauer.

It is his outstanding defensive ability that inspired the Orioles to draft him in the first round in June 2007.

Wieters certainly has plenty of arm strength. While pitching at Georgia Tech, his fastball was clocked at 96 mph. And his arm is also very accurate.

His arm is rated at 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale.

Matt had three seasons in a row, 2011, -12, and 2013, that he was 3rd-most successful in the American League in caught stealing percentage: 37% in 2011, 38.6% in 2012, and 35.3% in 2013.

2015: He threw out 31%.

2016: Matt nailed 35% of attempting base-thieves.

2017: Wieters had caught-stealing 25 % of guys.

For Wieter's career, as of the start of the 2018 season, Matt had thrown out 31.7% of runners attempting to steal.

Matt is a natural leader. He has a great feel for calling a game and handles a pitching staff well.

"Calling a game is something I love doing. I love trying to figure out what the hitter wants to do and what the pitcher wants to do," Matt said.But Wieters has always had poor results with framing pitches.

One scout said Wieters was the best catching prospect he had seen since Charles Johnson (Marlins and Dodgers).

He has very soft hands—hands like a middle infielder—and sets a good, low target for his pitcher, even though he is a real big catcher.

He blocks the balls in the dirt well, too. And he blocks the plate really well.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter calls Wieters the “best tagger in the game” because of his fundamentally sound approach and ability to handle a catcher’s mitt with such dexterity. But the O’s have told him to exercise discretion when a home plate collision might be hazardous to his health.

Showalter is trusting enough in Wieters’ professionalism to stay out of the way and let him chart his own path to success.

“A lot of people run from responsibility,” Showalter said. “Matt takes it on. He doesn’t want to be ‘the guy.’ He just wants to be what the team needs. He’s a winning player, but more important, he’s a winning person. He’s the kind of guy you’d like to see daughter walk through door with and say, ‘Dad, this is who I’m marrying.’ ”

GOLD GLOVER

In 2011, Wieters was awarded his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

And he won the award again in 2012.

But there's a hidden part of Wieters' game that can easily go unnoticed, though it hasn't slipped past manager Buck Showalter. Showalter made an off-hand remark after the game about one way his catcher provides value to his pitching staff.

April 17-24, 2009: Wieters pulled up limping at first base during a game his Norfolk Tides were playing against the Gwinnett Braves. He had cramping in his right hamstring and was sidelined for a week.

July 10-25, 2010: Matt was on the D.L. with a strained right hamstring. He came out of the game the day before in Texas after stumbling around second base.

March 11, 2014: Wieters suffered a right elbow strain and went on the D.L.

June 17, 2014: The Orioles lost  Matt for the season. He underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

April 1-June 5, 2015: Wieters was on the 60-day disabled list while still recovering from the Tommy John surgery.

After returning from the D.L., Matt caught only part-time and had very ordinary offensive numbers.

March 12, 2016: Wieters was pulled from the game with  right elbow soreness. Complicating the situation is the fact that Wieters underwent Tommy John surgery on the elbow in 2014, returning to action last June. "It's one of those things, if it doesn't start managing better, they'll go to the little more involved step, but so far so good," Showalter said.

April 2-11, 2018: Wieters went on the 10-day disabled list with a mild left oblique strain.

May 11, 2018: Matt was on the DL with left hamstring strain.

May 17-July 9, 2018:  Matt underwent surgery to repair his left hamstring strain.

Sept 1, 2019: Matt Wieters is day to day with a mild left calf strain that he sustained while running the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning of the 3-2 walk-off win over the Reds.

Imaging didn’t reveal anything major, but the Cardinals' catcher will need time to recover. Manager Mike Shildt didn’t say what Wieters’ timeline for return will be, noting that the injury will “require some time.”

“We’re hopeful, but people heal differently,” Shildt said. “It’s the best it could be based on what he has.”

Sept 10, 2019: Matt Wieters is making strides without the physical act of making strides in his recovery from a left calf strain. The last box to check for the Cardinals' catcher’s return is running -- the first stride out of the batter’s box and off the bases are the most difficult with the strain that he suffered at the beginning of September while running the bases.

Wieters has been hitting in the cage from both sides of the plate, as well as doing light baseball activity. Hitting, throwing and getting in the catcher’s stance isn’t a problem on the calf. He’ll test running on the field, as well as other baseball activities, at Coors Field and will evaluate from there.