Matt Stairs
Matt Stairs
Matthew Wade Stairsis a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder, first baseman, designated hitter, and pinch hitter who holds the record for most pinch-hit home runs in Major League history with 23. His pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning of Game 4 in the 2008 National League Championship Series off the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton was called "one of the most memorable home runs in Phillies history" by MLB sportswriter Todd Zolecki in his May 11, 2009 MLB.com...
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth27 February 1968
CitySaint John, Canada
It's something that we're looking forward to. It's not necessarily to make a big name for ourselves. It's just a chance to put the country of Canada on the map as a place that has some good ballplayers out there.
I very easily could've went to a contender, ... but I felt very good about coming back to this organization.
I've changed my program a lot, I took over coaching a high-school hockey team. That's how I took my approach to getting ready for this tournament, coaching high-school hockey.
Earlier in the year we would have rolled over and gave up on a game like that. We would have said 'We screwed up and lost 6-5, who cares?' The way (manager) Buddy Bell has taken over and the way things have changed in this locker-room, we know when we get down we have some offence to come back.
I've made it clear that I love Kansas City,
That was back in the days I was playing shortstop. It's ironic I've been around 20 years and get a chance to play in it again.
I think if you look deep down inside you know you're overmatched against the United States, especially when we were younger. We had a bunch of hockey players going out there.
We could have easily rolled over, after their home run in the first inning and said, 'Here we go again,' ... We had some good at-bats in the first inning. When you score three runs in the first inning that is nice. It takes pressure off the offence.
If I was going to play like this all the time, they could've signed me for five years,
When you get 25 or 30 Canadians together it's going to be a very loose clubhouse. But it's also going to be a very serious clubhouse. We're going into the tournament very serious and ready for it.
I've got daughters almost as old as some of these guys,
It wasn't very hard to think about, ... Once the offer was there, it was a 'Yes.'
I want the young guys to sit by their lockers with their heads up. The only thing I can do is try to be positive.
A lot of guys just smile now. Guys are not going to be sitting around moping and pressing anymore. It's just nice. It's not the turning point of the season, but it's nice to get the media off our back and not be the highlights on SportsCenter whenever anybody falls down.