The Matt Wieters Appreciation Thread

[scOtt]

[scOtt]

SHJ

 

letterz

[scOtt]

6 minutes ago, scOtt said:

And I would be remiss, almost culpable...  if I didn't follow up.

 

 

[hoosiers]

I remember the negotiations to sign Wieters doing down the deadline and the ownership stepping up with a monster bonus - as it should have.  Wieters has a tremendous asset to the organization and a class act from the moment he signed. 

Expectations were created by MW's agent with the signing bonus (but that was market value) and by the great seasons in the minors.  It would have been nice if Matt were a true middle of the order hitter, but his best was plenty good enough.  The videos of him gunning down baserunners are among my favorite Orioles vids.

It would have been interesting if MW had been dealt after the 2012 (or 2013 - can't remember) season for two or three blue chip prospects as some of us advocated - and he really has not been a difference maker since.  Matt spent the next (or last) four years accumulating about as much WAR in those years in total as the average of 2011/12.  Buck was enamored with MW and so we've kept him until he the point where he will provide no return when he leaves - something I'm not very comfortable with - which, of course, has nothing to do with a fond farewell to MW for wearing the Os uniform and providing us with quality memories.

 

[Larry18]

I adore Matt Wieters. From the time he arrived to the time he got hurt, nobody caught more innings than Matt. That's tough to begin with and even more so when consider Baltimore is rated as the toughest town climate-wise in MLB. He hung in there and ran the game how Buck dictated, which was a quick paced game to keep the defense on it's toes so they could provide their best efforts. I know he doesn't frame well but we'll soon see more stats that quantify gamesmanship and I'm confident Matt will score well.  Good night sweet prince.

[weams]

3 hours ago, hoosiers said:

I remember the negotiations to sign Wieters doing down the deadline and the ownership stepping up with a monster bonus - as it should have.  Wieters has a tremendous asset to the organization and a class act from the moment he signed. 

Expectations were created by MW's agent with the signing bonus (but that was market value) and by the great seasons in the minors.  It would have been nice if Matt were a true middle of the order hitter, but his best was plenty good enough.  The videos of him gunning down baserunners are among my favorite Orioles vids.

It would have been interesting if MW had been dealt after the 2012 (or 2013 - can't remember) season for two or three blue chip prospects as some of us advocated - and he really has not been a difference maker since.  Matt spent the next (or last) four years accumulating about as much WAR in those years in total as the average of 2011/12.  Buck was enamored with MW and so we've kept him until he the point where he will provide no return when he leaves - something I'm not very comfortable with - which, of course, has nothing to do with a fond farewell to MW for wearing the Os uniform and providing us with quality memories.

 

I enjoyed Matt at his best, and after the injury it is easy to say he should have been dealt. By a team that had just returned to winning, playoff attending ways with him a large part in 2012. I cannot say that I will not miss him. 

[Larry18]

And we have Mauer with Power his name is Chris Davis.

[canonfaz]

Definitely will miss him. He was an easy guy to root for. Oriole HOF worthy? Probably not, but he was a huge part of the turn around once Buck got here. I'll still never understand why his offense was never elite, like he showed in the minors, but that is a discussion for another time.

Good luck wherever you go Matt! I'm hoping that it's Atlanta.

[Justinlstn]

I liked Matt, I got to meet him at the last fanfest. He never lived up to the hype but he was still a very good catcher. Unfortunately he got too expensive for us. I wish for a bounce back season for him wherever he goes an hopefully he is able to transition to 1b or somewhere else to extend his career.  

[Can_of_corn]

52 minutes ago, canonfaz said:

Definitely will miss him. He was an easy guy to root for. Oriole HOF worthy? Probably not, but he was a huge part of the turn around once Buck got here. I'll still never understand why his offense was never elite, like he showed in the minors, but that is a discussion for another time.

Good luck wherever you go Matt! I'm hoping that it's Atlanta.

I think you need to check out who is already in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Orioles_Hall_of_Fame

[canonfaz]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think you need to check out who is already in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Orioles_Hall_of_Fame

Lol. I guess he deserves it over Richie Bancells :)

[esmd]

16 hours ago, Frobby said:

Maybe this is premature pending a formal announcement that Castillo has been signed, but let me take a moment to say a few things about Matt Wieters.

While Matt never met the sky-high offensive expectations that many of us had after his insane year at Frederick and Bowie in 2008, he provided a lot of great moments.    I loved the way he carried himself on the field, and the look he always had on his face after gunning down a runner or blocking a runner at the plate.    It was a look that basically said, "how dare you!"     As he grew into veteran status, he was very well respected by his teammates, especially the pitchers.   And we all know Buck adored the guy; that counts for a lot in my book.

We thought we'd be saying goodbye to Matt last offseason, but he surprised a lot of people (not everyone) and took the QO.   There was a lot of unhappiness about it at the time, but looking back, we weren't a playoff team in 2016 without Matt.   From his game winning hit on opening day, to his game winning homer against the Angels in May, to his game-tying homer against the Blue Jays in the second-to-last series of the year, to his two homers in our playoff-clinching win on the final day of the regular season, Matt provided a lot of really special moments in 2016.

We all mostly agree that it's time to move on, but I enjoyed Matt's 9 years playing in our organization (8 as a major leaguer) and I hope he has several good years left in him.   The team that signs him will be getting a class act.

This.  Can't say it any better.  Best wishes to Matt for the remainder of his career.

[webbrick2010]

No doubt that Matt always gave 100%

He'll be missed and I hope someone gives him his big payday

[Tony-OH]

13 hours ago, fansince1988 said:

Matt represented the first sign of hope for the fanbase during 14 years of losing.

I was fortune enough to see him play at Frederick, and I was in the stands with my father at Camden Yards when he hit his first career home run against the Mets.

I always dreamed that Matt would hit a towering homerun in game 7 of the World Series at Camden Yards. 

Thank you MW for your effort. You gave us hope.

 

I think that's a fair assessment. After 1st round picks like Rowell, Olson, Townsend, Snyder and Beato, Wieters was the first guy since Markakis that the fans could get excited about especially after his first full minor league season when he exceeded everyone expectations.

Wieters was a good player for us overall. He may have been a victim of his own early success which skyrocketed expectations, but for years it was fun to know he had that cannon back there and he certainly had his times with the bat as well. 

He'll go down as one of the best catcher's in Orioles history if not the best overall.

 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

 

He'll go down as one of the best catcher's in Orioles history if not the best overall.

 

By rWAR:

Hoiles 23.4 (10 seasons)

Dempsey 21.3 (12 seasons)

Wieters 16.3 (8 seasons)

Nobody else over 10 rWAR.