Regarding his MLB debut, May 24, 2008, Matt said “I remember every single second of it. It was exactly how I pictured it. I was at third base. Obviously, there were some nerves. The first ball I got was hit by (Detroit’s) Miguel Cabrera. Just a little chopper I fielded. Looking back at the video it’s kind of funny, I basically double tapped in my glove a few times just to make sure I had the ball. I threw it to first, and pretty much at that time, my nerves all went.” Macri went 2-for-3 at the plate, with a walk. “I really have no regrets,” he said. “I fulfilled all my goals.”

Matthew Michael Macri (born May 29, 1982 in Des Moines, Iowa) was a stellar multi-sport athlete in high school. He played basketball two years. In football, he was a quarterback for two nationally ranked teams and guided Dowling Catholic High School to its first state title, in 2000. He was named All-State and Mr. Football for Iowa. He threw for over 2,000 yards and ran for over 1,500 for as a senior.

Macri was a member of the 2000 18U Pan Am Team USA. Matt played baseball at the University of Notre Dame briefly during his Freshman year before undergoing Tommy John surgery. In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In 2004, Macri was named Second Team All-America by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Magazine, and USA Today.

The Colorado Rockies drafted Macri in the 5th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft as the 140th overall draft pick. Though performing well, Matt suffered a series of injuries in the minor leagues and it was not until 2008 that he was called up to the Twins on May 22 making his Major League debut on May 24 against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. He earned his first major league hit in his first at-bat of the game off Nate Robertson. Macri then singled to right in his 2nd major league at-bat and drove in his first RBI. In 34 MLB at-bats, Matt hit .324 with a .361 OBP.

On August 18, 2009 the Twins designated Macri for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Philip Humber. Overall, Matt played 8 seasons in the minors with an overall OBP of .333. After retiring, Matt became a National Account Executive for VTS Inc.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)