Brian Matusz: What do we know about him?

US professional baseball player Brian Robert Matusz was the most accomplished pitcher in Torero baseball history and played in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago Cubs from 2009 to 2016.

He was one of the most talented athletes to emerge from the University of San Diego.

The left-handed pitcher breathed his last at the age of 37 years old, his family announced on Tuesday night. He spent nearly all of his eight-year MLB career with the Orioles.

Matusz pitched in 279 games for Baltimore from 2009-16 and made only one big league appearance for a team other than the O’s.

 Born on February 11, 1987, in Grand Junction, Colo, Brian Matusz grew up as part of an athletic family. His father Michael took part in track and field at Purdue University while his brother Chris played baseball at Iowa Wesleyan University.

His baseball career took off at St Mary’s High School in Phoenix during his time. He went 8-2 with a 0.95 ERA as a junior in 2004. Matusz was named first-team All-State for Arizona. Matusz went 8-1 with a 0.50 ERA and was selected as the Arizona Player of the Year during his ’05 senior campaign.

Matusz opted to instead head to the University of San Diego after being drafted by the Angels in the fourth round of the 2005 MLB Draft.

The baseball pitcher went on to have a standout three-year career for the Toreros.

Matusz led the NCAA with 141 strikeouts during his 2008 junior season at San Diego. Brian, who was a two-time finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, recorded 12 wins to go with a 1.71 ERA, the fourth-best single-season mark in the school’s history at the time.