Thriving on Top of the Mound
Fresno State junior pitcher Matt Garza is drawing the attention of professional
scouts with the help of his hard-throwing right arm
By DREW MATTOS
Major League Baseball scouts in the box seats directly behind home plate
raise their radar guns. A 21-year-old Fresno State baseball player is
about to deliver a pitch. It’s a fastball that smacks the catcher’s
mitt at 95 miles per hour.
Matt Garza is 3-4 with a 3.03 ERA this season for Fresno State.
As the team’s top starter, Garza has recorded 85 strikeouts,
while walking just 26 batters. The junior right-hander, who was
drafted out of high school before deciding to attend Fresno State,
has drawn the attention of professional scouts ever since. Photo
by Joseph Hollak |
The pitcher is junior right-hander Matt Garza. He went on to throw seven
innings and strike out 11 batters in a 6-3 Western Athletic Conference
victory over Hawaii on a cool March evening at Beiden Field.
“Yeah, I notice the scouts and the radar guns, but my focus is to
put my team in position to win games,” Garza said.
After the game, Garza was greeted by his 2-year-old son, Matt Jr., his
mother, Luz, and his father, Rudy.
Garza and his family are anticipating the Major League Baseball amateur
draft in June, as he is expected to be drafted somewhere in the first
10 rounds. He was drafted out of Washington Union High by the Colorado
Rockies late in the draft, but decided to attend Fresno State instead.
He said he decided on the Bulldogs because he wanted to mature and earn
his degree in civil engineering and also wanted to be able to spend time
with Matt Jr., which would have been difficult to do while traveling on
the road in the minor leagues.
“Being able to watch my son grow up and having a relationship with
him was very important to me and was my main reason for staying here in
Fresno after high school,” Garza said.
Garza entered Fresno State with some doubts and uncertainties. He was
a freshman playing at the Division 1 level and his girlfriend, Serena,
had just given birth to Matt Jr. It was a great deal of responsibility
for a kid right out of high school.
“My freshman year I was a mess. I had no confidence on the mound,
but my son was a big motivation for me to get better and overcome some
of my self-confidence problems,” Garza said.
And Garza has done just that in becoming the ace of the Bulldogs’
pitching staff. He’s 3-4 on the season, but has a 3.08 ERA and 85
strikeouts to go with 26 walks.
Garza grew up and began playing baseball in Fresno and then moved to the
small town of Easton, about eight miles southwest of Fresno, when he was
about 8 years old.
He played several sports at Washington Union, but baseball was his ticket
to a college scholarship and maybe a professional career, with the help
of his fastball.
Garza said he has had a great deal of support from his girlfriend and
his parents, not only on the field, but also in his family life. They
help by taking care of Matt Jr. and making sure he is at most of his dad’s
games.
Rudy Garza has become a staple at Beiden Field with his loud, boisterous
tone, always cheering on the Bulldogs and his son.
“Matt had to grow up quick after his son was born. He had to realize
the responsibility of having a son and he has done that. He is a special
person, just like everyone in my family,” Rudy said.
Garza credits his pitching coach, Tim Montez, for helping him mature both
physically and mentally.
Montez’s first season with the Bulldogs was also three years ago,
when Garza began his Bulldogs career, so they were able to bond quickly
and get along well together.
“[Montez] has helped me a lot physically with my mechanics, but
he has helped me the most mentally.
When I was a freshman, I wore my emotions on my sleeve and now I have
really become a more relaxed pitcher no matter what happens in front or
behind me,” Garza said.
This year, Garza has become a leader for the Bulldogs and hopes to be
the driving force in a run at the WAC title.
Garza said he feels more comfortable than ever on the mound, something
he hasn’t felt very much at the college level.
“This year, I want to be on the mound,” Garza said. “I
want the ball in my hand in that crucial situation in the game.”
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