Matt Bush

Matthew Brian Bush (born February 8, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres with the first overall draft pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. Due to numerous personal and legal problems, Bush had only played as high as Double-A, two steps below the MLB level, prior to his MLB debut on May 13, 2016. He was traded by the Padres to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009, but was released by the Blue Jays without ever playing for them. He then played in the Tampa Bay Rays organization before being released in 2012 after a drunk driving incident. He pleaded no contest to charges related to that incident in December 2012, and was sentenced to 51 months in state prison. He served 39 months, and signed with the Texas Rangers after his October 2015 release from prison. He returned to play in an April 2016 game with the Rangers' Double-A affiliate, leading to his call up, and first MLB pitch, in the aforementioned May 13 game. Early life Bush attended Mission Bay High School in San Diego, California. He played shortstop, where his defense and arm strength made him a top major league prospect. He had a .450 batting average with 11 home runs and 35 runs batted in (RBIs). He also pitched, and he threw a 94 mph fastball with a solid curveball. Bush had a 5–1 win–loss record with two saves and a 0.73 earned run average (ERA). Bush was considered one of the best five-tool players ever to come out of high school. He also played soccer and ran track in high school.