Former Edenton Steamer Kevin Mattison (2007, UNC-Asheville) was recently named to the Miami Marlins 40-man roster.  Along with receiving that great news, the very next day he was honored with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Fall League Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award.  The significance of his elevation to the Marlins’ 40-man is two-fold.  It indicates that Mattison is part of their Major League plans as early as next season, while also protecting him in this week’s Rule V draft from being poached by another organization that would look at him for an active Major League roster spot in 2012.

Mattison was a key player for the ’07 Steamers.  That summer he led the team in home runs with 11 (a franchise record at the time), runs scored with 47 (still a team best), and stole 30 bases (tying a team record that was broken by Ryan Brenner this past summer).  Mattison did not even know about the sportsmanship award in the AFL.  “I wasn’t aware of an award in the Arizona Fall League (having not played there before) until a couple weeks before (the championship) when the nominees were announced.  The presentation was held before the championship game and I was deeply honored to receive it.  Our team in the fall league was great because no one was selfish and we all played hard together.  We came up one game short of the championship but our success all season was the way we worked together as a team.”

2007 Edenton Steamers manager Marty Smith loved coaching Kevin.  “He was a blast!  He showed up early every day to hit and he brought energy to the park every day.  He was extremely competitive but he also had a good joyfulness.  It’s really fun to see him have success.” It is this energy that helped Mattison to be in consideration and receive the Sportsmanship Award.  Smith also noted that, “he was big-league ready as a defensive player; he had incredible arm strength even then and his reads in the outfield were excellent; he also had exceptional speed and power; he had all the tools, but what I liked best was how mentally tough he was.  The first part of that season, he struggled some in hitting and a lot of guys would crumble in that situation but he worked hard and improved every week.”

The left-handed outfielder is now a step closer to his overall goal of playing in the big leagues and credits hard work to his success, telling us how he found out he made Miami’s 40-man roster.  “My agent called me that morning to tell me and a couple hours later the Marlins called me to congratulate me.  I was so excited - it’s what I’ve been working so hard for and now I’m one step closer.  I try to play hard and have busted my butt, so it’s such great news to get.”

Original press release below (courtesy of Jonathan Mayo and MLB.com)

Mattison Earns AFL Sportsmanship Honor

Marlins prospect takes home Stenson Award before title game

By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com

“It’s a great honor,” Mattison said. “I couldn’t be more proud.  My family couldn’t be more proud.  It’s just the way I was brought up; my parents pushing me and guiding me in the right direction, making good choices in life.  I couldn’t thank them enough for raising me in the way they did.  I just came out and played hard every day and it paid off.”

Created in memory of the late Cincinnati Reds outfield prospect, who was killed during the 2003 Arizona Fall League season, the award has been given annually since ‘04 to the player who best exemplifies unselfishness, hard work and leadership. Six finalists—one from each AFL team—are nominated each year for those qualities that Stenson brought to the ballpark every day—rather than their statistics or on-field performances. They all are, without exception, the types who have a hard-nosed attitude, players who do their jobs without complaint, who play the game the way it was meant to be played.

This year’s other five nominees were: Nolan Arenado, Rockies (Salt River); Dan Butler, Red Sox (Scottsdale), Brodie Greene, Reds (Phoenix), Chris Hermann, Twins (Mesa) and Zelous Wheeler, Brewers (Peoria).

As Surprise’s leadoff hitter, it was clear Mattison’s style and energy rubbed off on the rest of the Saguaros roster. The team entered the championship game needing a win to break the AFL record for winning percentage, playing hard-nosed and loose from start to finish. Mattison isn’t one to toot his own horn, but he understood that perhaps some of it was his infectious style.

“I’ll take a little credit,” Mattison said reluctantly. “But no one on our team is selfish. I think that’s why we’re here in the championship game. We continued to pick each other up. We just go out and play together as a team.”

Wil Myers certainly appreciated what Mattison could do, both in terms of his play and his approach. Mattison homered in a game at the beginning of the week and nearly took the Royals prospect’s hand off with an emphatic high five in the on-deck circle.

“Exciting times,” Mattison joked. “I just come out and play hard and give it my all each and every day, whether my body is hurting or not. Everybody’s grinding this out. I think that’s why we’re good.”
“He hit my hand hard, man, when he came by,” Myers said. “He’s a [heck of a] player. He can run, he can hit home runs. He’s got it all. He’s going to be a good player down the road.”

The Marlins clearly thought so when they added him to the 40-man roster on Friday. Mattison hit .349 with a .433 on-base percentage and .624 slugging percentage, with six homers, 23 RBIs and nine steals this fall. That was icing on the cake following a season where he hit .260/.353/.406 with 38 steals at Double-A.

“This year was a big year for me,” Mattison said. “During the regular season and now, I just went out there and played hard every day and tried not to put too much pressure on myself. Good ABs and good defense give our team a chance to win. It came into play and it helped the team out. You help the team out, you help yourself out.”

In many ways, Mattison has already exceeded expectations. Senior signs taken in the 28th round of the Draft aren’t supposed to earn roster spots.

“Another guy in the organization, Tom Koehler, he got put on,” Mattison said. “We were both senior signs in 2008. We both just worked hard. We had to work hard to get where we are. We don’t take anything for granted.”

There is truly only one explanation for Mattison’s success. It’s not his work ethic or his natural tools. There is little doubt from anyone who’s been around him that the source of his powers come straight from his facial hair.

“I think so. And the beard, the playoff beard,” joked Mattison, who has sported everything from a Rollie Fingers-esque handlebar mustache to a fu manchu over the years. “I started that in short-season. We were only allowed to grow a mustache, and it looked terrible. I just decided I’d rock it about once a year. Every year it seems to get longer and longer. I just have fun with it, and the fans seem to enjoy it.”

The Edenton Steamers are a proud member of the Coastal Plain League, the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league.  The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 16th season in 2012, the CPL features 14 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats. Players are housed with local host families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both players and hosts. Furthermore, the CPL has had over 930 alumni drafted and 46 alums make their Major League debut thus far. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at http://www.coastalplain.com, and be sure to friend us on Facebook (at http://www.facebook.com/coastalplainleague) and follow us via Twitter (as cpleague).

Chip Pruden

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