2009 Baseball Player of the Year: Tyler Matzek

Tyler Matzek was selected as the Register's Orange County player of the year in baseball before the CIF semifinals and finals were played. So what he did in those games last week did not alter his status. But it sure didn't hurt.

In the CIF-Southern Section Division I semifinal at Blair Field in Long Beach, Matzek pitched a two-hitter, had Capistrano Valley's only two hits and drove in the only run in the Cougars' 1-0 victory over Riverside Poly.

In the Division I championship game Saturday at Angel Stadium, Matzek's home run in the sixth inning supplied the only run in a 1-0 victory over Edison. He pitched the final inning in which he struck out Edison's final two batters, with the bases loaded.

The excitement for Matzek did not stop there. His name will be called early Tuesday in the Major League Baseball first-year draft. Projections have him going anywhere from the No. 3 pick to the No. 9 pick in the first round.

Scouts were elbow-to-elbow, with radar guns aimed, whenever Matzek pitched. He did not disappoint, with a fastball that often reached 97 mph.

The final pitching statistics for the 6-foot-3, 211-pound left-hander: 13-1, 0.96 earned-run average, five shutouts, 40 hits allowed and 106 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings. He pitched 18 1/3 shutout innings in the playoffs.

Matzek played first base when he was not pitching, and he had a fine season offensively, too. He batted .404 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 32 games.

"He did everything but take out the trash," Cougars coach Bob Zamora said.

Besides Matzek's skill, Zamora also liked Matzek's attitude.

"Tyler sometimes has that football mentality," Zamora said. "He really likes to get after it."

Matzek does not know with which team he will get after it for next. He will find out soon.

"I really have no idea what's going on with the draft," he said Monday. "I have no idea who's talking about what. I'm just waiting."

Matzek was the Cougars' No. 2 pitcher last season, a junior year that he might remember best for being ill.

"Something like mononucleosis," Zamora said, but Matzek himself still does not know what befell him and made him drop to 165 pounds. He still managed to go 7-3 and strike out 81 in 65 innings.

He got healthy during the summer and started pitching in showcases all over the nation. His success there got the attention of the scouts, and got him thinking that baseball was going to open a lot doors.

One door will close, the one that leads to the batter's box. Matzek's hitting days are over.

"I'll miss that side of the game, some," he said. "But I really wasn't a hitter. My job's pitching."

Matzek's three pitches are that fastball, a curve and a changeup. He is working on adding a sinker to the repertoire.

Something he might not have to improve is his competitive nature.

"I just want to play hard and win every game," Matzek said. "I'll compete as hard as I can in the smallest games.

"That's what makes a true player: Go out there and try to win every game you play."

Tyler Matzek did that every game, and certainly did so in the biggest games.