Matt Bush

Matthew Brian Bush (born February 8, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers.

Bush became the first shortstop drafted first overall from high school since the Seattle Mariners selected Alex Rodriguez in 1993.

Bush's professional career began with his suspension before he ever took the field, for his role in a fight outside an Arizona bar.

The shortstop went on to hit .192 in 99 at bats between the Rookie-level Arizona League and the short-season Northwest League.

He was drafted by the San Diego Padres with the first overall draft pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft.

He was selected first overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft, originally as a shortstop.

When he signed with the Padres, he received a signing bonus of $3.15 million, the second-largest signing bonus ever given to a Padres draft pick.

As it turned out, Bush was actually the Padres' third choice, as they wanted one of two collegiate stars, Stephen Drew or Jered Weaver.

However, both were represented by Scott Boras, who was known for demanding hefty bonuses for his clients.

Padres owner John Moores was unwilling to meet those demands, so he selected Bush.

In the 2005 season, Bush hit .221 in 453 at bats for the Fort Wayne Wizards of the Single-A Midwest League.

During spring training in 2006, he broke his ankle and missed half the season.

Bush struggled again in 2007, hitting for a .583 OPS as of May 28.

The Padres then converted Bush to a pitcher.

His fastball reached a speed of 98 mph, and he had prior knowledge of pitching from his days as a high school ace.

After a promising start in rookie league, Bush tore a ligament in his pitching elbow in August 2007, ending his season.

He had Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for 2008 as well.

The Padres, however, would place Bush on the 40-man roster after the 2008 season to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

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.

Bush was designated for assignment on February 5, 2009, to make room for Cliff Floyd.

Shortly afterward, it was learned that Bush was allegedly intoxicated in a high school parking lot where he assaulted two freshman lacrosse players.

On February 10, 2009, Bush was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

The Blue Jays, well aware of his behavioral problems, put him on a "zero tolerance" policy.

At a party on March 30, he reportedly threw a baseball at a woman's head and banged on her car window after accusing her of drawing markings on his face at a party in Dunedin, Florida.

The Blue Jays released him the next day.

He would be out of baseball for the entire 2009 season.

On January 28, 2010, Bush signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.

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.

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 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.

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.