On Monday afternoon, former Chicago Cubs outfielder Matt Szczur officially announced that he is retiring from MLB.
Szczur, who played baseball and football at Villanova University, was drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. He made his major league debut in 2014 and played for the Cubs until 2017 when he was traded to the San Diego Padres. During his time in Chicago, Szczur posted a slash line of .259/.312/.400.
Although Matt Szczur was not on the 2016 playoff roster, he contributed to the Cubs’ championship season by appearing in 107 games with a .260 average, five home runs, and 24 RBIs. He always seemed to be a well-liked guy in the clubhouse and he had some key moments for the Cubs. Let’s also not forget about the time he let Anthony Rizzo use his bat in the playoffs, helping him break out of his postseason slump and ending the Cubs’ 108-year curse.
If there’s something I can say about Matt Szczur it’s this: he may have been a good baseball player, but he was an even better human being. In 2010, just one month away from the MLB Draft during his senior season at Villanova, he stepped away from baseball to donate his bone marrow to a young child in Ukraine suffering from leukemia.
A good teammate, selfless, and put others before himself. That’s who Matt Szczur is.
Even though Szczur is retiring from baseball, he says he’s planning to pick up a new career as an artist and looks forward to spending time with his family.
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