Former Monkeys pitcher Matt DeSalvo was overused

Former Lamigo Monkeys pitcher Matt DeSalvo says he was overused during his time in Taiwan and that was the main reason he did not want to renew his contract with the team despite putting up solid numbers. In 2012 he was 11-6 with a 2.77 ERA in 28 games.

"They were throwing me 130 pitches in a start," DeSalvo said. "I didn’t know how many pitches I was throwing because the communication wasn’t really smooth because the interpreter didn’t speak English. It’d be the seventh inning and I’d be at 95 pitches and I’d say ‘Hey, I don’t want to throw more than 110 pitches. The next inning I’d go out there and get around 105 pitches and no one would be warming up to go in the game. So, because there’s a lot of communication issues, you’re forced into situations to throw.

"One week I almost threw 270 pitches in a week. I ended up getting elbow inflammation because at the end of season my arm was messed up. They ended going to the playoffs but couldn’t use me because they overused me.

"At the end of day I want to be able to play catch with my kids,” he said. “I don’t have kids yet, but if I went back to Taiwan I wouldn’t be able to throw."

But it didn’t deter him from trying out for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan in early February of 2013.

"They wanted me throwing 93 or 94 (miles an hour). I was only throwing 91 because it was the first week of spring training and I wasn’t in mid-season form," he said. “So I didn’t get the contract."

After that DeSalvo says he retired from baseball. A certified teacher he is currently looking for teaching gigs in the classroom and on the baseball field.