Matt Sinatro

CATCHER Matt Sinatro was one of the more highly touted players ever to come out of the state of Connecticut. The Atlanta Braves selected him with the first pick of the second round of the 1978 June Amateur Draft.

During a 15-year professional career, Sinatro played in parts of 10 major-league seasons with four different teams: the Braves, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, and Seattle Mariners. He was known for being a superb defensive catcher with a very strong arm but struggled at the plate, posting a career batting average of .190 with one home run in 276 plate appearances.

After his retirement from playing, Sinatro went on to work as a scout and coach under manager Lou Piniella for the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Chicago Cubs from 1993–2010. He was the bullpen coach for the 2001 Mariners, who won 116 regular-season games before losing in the American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees.

Sinatro was born on March 22, 1960, to James and Mary (née Campion) Sinatro in Hartford, Connecticut. Sinatro was the youngest of seven children (five brothers and one sister). His dad owned his own insurance agency in West Hartford.1 Matt’s older brother Greg was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1972 January draft and played six years in the minor leagues for the Reds and Athletics as a third baseman and outfielder.

Matt played three sports (baseball, basketball, and football) at Conrad High School in West Hartford. As a sophomore, he played shortstop for the varsity baseball team before moving to catcher during his junior year, a season in which he batted .449 with a team-high nine home runs. Matt hit .395 in his senior year, and he hit home runs in each of the final five games of the season.2

After high school, he was selected 27th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 1978 draft. The Braves had picked Arizona State slugger Bob Horner with the first overall pick that year. In the third round, Atlanta drafted future Cy Young Award winner Steve Bedrosian.

It is notable that Sinatro was selected before two future Hall of Famers: Cal Ripken Jr. in the second round (48th overall) and Ryan Sandberg in the 20th round (511th overall).

Sinatro once described his first official workout for the Braves after being drafted: “I remember my first time up in the workouts. Steve Bedrosian, a pitcher signed by the Braves out of New Haven University, was on the mound, and they had the radar gun on him to clock his speed. The first pitch to me sailed by at 93 mph, and after watching high school pitching it was just a blur. I did hit pretty well there.”3

The first stop in Sinatro’s professional baseball career was in Rookie ball with the Kingsport Braves in the Appalachian League. His manager, Eddie Haas, who would go on to manage the Braves for 121 games in 1985, liked what he saw in the young catcher right away.

“He has a real good arm. …We’re also impressed with hands,” Haas told the Kingsport Times before the season began.4 Sinatro batted .205 in 35 games for Kingsport.

His batting statistics improved in 1979 when he played for the Single-A Greenwood Braves in the Western Carolina League. He improved his batting average to .252 along with smashing seven home runs and driving in 57 runs.

The following spring, Sinatro was invited to the Braves’ big-league spring training camp,

where he impressed the coaches with his strong throwing arm. Sinatro’s competition for playing time behind the plate included Bruce Benedict, Bill Nahorodny, and Biff Pocoroba, all of whom already had major-league experience. Sinatro didn’t make the big-league roster in 1980 and was sent to the double-A Savannah Braves in the Southern League. He was one of Savannah’s most consistent hitters that season with a .278 average, 11 homers, 17 stolen bases, and a .744 OPS. Sinatro was named to the Southern League All-Star game.

In 1981, Sinatro played most of the season at Triple A for the Richmond Braves. During late September, he finally was called up to the major leagues. The Braves needed another catcher because their starter, Benedict, sprained his ankle.

Sinatro’s first major-league start came on September 23, 1981, against the Houston Astros. He didn’t waste any time making an impact in the game and was productive in his first official at-bat. In the second inning, he hit a single off Astros knuckleball starter Joe Niekro and drove in a run. The Braves won the game, 3–1.

Two days later, Sinatro banged two singles off Cincinnati starter Mario Soto. Sinatro had four hits in his first 10 major-league at-bats. He played in 12 games for the Braves down the stretch and finished the season with a .281 batting average (9-for-32). The future was looking very bright for Sinatro with the Braves.

Atlanta started the 1982 season with three catchers on its roster: Benedict, Sinatro, and the veteran Pocoroba. The Braves won their first 13 games of the season, which was great for the team but not for Sinatro. He didn’t get his first start until the 16th game of the season.

Two weeks later, he was sent back to Richmond after only getting one hit in seven at-bats. The Braves’ new manager, former major-league catcher Joe Torre, wanted Sinatro to get more playing time in the minors.5

In late August, Sinatro was recalled by the Braves, and he produced the best game of his baseball career. On August 27, versus the New York Mets, he went 3-for-5, including drilling his first and only major-league home run off reliever Pete Falcone in a 9–8 Braves victory. The homer was a line drive over the left-field wall in the third inning. In the fifth inning, he added a double.

After the game, Sinatro was filled with a lot of emotion thinking about his successful game. “It was great being able to hit it before all my family and friends,” said Sinatro. “But the main thing is we won. This wouldn’t have meant anything if we hadn’t ended up winning here. I will never forget this night.”6

Reflecting on his lone major-league home run in a December 2025 interview, Sinatro remembered two things in particular. First, he had given 44 tickets to family and friends, and second, he went 3-for-17 after that home run.7

Despite his stellar game against the Mets, he fell into a very bad slump for the remainder of the season, recording just three hits over his final 47 at-bats. Meanwhile, his main competition for playing time—Benedict—was smashing the ball. Sinatro’s success in August of 1982 proved to be the high point of his tenure with the Braves.

The 1983 season should have been a big stepping stone season in Sinatro’s career after his success with the Braves in 1982, but it just wasn’t meant to be. He was sent to the minors in late March when he didn’t make the major-league roster and spent most of the season in Richmond. Sinatro had 12 at-bats for Atlanta in 1983 and collected his only two hits in a start on the final day of the season.

In 1984, Sinatro made Atlanta’s Opening Day roster, but his fate with the team changed drastically when the Braves acquired catcher Alex Trevino from the Cincinnati Reds about three weeks into the season. Trevino was a very familiar face for Braves manager Torre. Trevino played for Torre for four seasons (1978–1981) when he managed the Mets. Before the trade, Sinatro had played in only two games and was hitless in all four of his at-bats. He was sent to the minors to make room for Trevino on the Braves’ roster and didn’t play in the majors again until 1987.

“It was a surprise to me when it happened because I had a good spring,” said Sinatro shortly after his demotion. “But it’s baseball. What it boils down to is that Joe Torre (Atlanta manager) wanted Alex Trevino to be his backup catcher. When he got Trevino, it mean somebody had to go.”8

In 101 games for the double-A Greenville Braves, he hit .227 with five homers and 49 RBIs.

Unfortunately for Sinatro, the bad breaks and roadblocks on the Braves’ roster kept coming. In early December 1984, the Braves traded pitcher Brian Fisher for veteran catcher Rick Cerone. During the 1985 season, Cerone got the majority of the starts behind the plate with Benedict serving in a backup role. Larry Owen, a homegrown catcher the Braves drafted a year ahead of Sinatro, was assigned to triple-A Richmond, leaving Sinatro relegated to another season in double-A Greenville.

He had a good start at the plate in Greenville, batting .269 with six home runs and 28 RBIs during the first 48 games of the 1985 season. Unfortunately, he dislocated his shoulder in June and never made it above Triple A that season.

Atlanta made another trade for a catcher in December 1985, acquiring catcher Ozzie Virgil, who had hit 19 home runs and made the National League All-Star team the prior season as a member of the Phillies.

The Braves’ front office wanted to demote Sinatro, who had started the 1986 season with Richmond, to Double A because there was an injury to Greenville’s starting catcher, Sal D’Alesandro, in early July. Sinatro refused to go to Greenville and asked to be released or traded.9 Sinatro believed he was more valuable to Richmond than Greenville and felt he had to take a stand against an organization he had loyally served for eight years. “I’m not a Double-A ballplayer,” he said at the time. “I’m doing what I have to do. There is no winner in this situation.”10 The Braves’ director of player development, Henry Aaron, suspended Sinatro without pay.

Following the suspension, which lasted for a few weeks, Sinatro was finally released by the Braves and signed with the Chicago White Sox in late August. He played 11 games for their triple-A club, the Buffalo Bisons.

In February 1987, Sinatro went to the A’s spring training camp as a non-roster invitee. He faced a tough challenge in trying to make Oakland’s roster. Oakland had six other catchers who were auditioning for two to three roster spots: Sinatro, Mickey Tettleton, Jerry Willard, Brian Dorsett, Terry Steinbach, and former first-round draft pick Scott Hemond.

Sinatro didn’t make the club out of spring training, but he did get signed by Oakland’s triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Tigers. Sinatro was called up by Oakland twice during the 1987 season. He played in a total of six major-league games and was hitless in three at-bats.

In 1988, he started the season with Tacoma and was summoned by the A’s in early June. In his first game on June 8, Sinatro was electric at the plate, smashing two doubles and driving in all four runs for the A’s in a 5–4 loss against the Kansas City Royals. Both of Sinatro’s doubles came off the Royals’ starter, 1985 American League Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen. His first double of the game helped the A’s snap a 23-inning scoreless streak. It was his first a major-league hit since October 1983. Sinatro only got one more hit the rest of the season in six at-bats for the A’s.

He didn’t see any more major-league time for Oakland. Sinatro was one of the last players cut by Tony LaRussa when the team decided to start the 1989 season with 11 pitchers on its roster and two catchers instead of three. A week later, Sinatro was traded to the Houston Astros for catcher Troy Afenir. The Astros placed Sinatro with their triple-A affiliate, the Tucson Toros.

Two months later, the Detroit Tigers purchased Sinatro’s contract after an injury to starting catcher Matt Nokes. During his time with the Tigers, Sinatro split playing time with veteran catcher Mike Heath. The highlight of his Tigers career came on July 8 when he had a two-hit game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

After Nokes recovered, the Tigers sold Sinatro’s contract to the Seattle Mariners, Sinatro’s final major-league team as a player. The Mariners sent Sinatro to triple-A Calgary, where he played in 12 games, hitting .344 and driving in four runs. After the season concluded, the Mariners signed him to a one-year minor-league contract.

In 1990, he was called up by the Mariners in late May when starting catcher Dave Valle went on the disabled list. In his first start, Sinatro earned praises from manager Jim Lefebvre on the way he caught the superb game pitched by Erik Hanson, who went eight innings, gave up one run, and struck out nine batters in the Mariners’ 4–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

“Matt Sinatro was outstanding tonight,” said Lefebvre. “He can call a great game and catch and throw. He kept command tonight.”11

The 1990 season was Sinatro’s most consistent season at the plate during his major-league career. He batted .300 (15-for-50) in 30 games. Valle and Scott Bradley got the bulk of the playing time behind the plate, but Sinatro remained on the roster for the majority of the season with the Mariners using him as a late-inning defensive replacement.

Mariners general manager Woody Woodward also echoed Lefebvre’s positivity about Sinatro’s feel for the game: “He brings to any club a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and his knowledge of the game. He also works very well with the pitchers.”12

Sinatro spent two more seasons with the Mariners. He played his final major-league game on May 26, 1992. He went on the disabled list a few days later with a pinched nerve in his neck and had neck surgery a few weeks later to remove a bone fragment. The Mariners released him on October 5.

While Sinatro was recovering from his neck injury in 1992, he started doing some advance scouting for Piniella, then the Mariners’ manager. Sinatro never played ball again, but he did get hired as an advance scout for the Mariners for the 1993 and 1994 season. In October 1994, Piniella named Sinatro as the new Mariners bullpen coach, a position he retained for the next eight seasons.

During the 2001 season, Mariners relief pitcher Jeff Nelson gave Sinatro a lot of credit for keeping the members of the bullpen relaxed, but also ready for action, during games. “It’s a good mix of guys,” said Nelson. “We’re all loose. Matt keeps us that way because he’s such a free spirit. He’s a key guy because you can’t get tight in this game.”13

Sinatro knew as a coach it’s nice to fool around, but he never forgot what his pitchers need to do in the game. “We have fun, but when their role approaches, everybody focuses,” he said early in the 2001 season.14

After the 2002 season, Piniella left Seattle to cross the country and manage his hometown team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sinatro followed Piniella and became the team’s bullpen coach.

The pair’s tenure in Tampa lasted three seasons, 2003–2005. Sinatro again followed Piniella to the Chicago Cubs in 2007. For four seasons (2007–2010), he served as first-base coach for the Cubs.

Sinatro’s last job in professional baseball was with the Houston Astros. In January 2012, he was hired by Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow to help the team’s catchers and be an advance scout.15 This job only lasted one season because there was a managerial change in Houston. Brad Mills was fired in the middle of August 2012 and was replaced by Bo Porter the next spring. Sinatro’s scouting contract was not renewed for 2013.

Sinatro next worked as a scout for Octagon, an international sports management company which has represented an impressive list of baseball players over the years. After working at Octagon for a year or two, he started working in security for Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel in Snoqualmie, Washington. When he took this job, he started in the graveyard shift so that during the day he could watch his three sons play college baseball on television. As of December 2025, he has been working at the casino for over eight years.

Sinatro married fellow Conrad High School alum Liz Reinsmith, who went to Cornell University and was a member on the school’s gymnastics team. The couple raised three boys—Matt Jr., Jimmy, and Danny. All three went to Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington, and each played college baseball—Matt Jr. for the University of San Francisco, Jimmy for Gonzaga University, and Danny for Washington State University. Jimmy was selected in the 35th round of the June 2012 MLB Draft by the Astros but never played in the minors. Danny was drafted twice—in the 40th round in June 2016 by the Cleveland Indians and in the 32nd round in June 2019 by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played two years in the minors, never progressing above rookie-ball level. Sinatro also has one grandson.

In February 2024 Sinatro was inducted into the West Hartford (Connecticut) Baseball Hall of Fame in their inaugural class alongside his brother Greg Sinatro.16

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cites in the Notes, the author also consulted the following websites:

www.baseball-reference.com

www.newspapers.com

https://cornellbigred.com/

https://www.myheritage.com/

https://wsucougars.com/sports/baseball/roster/danny–sinatro/7807

https://usfdons.com/sports/baseball/roster/matt-sinatro/3289

https://gozags.com/sports/baseball/roster/jimmy-sinatro/204

Thanks to Matt Sinatro for an interview on December 31, 2025.

NOTES

1 James Sinatro Obituary, Hartford Courant, February 11, 1991: C10.

2 Bill Lane, “Sinatro Hoping For ‘Hot’ Season,” Kingsport (Tennessee) Times, June 21, 1978: 1C.

3 John Kershaw, “Braves Give Matt Sinatro Chance To Catch a Dream,” Hartford Courant, February 21, 1979: 55.

4 Lane, “Sinatro Hoping For ‘Hot’ Season.”

5 Tom Haudricourt, “A corner on catchers’ market for how long?,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 7. 1982: D2.

6 John McGrath, “Sinatro enjoys a special night at Mets’ expense,” Atlanta Constitution, August 28, 1992: 33.

7 Matt Sinatro, telephone interview, December 31, 2025.

8 Ernie Kastner, “Sinatro surprised at move,” Greenville (South Carolina) News, April 27, 1984: 2E.

9 Claudi Perry, “Sinatro asks Braves to release him,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 9, 1986: D-1.

10 John O’Connor, “Rabb homers in overtime earns split for R-Braves,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 17, 1986: D-1.

11 Gary Nelson, “Sinatro calls a ‘great game’ in M’s Win,” (Everett, Washington) Daily Herald, May 24, 1990: 1C.

12 Dan Gerstein, “Finding a niche in Seattle–Defense, hard work help Sinatro fit right in with Mariners,” Hartford Courant, September 26, 1990: C:2.

13 Bob Finnigan and Bob Sherwin, “Pen at loose ends brings M’s relief – Mariner Notebook,” Seattle Times, April 4, 2001: D7.

14 Finnigan and Sherwin, “Pen at loose ends.”

15 Zachary Levine, “Intriguing OF part of influx of new faces,” Houston Chronicle, January 12, 2012: C2.

16 “Inaugural Class Inducted into West Hartford Baseball Hall of Fame at Hot Stove Dinner,” we-ha.com, February 4, 2024. https://we-ha.com/inaugural-class-inducted-into-west-hartford-baseball-hall-of-fame-at-hot-stove-dinner/. Accessed January 13, 2026.