gettysburg32 Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Inouye got released 5/12/09. Matthew Inouye was the 21st round pick for the White Sox. Here's part of an article from a Honolulu newspaper on the day he was drafted. It covers some about his UofHawaii career in which he played outfield and catcher. He was a four-year starter for the Rainbows but was an outfielder in his junior and senior seasons. "Major League baseball teams selected 11 more players with Hawaii connections yesterday, bringing the two-day total to 14 picks in the 2006 First-Year Player draft. Matt Inouye was taken in the 21st round by the Chicago White Sox. He was drafted as a catcher, the position he played at Mid-Pacific Institute and for his first two seasons with the Hawaii Rainbows. "I tried not to think about the draft too much, but the anticipation was a big factor in how much sleep I got," said Inouye, who will sign. "It feels good to have it be over. It is a weight off my shoulders." Inouye, who played right field the last two years, was a taken in the 41st round in 2002 by the Boston Red Sox. "Matt is the consummate team player. I had promised him he would catch more this year, but we were a better club with him in the outfield. Matt will impress people in pro ball as a catcher," said UH coach Mike Trapasso. The White Sox used their next pick to take Kanekoa Texeira in the 22nd round. The right-hander from Kamehameha played for Saddleback Community College this year, where he was 6-1 with a 4.00 ERA. "Several teams watched me throw a bullpen after my season was over. I am going to sign," said Texeira, a 31st-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005." So far in Bristol, Inouye's 12-27 batting (.444) with 2 2B, 1 HR and 6 RBI. Inouye's started eight games, all at catcher, and batting either 3rd or 5th in Bristol's order. Here's a game recap from the Bristol paper last Saturday with some quotes from Inouye... BY TIM HAYES Bristol Herald Courier BRISTOL, Va. — Bristol White Sox starting pitcher Alexander Woodson had to settle for a no-decision on Friday night. So his battery mate provided him with some consolation. Catcher Matthew Inouye went 3-for-5 with three RBIs to highlight Bristol’s 8-3 Appalachian League victory over the Johnson City Cardinals at DeVault Stadium. Inouye had an RBI single during Bristol’s decisive four-run seventh inning and is 6-for-9 with five RBIs in his two games this season. “I’m just doing everything I can to try to stay in the lineup,” Inouye said. “This is my job now.” After Bristol’s starters struggled in the first two games of the season, Woodson was impressive on Friday. The 6-foot-1 left-hander struck out 10 and allowed just four hits in six innings of work. He left the game with a 3-2 lead before Johnson City tied the game in the top of the seventh inning with an unearned run. Woodson is in his second tour of duty in the Appalachian League, after going 1-0 with a 2.55 ERA in 16 relief appearances last season for the BriSox. “The kid’s talented,” Inouye said of Woodson. “Coming from the left side, he has dirty stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him out of here and (promoted) soon.” Bristol (2-1) struggled against Johnson City starter Elvis Hernandez, but pounded six ineffective Cardinals relievers. All but one Bristol starter reached base at least once, and shortstop Scott Madsen also had a three-hit night. It was also another eventful night for the 22-year-old Inouye. Along with BriSox reliever Kanekoa Texeira — who tossed a perfect eighth inning on Friday in relief — they are just a handful of players from Hawaii to play in the professional ranks. “Baseball in Hawaii has always been pretty big,” Inouye said. “The talent has gotten a lot better down there and guys have started working harder. We’re just all doing everything we can to make it to the next level.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gettysburg32 Posted July 10, 2006 Author Share Posted July 10, 2006 Stats for Matthew Inouye through 7/9 More impressive offense from Inouye, usually in the fifth spot in the Bristol order... .364 BA (16-for-44 in 13 games), 3 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 1 SB, .420 OBP Last few days, all good productive games: Sunday - 3-for-4 Sat. - PH RBI 2B Fri. - 2 RBI Thurs - 1-for-2 w/ 2 BB Saturday, in Bristol's 5-3 extra-inning loss, (quote from the Bristol paper) "In the bottom of the ninth, the Sox’ Stefan Gartrell doubled and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Moments later, pinch-hitter Matthew Inouye ripped a game-tying, two-out double to left, scoring Andrew Mead." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gettysburg32 Posted July 18, 2006 Author Share Posted July 18, 2006 Stats for Matthew through 7/16 Still leading Bristol in BA @ .359 and co-lead w/ 11 RBI Other stats (in 18 games and 64 ABs) - 7 R, 4 2Bs, 1 HR, 4 BBs, 9 Ks, 1 SB, .877 OPS One other interesting note, according to MILB.com's box score, Inouye played 2B on Sunday. He played OF most of the last two years at UH and was a catcher before that. He was drafted mainly as a catcher and as far as I've seen had been nothing but a catcher so far for Bristol. No word/confirmation about this from the Bristol paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gettysburg32 Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 Stats through 8/1 In 33 games & 86 ABs .339 BA, 14 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 8 BB, 14 K, 2-for-3 SB, .414 OBP Inouye just keeps hitting and hitting. In the last couple weeks, he’s had 3 2-for-3 games, a 3-for-4 game and a 2-for-4 game. In a couple of those games, he was literally the only Bristol player to do anything offensively. He’s playing just about every day, usually at catcher and sometimes as the DH. His batting average continues to be a team high. From milb.com, about a week ago - "WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT: One of the bright spots this season for Bristol has been catcher Matthew Inouye. He is second in the league with a .354 batting average, and kept that pace this week going 6-for-15 over the last five games." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigEdWalsh Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Matt Inouye batted .309 in 40 games for Great Falls this year. He had a .400 OBP. He's currently on the roster of the Waikiki BeachBoys in the Hawaii Winter League (not a bad gig). So far he's played in just 1 game, going 2-3. I believe he's the lone representative of the White Sox playing in Hawaii. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 IIRC, he is a very good defensive catcher. Probably won't ever do much, but he could work his way up to the majors as a backup catcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Inouye was released this week. He had put up some pretty bad numbers repeating Kanny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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