Matt Joyce Career Tracker

I think Raburn or Larish will go first.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

I think Raburn or Larish will go first.

Ditto!

I hope Larish goes. Keep Joyce for as long as possible. Of course I wouldn't mind seeing him at the Mudhens game I'm going to...

nice that Detroit and Toledo are close in proximity!

Matt Joyce tabbed as AL Player of the Week
FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES • July 15, 2008

Detroit Tigers rookie outfielder Matt Joyce has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending July 13.

Joyce, 24, earned the award for the first time after hitting .409 (9-for-22) with four home runs, four doubles and six runs batted in for the week. In a four-game weekend series against Minnesota, Joyce went 6-for-17 and clubbed three homers.

For the season, the Tampa native is hitting .266 with nine homers and 18 RBI in just 31 games with the Tigers.

Joyce's teammate, pitcher Justin Verlander, was also considered for the award after posting a 2-0 record with a 2.57 earned run average and striking out 15 in 14 innings.

Other candidates for the honor included five All-Stars; outfielder Josh Hamilton of the Rangers, first baseman Justin Morneau of the Twins and pitcher Ervin Santana of the Angels, Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays and Justin Duchscherer of the A's.

Matt!

07/14/2008 11:17 PM ET
Joyce named AL Player of the Week
Tigers slugger posted .409 average with four homers
By Jesse Baumgartner / MLB.com

It's already been a season of firsts for Tigers rookie Matt Joyce.

After playing his first Major League game on May 5, he's endured some adversity in becoming a consistent addition to the Tigers lineup as they contend for the Central Division crown.

And Monday, Joyce added the Bank of America American League Player of the Week award to his list of accomplishments during his initial season in the big leagues.

The outfielder bagged the honor by going 9-for-22 (.409) with four homers, four doubles and six RBIs en route to posting a 1.136 slugging percentage from July 7-13. Three of the homers came during a four-game series from Thursday-Sunday against the Twins.

"I like him a lot," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said Saturday. "He's a real good prospect."

Joyce has endured a topsy-turvy first season, being sent to Triple-A Toledo at the end of May before coming back up to the big club on June 29 after Magglio Ordonez went on the disabled list.

Joyce's success at the plate during this second opportunity has made the Tigers glad they gave their young prospect another shot.

His production this past week raised his season average to .266. He now has nine homers, 18 RBIs, seven doubles and a .649 slugging percentage this season. His average rose 47 points, from .219 at the beginning of the week, and his slugging percentage rose a whopping 156 points.

Joyce is hitting .325 in July with six doubles, and his offensive prowess helped lead the Tigers to a series-finale win against the Twins on Sunday to avoid a sweep at home.

With the award, Joyce headed into his first All-Star break with some new hardware to add to his trophy case as he gets himself ready for what figures to be an entertaining second half of the season. He and his Tigers sit at 47-47, seven games behind the division-leading White Sox.

Jesse Baumgartner is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

My letter to matt is written... I just need to get an envelope and send it!

TigersGirl wrote:

My letter to matt is written... I just need to get an envelope and send it!

You mean TWO envelopes? You have to enclose a self-addressed stamped one if you want to have any shot of getting your item back

catbox_9 wrote:

TigersGirl wrote:

My letter to matt is written... I just need to get an envelope and send it!

You mean TWO envelopes? You have to enclose a self-addressed stamped one if you want to have any shot of getting your item back

Wait... what? (Either I'm really tired, really blonde.... or that made no sense)

TigersGirl wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

TigersGirl wrote:

My letter to matt is written... I just need to get an envelope and send it!

You mean TWO envelopes? You have to enclose a self-addressed stamped one if you want to have any shot of getting your item back

Wait... what? (Either I'm really tired, really blonde.... or that made no sense)

You have to send an envelope inside your envelope so that he can send you whatever you want back (signed card, etc.). Put your address and a stamp on that envelope (why should he pay?)

Oh.... I think that makes sense...

WAIT... but how does that work? Do I need to send a card inside the envelope inside the envelope... if so this could get very confusing.

Okay, here's what you do.

Take 2 envelopes (a big one (legal-sized I think they're called) and a regular-sized one).

Write your letter.

Stick your letter in the big envelope.
Stick what you want signed in the big envelope
On the small envelope, put your address as the return address AND the mailing address. PUT A STAMP ON IT
Put the small envelope inside the big envelope. DO NOT lick it

Now that everything is in the big envelope, seal that one and put a stamp on it and address it to Joyce and put your return address.


Also, DO NOT type your letter - it should be hand written. DO NOT make it long - it should fit on one side of one page. SAY PLEASE AND THANK YOU. DO NOT say something like "Yo, sign this."

But where am I EVER going to find a Joyce card???? that is the problem

Sample letter:

Dear Mr. (last name)

Hi, my name is (your name) and I am a (your age - keep it under 18 just to sound young) fan of the Detroit Tigers. I am writing to you (insert something nice about player). (Insert a sentence or two talking about memories of the player, or a comment or so - KEEP THIS SHORT). I have enclosed (what have you enclosed) and would be very appreciative if you could sign it for me. I realize you are very busy so if not I completely understand. I have enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope for your convenience. Thank you for your time and good luck the rest of this season (and your career - only if they're young).

Sincerely,

(your name signed)

(your name written)

TigersGirl wrote:

But where am I EVER going to find a Joyce card???? that is the problem

You could enclose a 3X5 card if you want. If you want to really get fancy (I've never done this) you could enclose a baseball but that would require two boxes. The problem with this is it gets expensive as you have to pay for postage both ways even if he never sends it.

Okay, but you see I already wrote the letter and didn't plan on getting anything signed.

TigersGirl wrote:

But where am I EVER going to find a Joyce card???? that is the problem

It doesn't have to be a card, maybe just an index card. You don't even really have to get anything signed, it's just if you send something that needs to be signed and returned you have a better chance of getting a letter back.

TigersGirl wrote:

Okay, but you see I already wrote the letter and didn't plan on getting anything signed.

Why are you writing then? Players frequently don't read the letters they get and 99.9% of players won't write you a letter back. I mean if you want to tell him he's great that's great, but you'll never know if he heard you or not.

catbox_9 wrote:

TigersGirl wrote:

Okay, but you see I already wrote the letter and didn't plan on getting anything signed.

Why are you writing then? Players frequently don't read the letters they get and 99.9% of players won't write you a letter back. I mean if you want to tell him he's great that's great, but you'll never know if he heard you or not.

Oh shush.

Don't listen to him, Matt is a nice guy. Him and his girlfriend probably sit down every night and read and respond to his fan mail. He might even have a folder that he keeps all of his fan mail in.

mrsrabelo wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

TigersGirl wrote:

Okay, but you see I already wrote the letter and didn't plan on getting anything signed.

Why are you writing then? Players frequently don't read the letters they get and 99.9% of players won't write you a letter back. I mean if you want to tell him he's great that's great, but you'll never know if he heard you or not.

Oh shush.

Don't listen to him, Matt is a nice guy. Him and his girlfriend probably sit down every night and read and respond to his fan mail. He might even have a folder that he keeps all of his fan mail in.

I like your advice better than his lol

TigersGirl wrote:

mrsrabelo wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

TigersGirl wrote:

Okay, but you see I already wrote the letter and didn't plan on getting anything signed.

Why are you writing then? Players frequently don't read the letters they get and 99.9% of players won't write you a letter back. I mean if you want to tell him he's great that's great, but you'll never know if he heard you or not.

Oh shush.

Don't listen to him, Matt is a nice guy. Him and his girlfriend probably sit down every night and read and respond to his fan mail. He might even have a folder that he keeps all of his fan mail in.

I like your advice better than his lol

:haha: He is male, what do they know? :haha:

Very true! :haha:

That's why they get married:
1) To have kids
2) to have someone help them go through their fan mail!

I am a male, I am smart. I hope. Why would you say "what do they know"? I mean, we are talking about catbox but still.
Haha jk jk.

gdennis59 wrote:

I am a male, I am smart. I hope. Why would you say "what do they know"? I mean, we are talking about catbox but still.
Haha jk jk.

Well if you are going to tell me don't send a letter cause you doubt that matt joyce will ever reply.... then you aren't smart (which was the point being made), because then you are going to make me sad and thats never fun....

Well I sent a letter to Jonesy and I am hoping for one back. So I know how you feel.

yay. So you are not a stupid guy! (or maybe you are, who knows....)

I'm just saying - I've sent tons of letters to players and never has a player written me a letter back. I've gotten plenty of autographs back but never a letter. The only people that have written me letters are announcers and retired players.

I'm not saying it's impossible as I've heard of people getting letters back, but it almost never happens.

catbox_9 wrote:

I'm just saying - I've sent tons of letters to players and never has a player written me a letter back. I've gotten plenty of autographs back but never a letter. The only people that have written me letters are announcers and retired players.

I'm not saying it's impossible as I've heard of people getting letters back, but it almost never happens.

But I don't want to send a letter to get an autograph. If I want an autograph I will get it in person, it's more personal that way. I love maggs, and have is autograph on a baseball and rookie card, but I didn't get it in person. The baseball I got signed by players I don't like as much means more to me because I got it in person.