"Matthew John Kata" is a Major League Baseball infielder.

Kata graduated from Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland)/St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio in 1996 and attended college at Vanderbilt University. He was selected by Arizona Diamondbacks/Arizona in the ninth round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft and made his major league debut for the Diamondbacks June 15, . He also played briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies in , and Texas Rangers (baseball)/Texas Rangers in .

Along with Robby Hammock, Alex Cintrón and Brandon Webb, he was one of the "Baby Backs" who were called up when a surge of injuries hit Diamondbacks veteran players in 2003. The Baby Backs were popular and contributed to a winning season, but ultimately failed to make the playoffs.

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/ first = Bob

/ last = McManaman

/ title = 2003: Finest moment

/ url = http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/10years/articles/db10-2003main.html

More Matt Kata on Wikipedia.

I guess it's a little surprising because it's in the middle of spring training. Things really weren't working out with Philadelphia. This is an opportunity to open some eyes and show people what I can do.

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That's how my whole career has been, fighting for a spot. It's nothing new to me. It's something you embrace as a player and use as motivation. These next two weeks will be a similar situation, going in and competing, doing my thing and controlling the things I can control.

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