By: Josh Wolmer
Matt Motyka taking a cutter opposite field for his first collegiate home run against Framingham State (Courtesy: Matt Motyka)
What is baseball? Baseball is a sport in which you try to score more runs than the opposing team. For Matt Motyka, baseball is more.
“Baseball means everything to me, it’s my life,” Motyka said. “It is something that I do every day for two or three hours. It is an escape from whatever is going on in my life, whatever personal struggle I have, whatever is going on doesn’t matter for that time block.”
Motyka went to Howell Cheney Technical High School where he started as a catcher at the JV level. Midway through that freshman year, Motyka was called up to be a bullpen catcher for the varsity team. Motyka’s batting average that year was bad, .025, not something you’d expect from someone who is an everyday college player.
Going into his next three seasons, he was a starter for the varsity team, first season at first base, and the last two seasons as the team’s starting catcher. During those three years, Motyka had 85 hits, 78 RBIs, 52 runs, batted an accumulative .431, was a part of two all-conference teams, and won two conference titles. To add to his impressive accomplishments, he won the school’s most outstanding male athlete.
Looking at that resume, Motyka was ready to take his talents to the next level. He took his talents to play for Lasell University, at the Division III level.
Freshman year was in a way a success for Motyka. It can be tough for freshmen to find a spot in the lineup. On a roster of 26 players, 16 were upperclassmen and all of them had been on the team since their freshman years. Motyka finished the year playing the second-most games among underclassmen and had a decent rookie year. He played in 17 games hitting .242 and helped Lasell to their best record in program history.
Sophomore year was going to be an awesome year. With so much offseason work and tweaks to his swing, Motyka was primed for an everyday job.
“Matt is such a powerful guy. He sat in the middle of the order and what he can do makes my job easy,” said new baseball head coach William Uberti. “He is such an excellent ballplayer who shows up to the field and is always ready to work. Whenever there is no practice, you know he is putting in work.”
Motyka got off to a hot start. He started off as the team’s designated hitter the first three games and then started the final two at first base. Motyka hit an outstanding .389 with a hit in all five games and was primed for a breakout season. Unfortunately, COVID-19 played killjoy.
Even with COVID-19 being an issue, Motyka made the most of the situation. He put in work alone when he was home and during the summer, he did what very few could actually pull off. He played for two baseball teams at the same time.
“Because of COVID, I was fortunate enough to play in the Connecticut collegiate baseball league,” Motyka said.
“Playing with CT Mayhem I was on a game-by-game basis, filling in when they needed a catcher. It was also nice to get extra reps and extra swings off of live pitching. Batting practice can only do so much for a hitter.”
Live reps are so important to many players. Motyka takes advantage of any chance he can get. Now, Motyka is gearing up for his junior season and is more determined than ever. He is bound to be an everyday player. Also, according to coach Uberti, he plans to use Motyka in the back end of the bullpen as the team’s closer because of his weird arm slot coming out of the side and his electric fastball.
Motyka is becoming the jack of all trades. Fans could be in to watch what could be one of the greatest seasons in Lasell history, in large part due to what Motyka was able to learn during the COVID-impacted season.
“Had this question been asked of me in high school the answer would have been different,” Motyka said. “After going through a COVID summer and playing with an entire team of D1 and Draft prospects I learned a lot about myself. I learned what I am capable of doing and the level of baseball that I can play.”
The future is extremely bright for Motyka.
“Right now as a junior in college, my goal is to begin looking at D1 grad school opportunities and I look to transition that into a professional career,” Motyka said. “The end goal is to play the game and the highest level that I can for as long as I can, and when my playing days are over, being a manager, coach, or potentially an executive in baseball. I want to stay involved in the game for as long as possible.”
This is the heart of someone who loves the sport. With his talent and work ethic, Motyka can make It as far as he wants.
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