Matt Galante Special Assistant to the General Manager

Longtime Astros coach Matt Galante begins his third season as a special assistant to the general manager. He returned to Houston on January 13, 2005, when he was named a consultant for baseball operations. Matt rejoined the organization after spending three seasons with the New York Mets as their third base and infield coach from 2002-2003, and their bench and infield coach in 2004. His duties with the Astros include participation in Major League Spring Training as well as assisting in the evaluation of players at Major and minor league levels throughout the regular season. An Italian-American born in Brooklyn, NY, Matt served as the manager of Italy's team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March. Matt previously spent 21 years with the Astros organization from 1980-2001, the longest tenure by any coach in franchise history. He served 16 seasons as a member of the Major League coaching staff (1985-96, 1998-2001) and worked for five managers: Bob Lillis, Hal Lanier, Art Howe, Terry Collins and Larry Dierker. Matt also managed in Houston's minor league system for five years, from 1980-82 with Double A Columbus of the Southern League and 1983-84 with Triple A Tucson of the Pacific Coast League. Matt was a coach every season from 1985-2001 with the Astros except for 1997. That year, he began the season as a special assistant to General Manager Gerry Hunsicker, however, four games into the minor league campaign, he was named the manager of the Astros Triple A New Orleans club of the Pacific Coast League. He guided the club to an overall record of 74-70, a second place finish in the PCL's Western Division and a berth in the playoffs. From 1998-2000, he served as Houston's bench coach and in 2001, he was the third base coach for the Astros. Matt also took over as the Astros interim manager from June 14-July 14, 1999 while Larry Dierker recovered from brain surgery. Houston went 13-14 with Galante at the helm. Prior to his tenure with Houston, Matt served as a scout and minor league instructor for the Mets in 1978 and then managed New York's Class A Little Falls club of the New York-Penn League in 1979. He began his managerial career in the Milwaukee Brewers organization in 1973 with Class A Newark of the New York-Penn League and stayed with the Brewers through 1977, winning a Class A Midwest League title with Danville in 1974. He also worked as a player-coach with Triple A Evansville of the American Association in 1973 before beginning his managerial career later that season. Matt was drafted in the 25th round of the June 1966 Free Agent Draft by the New York Yankees and played in their farm system through the 1971 season. In 1972, he was traded to Milwaukee. Matt was an All-American second baseman at St. John's University his senior year when he batted .402 and helped the Redmen qualify for the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Matt resides in Staten Island, NY. He and his wife, Mary, have three children: sons Paul and Matthew Jr., and daughter Mary. His son, Matthew Jr., was a 13th-round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in the June 2000 draft. Matthew Jr. played for the Cardinals organization for two years before being signed by the Mets in the 2001 offseason. He played for Class A Capitol City of the South Atlantic League in 2002 and split the 2003 season between Capital City and Class A St. Lucie of the Florida State League. Matthew Jr. played for Double A Binghamton of the Eastern League in 2004 and now owns a business.

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