Bio

Matthew Lawton

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (1989-91) / Baseball
Saucier, Mississippi

Matt Lawton, born November 30, 1971, in Gulfport, grew up in Saucier. After graduating from Harrison Central High School in 1989, Lawton enrolled at MGCCC (Perkinston Campus) on a baseball scholarship. According to Coach Cooper Farris, Lawton set the MGCCC record for stolen bases with 50 in 1990. In 1991 he broke his own record by stealing 80 bases. In two seasons at MGCCC, Lawton went to bat 332 times, had 141 hits, scoring 137 runs and knocking in 78 more. While at MGCCC, Lawton was Mississippi Association of Junior and Community Colleges All-State and All-NJCAA Region XXIII both years. He was a member of the MGCCC team that placed fifth in the nation at the 1991 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) World Series, after which he was declared a Junior College All-American. Also in 1991, Lawton was selected to play for the National Junior College Athletic Association All-Star Team that traveled to Cuba to play the Cuban national team in a seven-game series. His performance in Cuba was such that a representative of the scouting department of the Minnesota Twins met him at the airport in Miami, Florida, with an offer that caused Lawton to refuse a baseball scholarship to the University of South Alabama. He climbed the Minnesota Twins minor league ladder from 1991 to 1995 being the Twins Minor League Player of the Week several times. He was called up to the Minnesota Twins major league team in 1995. He was selected as the Twins Most Valuable Player in 1998 and made the American League All-Star Team in 2000. According to Cooper Farris, Lawton returned and practiced with the MGCCC team every January and February from 1992 to 1999.