Jorge Mateo: Spreading Happiness On and Off the Field 

Jorge Mateo was about 15 years old, living in his hometown of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, when former Major League outfielder Eury Pérez gave him a baseball bat.

That quickly became one of the most important moments in Mateo’s life. It was one of his first real interactions with a Major League Baseball player, and it completely changed his outlook on giving back to others.

“That was one of the most amazing things to happen to me,” said Mateo. “I said when I have the chance to do that, I want to do it with every kid, every person. That made me feel amazing, and I want to make someone feel amazing, too.”

Mateo strongly believes that what you give to others will be returned to you. That is why after a breakout year in 2022 that saw him set career highs in almost every offensive category, Mateo made true on the promise he made to himself twelve years ago - that one day he would give back to his community.

“I feel really happy about the work that my Jorge has been doing,” said Mateo’s mom, Reyna. “He’s been doing a lot of humanitarian work. I tell him the importance of always being humble. I tell him that as long as he remains humble, God will continue blessing him.”

After being claimed by the Orioles off waivers from the San Diego Padres on August 5, 2021, Mateo made a name for himself in 2022. In addition to a career year at the plate, Mateo led the American League with a career-high 35 stolen bases and quickly established himself as one of the top defensive shortstops in the league. Known for making web gem plays, Mateo finished the season with 14 defensive runs saved, the third-most among MLB shortstops, and won his first career Fielding Bible Award, an honor given to the best defensive player at each position.

Being claimed off waivers by the Orioles gave Mateo more than the chance to become an everyday player at shortstop. It also gave him the chance to give back to his community in the ways he had always dreamed about.

When he was younger, Mateo remembers seeing a lot of people from his hometown in the streets looking for food. It was something he never forgot. He knew they did not belong there. They should have been home with their families, but they couldn’t afford to be.

This offseason, Mateo decided to do something about it. With help from the Orioles, he was able to provide food to more than 150 people, just in time for Christmas.

“Christmas is a time you should spend together with your family, but I know many people don’t do that because they don’t have the food to do it,” said Mateo. “This is something I want to do every offseason. That way I know that everybody has the food to spend Christmas with their family.”

Mateo and the Orioles also worked together to make sure children in his hometown would have access to proper school supplies, donating backpacks, notebooks, classroom games and Orioles t-shirts and jump ropes to more than 400 local kids.

When he was growing up, Mateo’s school didn’t have games for him and his classmates to play at recess. Now, they will never have to worry about that again.

“The community always asks for him,” said his mom. “And they always hope that God keeps him healthy so that he can continue to help his town.”

Mateo has made it a priority to help his community year-round, even when baseball brings him back to Baltimore. That is why he started his JM3 program. Through JM3, Mateo is able to give more children in his community the opportunity to play baseball.

The program provides children with baseball equipment, jerseys, nutritious food, and hands-on coaching, including from Mateo himself when he is home during the offseason. When the season starts back up, Mateo leaves JM3 in the hands of trusted friends, ensuring the players are still getting the support they need.

“It’s a hard game,” said Mateo. “A lot of people don’t have a chance to play like they are supposed to because they don’t have the equipment to do that. But now it’s a little bit different, there’s a lot of Dominican Major League players donating equipment in this community and that’s good to see that.”

One day, Mateo hopes he will get to see one of the kids he helped make it to the big leagues. But if he doesn’t, that’s ok. Because the work he is doing is making people feel amazing, and that was always the goal. To see families laughing. To make people happy. That has always been the most important part.

“I want to be remembered as that guy who made people happy on and off of the field,” said Mateo. “I want fans to think every time I went to the field to see this guy, he did something good for us. No matter how much the game means, no matter who they are playing, he did the best he could on the field. Off the field too. He made the people happy. That’s how I want to be remembered.”