Nelson Figueroa (born May 18, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York) is a
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
starting pitcherIn baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
for the
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
. He attended
Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University is a private research university with a liberal arts focus, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate...
in
WalthamWaltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, billed by the Chamber of Commerce as the "birthplace of the American industrial revolution", and an early center for the labor movement. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
where he pitched for three years and earned a bachelors degree in American Studies. The
right-handedRight-handedness is the form of handedness in which one has greater coordination and dexterity in the right hand than in the left hand. Right-handed individuals will perform everyday tasks such as writing, cooking and carrying out one's personal hygiene with the right hand.A variety of studies...
starting pitcher and occasional long reliever stands at 6'1", 205 pounds. He features a
fastballThe fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–104 mph and up to 107.9 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
,
curveballThe curveball is a breaking pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that impart down and/or sideways spin to the ball. It is therefore considered a type of breaking ball. Contrary to a fastball , the curveball has a diagonal spin that creates a wake behind the ball,...
,
sliderIn baseball, a slider is a pitch halfway between a curveball and a fastball. A slider breaks laterally and down, with more speed than a curve ball but less speed than a fastball. The break on the pitch is shorter than that of a curveball. The release technique of a slider is between a curveball and...
, and
changeupA changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. Other names include change-of-pace and simply change. The changeup is sometimes called an off-speed pitch, although that term can also be used simply to mean any pitch that is slower than a fastball...
.
He was drafted 833rd overall by the
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
in the 30th round of the
1995 Major League Baseball Draft-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign-Background:Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad compiled a career .356 average in three seasons with the...
and was subsequently traded along with outfielder
Bernard GilkeyOtis Bernard Gilkey is a former Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. Primarily a left fielder, Gilkey occasionally played right field as well. He also played a small number of games as a center field,...
to the
Arizona DiamondbacksThe Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
in for
Jorge FábregasJorge Fábregas [fah'bray-gas] is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for eight teams during a nine-year major league career. He is an alumnus of the University of Miami....
,
Willie BlairWilliam Allen Blair is a former journeyman right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from -. Blair played baseball for Morehead State University before the Toronto Blue Jays drafted him in the 11th round of the amateur draft. Blair spent four seasons in the Blue Jays minor league...
and cash considerations.
Nelson Figueroa (born May 18, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York) is a
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
starting pitcherIn baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
for the
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
. He attended
Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University is a private research university with a liberal arts focus, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate...
in
WalthamWaltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, billed by the Chamber of Commerce as the "birthplace of the American industrial revolution", and an early center for the labor movement. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
where he pitched for three years and earned a bachelors degree in American Studies. The
right-handedRight-handedness is the form of handedness in which one has greater coordination and dexterity in the right hand than in the left hand. Right-handed individuals will perform everyday tasks such as writing, cooking and carrying out one's personal hygiene with the right hand.A variety of studies...
starting pitcher and occasional long reliever stands at 6'1", 205 pounds. He features a
fastballThe fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–104 mph and up to 107.9 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
,
curveballThe curveball is a breaking pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that impart down and/or sideways spin to the ball. It is therefore considered a type of breaking ball. Contrary to a fastball , the curveball has a diagonal spin that creates a wake behind the ball,...
,
sliderIn baseball, a slider is a pitch halfway between a curveball and a fastball. A slider breaks laterally and down, with more speed than a curve ball but less speed than a fastball. The break on the pitch is shorter than that of a curveball. The release technique of a slider is between a curveball and...
, and
changeupA changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. Other names include change-of-pace and simply change. The changeup is sometimes called an off-speed pitch, although that term can also be used simply to mean any pitch that is slower than a fastball...
.
Early career
He was drafted 833rd overall by the
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
in the 30th round of the
1995 Major League Baseball Draft-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign-Background:Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad compiled a career .356 average in three seasons with the...
and was subsequently traded along with outfielder
Bernard GilkeyOtis Bernard Gilkey is a former Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. Primarily a left fielder, Gilkey occasionally played right field as well. He also played a small number of games as a center field,...
to the
Arizona DiamondbacksThe Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
in for
Jorge FábregasJorge Fábregas [fah'bray-gas] is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for eight teams during a nine-year major league career. He is an alumnus of the University of Miami....
,
Willie BlairWilliam Allen Blair is a former journeyman right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from -. Blair played baseball for Morehead State University before the Toronto Blue Jays drafted him in the 11th round of the amateur draft. Blair spent four seasons in the Blue Jays minor league...
and cash considerations. Figueroa made his major league debut with the Diamondbacks during the season, becoming the first Brandeis University alumnus to reach the major leagues. Figueroa started in three games that year and compiled an 0-1 record and a 7.47 ERA. On July 26, 2000, Figueroa was traded with
Vicente PadillaVicente de la Cruz Padilla is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Padilla previously pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers....
,
Travis LeeTravis Lee is a former Major League Baseball first baseman.Lee graduated from Capital High School in Olympia, Washington in 1993, where he also played football. Being ambidextrous Lee played as a lefty in baseball and as a QB for the Capital High football team threw with his right...
, and
Omar DaalOmar Jesus Daal Cordero is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for 11 seasons, from through . Daal played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Montreal Expos , Toronto Blue Jays , Arizona Diamondbacks , Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles...
to the
Philadelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and are the defending World Series champions. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern...
for
Curt SchillingCurtis Montague Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and has won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox...
. Figueroa spent the rest of the 2000 season pitching for the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red BaronsThe Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Yankees play at PNC Field , located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, which is part of the metropolitan area of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.While Lackawanna County and Luzerne County retain ownership, the...
of the
International LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball...
(AAA), compiling a record of 4-3 and an ERA of 3.78.
In , Figueroa tossed 89 innings for the Phillies and finished the season with a 4-5 record and 3.94 ERA. The right-hander was claimed off waivers on October 11, , by the
Milwaukee BrewersThe Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
. Figueroa spent one season in Milwaukee where he regressed to a 1-7 record and 5.03 ERA. He then signed as a
free agentIn professional sports, a free agent is a player, whose contract with a team has expired, who's eligible to sign with another franchise. The term came into wide use in North America after sports leagues stopped using a "reserve clause" after much acrimonious collective bargaining, which provided a...
with the
Pittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions, in addition to the distinction of playing in the first modern World Series. The Pirates are also often...
on January 6, . Figueroa spent most of the 2003 season pitching for the
Nashville SoundsThe Nashville Sounds are a minor league baseball team of the Pacific Coast League , and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry...
, the AAA affiliate of the Pirates. He was promoted late in the season and went 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA for Pittsburgh.
After a brief stint with the Pirates in 2004, Figueroa spent rehabilitating a torn rotator cuff that he had played with during the previous season. He signed a minor league contract with the
Washington NationalsThe Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly-built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK...
early in and spent the season pitching for the Triple-A
New Orleans ZephyrsThe New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor league baseball team based in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. The Zephyrs play their home games at Zephyr Field.The Zephyrs joined the PCL after the...
, where he posted a 4.38 ERA in 76 innings of work.
Foreign leagues
In , he signed with
Dorados de ChihuahuaDorados de Chihuahua is a baseball team from the city of Chihuahua. Recently Tuneros de San Luis moved to Chihuahua and took the Dorados namesake, which also brought the LMB Mexican Baseball League to Chihuahua for the first time since 1982...
of the
Mexican LeagueThe Mexican League is a summer minor league baseball league with teams based across Mexico. Along with the International League and the Pacific Coast League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball...
. Figueroa went to
TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
in September 2007 as a late season addition to the
Uni-President LionsThe Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions are a professional baseball team based in Tainan City, the second largest city in southern Taiwan. The organization is owned by the Uni-President Corporation, one of Taiwan's largest conglomerate whose sub-company Uni-President Baseball Team Company oversees...
of the
Chinese Professional Baseball LeagueThe Chinese Professional Baseball League , or CPBL, is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and was, at the time, the 4th professional baseball league organized in the world, after MLB of the USA, NPB of Japan, and KBO of Korea. CPBL eventually...
(CPBL). He started 4 games for the Lions, won them all, had 8 walks and 21 strikeouts in 30 innings, had an
ERAIn baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. The ERA tells the average number of runs a pitcher would surrender over the course of a full game had he been kept in for the full nine innings...
of 3.00, and helped the Lions secure the wild-card spot in the playoff series.
In the first round best-of-five series against Macoto Cobras, Figueroa started for the Lions in the first game. He pitched for 8 innings, gave up only 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs while striking out 8 hitters. The Lions won the game with a score of 9-4 with Figueroa the winning pitcher, and advanced to the championship series by sweeping the Cobras in three games.
In the
2007The Chinese Professional Baseball League playoffs included the three top teams from the regular season and saw Uni-President Lions crowned as the champion with the Taiwan Series through the month of October, 2007...
Taiwan SeriesTaiwan Series is the championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. It is usually played in October, after the regular season. It was formerly known as CPBL Seasonal Championship Series , and was renamed Taiwan Series after the merger of Chinese Professional Baseball League and...
CPBL championship series against the
La New BearsThe La New Bears , formerly First Financial Holdings Agan , are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan...
, Figueroa started in three games, the first, fourth, and seventh games, and won them all. He was selected as the series MVP and now holds the record in the Taiwan Series history as the starting pitcher with the most games won.
In the 2009 Venezuelan Winter league round robin, he pitched for Cardenales de Lara (Lara's Cardinals) and pitched a no hit no run for nine innings but the game was still 0-0, he came again in the 10th and received a hit, ending the streak. Cardenales won in 10 innings, 1-0. Figueroa was the winning pitcher.
Return to Major League Baseball
In his return to Major League Baseball on April 11, 2008, Figueroa had his first start with the New York Mets. He pitched 6 innings, allowed 2 hits, walked two and struck out 6, getting credit for the victory with the Mets going on to win 4-2. In attendance was his family, who cheered him on from Mets closer Billy Wagner's suite. On May 13, 2008, he along with reliever
Jorge SosaJorge Bolivar Sosa is a Major League Baseball pitcher who is currently a Free Agent.. Sosa stands at 6'2" tall and reportedly weighs 218 pounds...
was designated for assignment to make room for activated reliever
Matt WiseMatthew John Wise , is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher.Wise was drafted in the sixth round of the draft. He made his major league debut on August 2, with the Anaheim Angels. He was released by the Angels in and signed with the Milwaukee Brewers...
. He was eventually sent outright to the minors. Figueroa was brought back to the Mets on August 27, spending September as a member of the Mets'
bullpenIn baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
. On December 3, he was re-signed by the New York Mets to a minor league contract.
Nelson was called up on April 19, 2009 to start against the Brewers in place of injured Mike Pelfrey, and was designated for assignment following the game. On April 25, 2009, he re-signed with the
MetsThe Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard schema is a standard for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata regarding objects within a digital library, expressed using the XML schema language of the World Wide Web Consortium...
and was assigned to Triple-A
BuffaloThe Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York which plays in the International League . They are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...
.
On October 4, 2009, the last day of the 2009 MLB regular season, Nelson Figueroa tossed a four-hitter and struck out seven batters for the first complete game and shutout of his major league baseball career.
Personal
Figueroa is married and spends the off-season in
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
. He is a graduate of Lincoln High School, Mark Twain Intermediate School 239, and Public School 188, the Michael E. Berdy School for the Gifted and Talented in
Brooklyn, New YorkBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
.
He is also an artist who helped design patriotic t-shirts for Major League Baseball in the aftermath of 9/11. The shirts were sold to raise money for charity. He has a skill with electronics that former manager
Jerry RoysterJeron Kennis Royster was a third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees, as well as a former manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. He was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1970 at age 17, and three years...
called "just amazing."
External links