American baseball player (1944-2018)
Baseball player
Dave Nelson
|
---|
Nelson in 1974
|
Second baseman
/
Third baseman
|
Born:
(
1944-06-20
)
June 20, 1944
Fort Sill, Oklahoma
, U.S.
|
Died:
April 22, 2018
(2018-04-22)
(aged 73)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Right
|
|
April 11, 1968, for the Cleveland Indians
|
|
September 27, 1977, for the Kansas City Royals
|
|
Batting average
| .244
|
---|
Home runs
| 20
|
---|
Runs batted in
| 211
|
---|
|
---|
|
|
|
|
David Earl Nelson
(June 20, 1944 ? April 22, 2018) was an American
professional baseball
infielder
. He played in
Major League Baseball
for the
Cleveland Indians
,
Washington Senators / Texas Rangers
, and
Kansas City Royals
from 1968 through 1977. He also served as one of the broadcasters for the
Milwaukee Brewers
on
Fox Sports Wisconsin
.
During a period in the early 2010 season, Nelson was the team's interim radio
color commentator
over the Brewers Radio Network during road games outside of Chicago while
Bob Uecker
recovered from heart surgery to repair an aortic valve.
[1]
He was the team's first base coach for four years prior to the end of his contract. He helped to develop many players, including
Kenny Lofton
,
Scott Podsednik
and
Rickie Weeks
.
[2]
Early years
[
edit
]
Nelson was born in
Fort Sill, Oklahoma
.
[3]
He graduated from
Junipero Serra High School
in
Gardena, California
,
[3]
and attended
Compton Junior College
and
Los Angeles State College
.
[2]
Nelson served for six years in the
Army Reserve
.
[2]
Playing career
[
edit
]
Nelson played his first career game with the
Cleveland Indians
on April 11, 1968, spending two seasons with Cleveland before being traded to the
Washington Senators
with
Ron Law
and
Horacio Pina
for
Dennis Higgins
and
Barry Moore
during the 1969?70 offseason.
[2]
[4]
In 1971, Nelson began seeing regular time in the field, coming to bat over 300 times for the first time in his career.
[5]
At the end of that season, Nelson scored the last run ever for the Washington Senators at
RFK stadium
.
[6]
Nelson moved with the franchise to Texas, where he continued to gain a reputation as a base-stealing threat, stealing 51 bases in 1972.
[5]
He had his best year in 1973, when he played in his one and only
All-Star Game
, playing one inning at third base but not coming to bat.
[7]
That year, he finished with a
batting average
of .286, with seven home runs and 48
RBIs
.
[3]
He remained with the Rangers until being traded to the
Kansas City Royals
in exchange for
Nelson Briles
following the 1975 season.
[5]
Nelson spent two seasons in Kansas City, playing sparingly off the bench.
[5]
In 1976, he got his only taste of postseason action.
[5]
Pinch-hitting for
Tom Poquette
in Game 3 of the
1976 American League Championship Series
against the
New York Yankees
, he grounded out against
Sparky Lyle
.
[8]
He played in his final major league game on September 27, 1977, then retired after the season.
[5]
Post-playing career
[
edit
]
Coaching
[
edit
]
In 1980, Nelson was named a coach for
Texas Christian University
's baseball team.
[9]
The following season, he returned to the majors as a coach for the
Chicago White Sox
, where he remained until 1984.
[3]
Over the next two-plus decades would work in various capacities for the
Oakland Athletics
(Director of Instruction, 1986?1987),
Montreal Expos
(minor league baserunning instructor, 1990?1991),
Cleveland Indians
(1992?1997), and
Milwaukee Brewers
(minor league outfield instructor, 2001?2002, first base coach, 2003?2006).
[9]
Broadcasting
[
edit
]
Nelson was a pregame analyst for the
Milwaukee Brewers
on
Fox Sports Wisconsin
.
[3]
He was also the Director of Milwaukee Brewers Alumni Relations.
[4]
His previous experience as a sportscaster was on
Kansas City Royals
telecasts in 1979, on
Chicago Cubs
radio broadcasts from 1988?1989, and on
Cleveland Indians
radio broadcasts from 1998?1999.
[9]
Charity work
[
edit
]
Nelson also sat on the board of directors for Open Arms Home for Children, a non-profit organization that provides homes to orphaned children affected by the
HIV/AIDS
pandemic in
South Africa
.
[4]
Death
[
edit
]
Nelson died of
liver cancer
on April 22, 2018, in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, at the age of 73.
[4]
[5]
Honors
[
edit
]
On May 26, 2012 Nelson was inducted into the Compton Community College Athletics Hall of Fame, under the category of Baseball.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"WTMJ Radio's short-term plan"
.
Journal Sentinel
. April 27, 2010
. Retrieved
April 23,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Former Brewers coach, broadcaster Davey Nelson passes away at 73"
. Fox News. April 23, 2018
. Retrieved
April 23,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Davey Nelson Statistics"
. Baseball Reference
. Retrieved
May 7,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Davey Nelson, analyst for Brewers television crew and team alumni director, dies at 73"
.
Journal Sentinel
. April 23, 2018
. Retrieved
April 23,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Former All-Star second baseman Nelson dies"
. MLB. April 23, 2018
. Retrieved
April 23,
2018
.
- ^
"RFK Stadium"
. MLB. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on May 22, 2020
. Retrieved
July 24,
2008
.
- ^
"1973 All-Star Game at Kaufman Stadium"
. Baseball Reference
. Retrieved
July 24,
2008
.
- ^
"1976 American League Championship Series (ALCS) Game 3"
. Baseball Reference
. Retrieved
July 24,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Dave Nelson, former Texas Rangers All Star, has died"
. Lone Star Ball. April 23, 2018
. Retrieved
April 23,
2018
.
External links
[
edit
]