Brett James Nicholas (born July 18, 1988) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers.

Career

Nicholas was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

and attended Pinnacle High School in Phoenix. In 2008, he attended

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, th ...

, in 2009 he went to

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a public community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the eastern boundary of the city on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The lease was taken out ...

and in 2010, he attended

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

. He slashed .378/.483/.617 with nine home runs and 49 RBI for Scottsdale Community College in 2009 and in 2010, he hit .351/.434/.592 with 12 home runs and 64 RBI. He was drafted in the sixth round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

, one pick after pitcher

Logan Darnell Logan R. Darnell (born February 2, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2014 and played for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Ba ...

, and began his professional career that year.

Texas Rangers

He played for the

Arizona League Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

and

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Col ...

in 2010 and Spokane and the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which opene ...

in 2012. In 2013, he batted .285/.351/.413 with eight home runs, 63 RBI and 33 doubles in 122 games for Myrtle Beach, earning a selection to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

. In 2013, he was a

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

Mid- and Post-Season All-Star, a MiLB.com Organization All-Star, an

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan ...

, and the Rising Stars MVP after hitting .289/.357/.474 with 21 home runs and 91 RBI for the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are named for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regim ...

during the regular season and .230/.266/.393 in 17 games for the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Royals ...

during the AFL campaign. He hit two home runs during the Fall Stars Game. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2014, hitting .274/.322/.389 with 10 home runs and 58 RBI in 127 games for the Express. Back with Round Rock in 2015, Nicholas batted .268/.314/.412 with 12 home runs and 63 RBI. He has earned stints in major league spring training each year since 2012. He was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on April 10, 2016, after catcher

Robinson Chirinos Robinson David Chirinos González (; born June 5, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, New York M ...

was placed on the disabled list. He started his first career game a day later against Seattle. He picked up his first two career hits in four at bats and also threw out

Nori Aoki is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Toro ...

at second base in the first inning in a 7-3 win. On July 26, 2017, Nicholas pitched for the Texas Rangers in the ninth inning of a game against the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

. He allowed four earned runs, giving him an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

of 36.00. The Rangers designated him for assignment on March 7, 2018.

San Diego Padres

On April 6, 2018, Nicholas was traded to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

for a

PTBNL In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

; who would become

Emmanuel Clase Emmanuel Clase (; born March 18, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the San Diego Padres as an international free agent in 2015. He made his MLB debut in ...

. He spent the 2018 season with the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

, and became a free agent after the season.

Colorado Rockies

On November 9, 2018, Nicholas signed a minor league contract with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

. On March 23, 2019, he requested and received his release from the Rockies.

Chicago White Sox

On April 4, 2019, Nicholas signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Retirement / Post playing career

On May 5, 2019, Nicholas announced his retirement from baseball.

References

External links

Missouri Tigers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Brett 1988 births Living people Baseball players from Phoenix, Arizona Major League Baseball catchers Texas Rangers players Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes baseball players Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball players Missouri Tigers baseball players Arizona League Rangers players Spokane Indians players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Surprise Saguaros players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players Estrellas Orientales players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic El Paso Chihuahuas players Birmingham Barons players