David Lawrence Nicholson (August 29, 1939 – February 25, 2023) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

( and ),

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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(–),

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

() and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

(). Nicholson was known for his towering, although infrequent, home runs. In , he hit a home run measured at over the left-field roof of Chicago's

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a ballpark in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-south side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Built by Wh ...

Early life

Nicholson was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, where he graduated from Southwest High School. He was signed as an amateur by the Orioles to a bonus contract, reportedly worth $105,000, on January 26, 1958.

Baseball career

Nicholson threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as tall and . In , his second season in the Baltimore

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, Nicholson batted .298 for their

Aberdeen Pheasants The Aberdeen Pheasants was the primary moniker minor league baseball teams located in Aberdeen, South Dakota between 1920 and 1997. The Pheasants played in the Northern League from 1946 until the league folded in 1971. Aberdeen was the Class C ...

affiliate (managed by

Earl Weaver Earl Sidney Weaver (August 14, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was an American professional baseball manager, author, and television broadcaster. After playing in minor league baseball, he retired without playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). He be ...

) with 35 home runs, tied for the lead in the Class C Northern League. The following year saw Nicholson promoted all the way to Triple-A, and his

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

debut on May 24, 1960 at age 20. Facing the White Sox at Comiskey Park, he went hitless with one

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

in four

plate appearances In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

. He remained on the Baltimore roster all season and hit five home runs, but struck out 55 times in 133 trips to the plate. He spent back in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, mainly in the Double-A

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

, before being given a full-year audition with the

Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and early ...

. He played in 97 games, starting 80 of them in the outfield, but he batted only .173 with nine homers and 76 strikeouts in 202 plate appearances. On May 5, 1962, Nicholson was the last Orioles' batter of a no-hitter pitched by Bo Belinsky of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

, popping out to third base. In January 1963, Baltimore traded Nicholson, future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...

, and

infielders An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

Ron Hansen and

Pete Ward Peter Thomas Ward (July 26, 1937 – March 16, 2022) was a Canadian-born professional baseball player who appeared in 973 games over nine seasons in Major League Baseball as a third baseman, outfielder and first baseman for the Baltimore Oriole ...

to the Chicago White Sox for Hall of Fame

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League ...

and

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

. Nicholson had his best season in the majors in , producing 103 hits with a career-high 22 home runs, but he struck out 175 times, setting a new

record. Strikeouts would prove to be Nicholson's

Achilles heel An Achilles' heel (or Achilles heel) is a weakness despite overall strength, which can lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to do ...

during his big-league career; in , his second consecutive season as the White Sox' regular left-fielder, he fanned 126 times, fifth in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. Over his career, he struck out 573 times in 1,662 plate appearances, once every 3.4 times he came to the plate. On May 6, 1964, during the first game of a doubleheader at Comiskey Park, Nicholson hit a home run off

Moe Drabowsky Myron Walter Drabowsky (July 21, 1935 – June 10, 2006) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, K ...

of the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

that either bounced off the left-field roof or entirely cleared it. The ball was found across the street. Howie Roberts, the White Sox' traveling secretary, told the Associated Press: "If it had landed on the roof, it would have a visible bruise on it. It cleared the roof." The home run was officially measured at . Nicholson homered three times in that doubleheader, although he would hit just 13 home runs during the entire 1964 season. After the campaign, the White Sox traded Nicholson and

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 catc ...

Bill Heath to the Houston Astros for pitcher Jack Lamabe and cash. The Astros traded Nicholson and

Bob Bruce Robert James Bruce (May 16, 1933 – March 14, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 219 games in Major League Baseball from to for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, and Atla ...

to the

for

Eddie Mathews Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons for the Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (19 ...

Arnold Umbach Arnold William Umbach Jr. (December 6, 1942 – May 30, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the 1964 Milwaukee Braves and the 1966 Atlanta Braves. A right-hande ...

, and a

player to be named later 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 ...

after the 1966 season. For his MLB career, he played in 538

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

and had 1,419

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s, 184 runs, 301

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, 32 doubles, 12

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, 61 home runs, 179 RBI, six

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

, 219 walks, 540 total bases, four sacrifice hits, 12 sacrifice flies, and seven intentional walks. He compiled a .212 batting mark, .318

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and a .381

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

Death

Nicholson died in

Carmi, Illinois Carmi () is a city in and the county seat of White County, Illinois, United States, along the Little Wabash River, where the population was 5,240 at the 2010 census. History Carmi post office has been in operation since 1817, and then a WPA ...

, on February 25, 2023, at the age of 83.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Dave 1939 births 2023 deaths Aberdeen Pheasants players 20th-century American sportsmen Amarillo Gold Sox players American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua Atlanta Braves players Austin Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from St. Louis Chicago White Sox players Dublin Orioles players Houston Astros players Knoxville Smokies players Little Rock Travelers players Major League Baseball left fielders Miami Marlins (International League) players Omaha Royals players Richmond Braves players Rochester Red Wings players Wilson Tobs players