David Glen Nied (born December 22, 1968) is a retired 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 ...

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, ...

. He 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

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 ...

and

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

from 1992 through 1996.

Career

Nied attended

Duncanville High School Duncanville High School is a secondary school located in Duncanville, Texas, Duncanville, Texas, United States, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of Duncanville Independent School District. The school includes grades 9 through 12 ...

Duncanville, Texas Duncanville is a city in southwestern Dallas County, Texas, United States. Duncanville's population was 40,706 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Duncanville, Cedar Hill, T ...

. He was drafted out of high school by the

in the 14th round of the

1987 Major League Baseball draft The 1987 Major League Baseball draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professiona ...

. ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' rated Nied as the 56th best prospect in baseball prior to the 1992 season and the 23rd best prospect in baseball prior to the 1993 season. Despite excelling in 1992

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, Nied was optioned to the Triple-A

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

to start the 1992 season. He made his major league debut for the Braves on September 1, 1992, after MLB rosters expanded. Nied was the first pick for the

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansi ...

in the

1992 Major League Baseball expansion draft On November 17, 1992, during the 1992–93 offseason, Major League Baseball (MLB) held an expansion draft in New York City to allow two expansion teams, the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies, to build their rosters prior to debuting in the Na ...

. Nied started in the first ever game for the Rockies, taking the loss against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. He also pitched a number of other firsts for the Rockies, including first

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

, first

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 ...

, first

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

, and first complete game

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

. Nied compiled a 5–9 won-loss record in 1993 then went 9–7 in 1994 but won no more games through the next two years. He suffered an elbow injury during spring training in 1995, missing most of the season. He spent most of 1996 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 ...

, pitching poorly enough that he was eventually demoted to class A. Following the 1996 season, Nied was granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

and joined the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

organization on November 14, 1996, but never appeared in a game in the majors or minors again. When the Reds tried to send him back down to the minor leagues in March, he instead chose to retire.

Personal life

Nied now sells equipment for his father's agricultural products company. He is married to his second wife, Heather Cranford, who is a former contestant on the TV show '' The Bachelor''. Nied has four sons, two each from both marriages.

References

External links

Colorado Rockies Team Firsts

Richmond Braves Diamond Anniversary team

Sports Illustrated page
Baseball players from Dallas Major League Baseball pitchers Colorado Rockies players 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Duncanville, Texas Duncanville High School alumni Burlington Braves players Central Valley Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Durham Bulls players Greenville Braves players New Haven Ravens players Portland Rockies players Richmond Braves players Salem Avalanche players Sumter Braves players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub