Joseph George Nelson (born October 25, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher.

High school

Nelson attended St. Joseph's High School in Alameda, California. At St. Joseph, Nelson played basketball with NBA star Jason Kidd.

College

After two seasons at Seminole State College from –-, he transferred to the University of San Francisco. In a switch to pitching at USF, he went undefeated, recording five saves.

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

After being selected twice by the Toronto Blue Jays in the and 1994 amateur drafts, he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the . Nelson made it to the majors in , seeing two stints of an inning apiece in mop-up duty, where his ERA was 36.00.

Boston Red Sox

Released by the Braves the following summer, he was signed by the Boston Red Sox and quickly released after four appearances for Double-A Trenton. Nelson re-signed with the Red Sox in the spring of , and was promoted to the majors in June as bullpen help. After recording a scoreless inning against Texas, he gave up 5 runs over 1²⁄₃ innings in his next two appearances. He was optioned back to Triple-A when Mark Malaska was activated off the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

New York Mets/Tampa Bay Rays/St. Louis Cardinals

After spending

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the New York Mets in , he signed to play with the Devil Rays' Triple-A team. Despite good peripheral numbers of 61

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 46 innings and a .229 opponents' batting average, he went 0–3 with a 4.11 ERA and was released in July. Nelson then had a short 13-inning stint with the Cardinals' Double-A club, allowing just four hits over that span.

Kansas City Royals

He signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

organization in November. Nelson bounced between

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

and the major-league club before being called up for good on July 19, . After Royals closer Ambiorix Burgos was demoted on August 14, Nelson threw a perfect ninth inning the following day. Manager Buddy Bell used the 31-year-old journeyman in the closer's role for 2006. In , he was hurt. At the end of the 2007 season, he was designated for assignment to Triple-A

, which he refused and opted out becoming a free agent.

Florida Marlins

In December 2007, Nelson was signed by the Florida Marlins to a minor league contract. Joe Nelson earned a victory over the Mets in his final appearance with the Marlins on September 28, 2008, becoming the last recorded winning pitcher at Shea Stadium. Nelson was non-tendered by the Marlins following the season.

Second Stint with Rays

On December 30, 2008, Nelson signed with the Tampa Bay Rays. In October 2009 Nelson was granted free agency.

Second Stint with Red Sox

On February 1, 2010, Nelson signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. When Josh Beckett was placed on the disabled list on May 19, Nelson was called up to take his roster spot. He elected to become a free agent after he was designated for assignment by the Red Sox last week after opening the season with a 9.72 ERA over his first eight appearances.

Seattle Mariners

On June 24, 2010, Nelson signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners, but was released on July 28, 2010.

Post Playing Career

After his active career, Nelson served as a professional

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

for the Red Sox, based in West Palm Beach, Florida. As of , he holds a similar position with the Seattle Mariners. In February 2017, the Chicago Cubs hired him as a scout.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Joe 1974 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Boston Red Sox scouts Chicago Cubs scouts Durham Bulls players Eugene Emeralds players Florida Marlins players Greenville Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players Jamestown Jammers players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Richmond Braves players San Francisco Dons baseball players Seattle Mariners scouts Sportspeople from Chico, California Springfield Cardinals players Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Bay Rays players Trenton Thunder players