Jonah S. Nickerson (born March 9, 1985) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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, ...

. Nickerson won the

2006 College World Series The 2006 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was held from June 2 through June 26, . Sixty-four NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in ...

while playing for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Early life

Although born in Wyoming, Nickerson grew up in

Oregon City, Oregon Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

, and played prep baseball there. He lettered 3 times in baseball and held a successful career at Oregon City. He graduated from

Oregon City High School Oregon City High School (OCHS) is a public high school in the northwest United States in Oregon City, Oregon, a suburb south of Portland. History Oregon City High School was established in 1885 on the lower level of Oregon City on Jackson Street ...

in 2003. At a local rally in Oregon City on July 7, 2006, Nickerson was honored with the keys to the city by Mayor Alice Norris, who also proclaimed July 7 as "Jonah Nickerson Day".

College career

A 6'1", 190 lb right-hander, Nickerson posted a record of 13–4 during the 2006 season, including three games (two victories and one no-decision) during the College World Series; one of them, a victory against

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

which qualified the Beavers for the Finals, came on two days' rest. His

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) for the regular season was 2.50. He was named an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n in both 2005 and 2006.

Professional career

Jonah was selected by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in the 7th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. In 2006, he made five appearances with the short season Class A

Oneonta Tigers The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. During the 2009 season he was a starting pitcher for the Tigers Class AA affiliate

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Ti ...

of the Eastern League. On March 11, 2010, Nickerson retired from baseball. Currently pitches for Texas Blacksox 8U in Aledo, TX.

External links

Minor League Baseball Pitching StatisticsOfficial Oregon State player biography
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060510082304/http://www.usabaseball.com/sports/m-nat-basebl/mtt/nickerson_jonah00.html USA Baseball player bios: Jonah Nickersonbr>Honoring a local hero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickerson, Jonah Oregon State Beavers baseball players Sportspeople from Oregon City, Oregon Baseball players from Clackamas County, Oregon Sportspeople from Casper, Wyoming College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners Oneonta Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players 1985 births Living people Baseball players from Wyoming West Michigan Whitecaps players Lakeland Flying Tigers players