Nicholas Andrew Esasky (born February 24, 1960) is an American former 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 ...

corner infielder 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 ...

. 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 ...

(MLB) from 1983 to 1990, primarily with 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 ...

Biography

Esasky attended high school in

Carol City, Florida Carol City is a neighborhood in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It was formerly listed as a census-designated place in the 2000 U.S. Census. History Julius Gaines, the developer, had originally planned to name it Coral City. However, un ...

, a suburb of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He was a selected as a

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 ...

with the 17th pick of the first round of the

1978 MLB draft The 1978 Major League Baseball draft was held June 6–8, 1978, consisting of 48 rounds, during which a total of 779 players were selected by 26 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations. The first overall selection was Bob Horner, drafted by t ...

. He then had a professional career spanning 1978 to 1992. He reached the Double-A level in 1980, and the Triple-A level in 1981, during which time he played exclusively as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

. Esasky made his major-league debut with the

in 1983 and remained with the team through 1988, playing as a third baseman,

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

. He twice hit more than 20

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in a season with the Reds, and had season

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

s ranging from .193 (in 1984) to .272 (in 1987). In December 1988, Esasky was traded to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

along with relief pitcher

Rob Murphy Robert Albert Murphy (born May 26, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player who was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1995. Murphy played college baseball for the University of Florida, and was picked by t ...

for first baseman/outfielder

Todd Benzinger Todd Eric Benzinger (born February 11, 1963) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played a nine-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1987 to 1995. Biography Benzinger was born in Dayton, Kentucky, ...

, pitcher

Jeff Sellers Jeffrey Doyle Sellers (born May 11, 1964) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox. Biography Sellers played high school baseball for Paramount High School in California, and was ...

, and

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 ...

. In his one season with Boston, 1989, Esasky posted career highs in major-league games played (154), batting average (.277), home runs (30), and

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs; 108). Esasky became a

free agent 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 ...

in November 1989, and signed a three-year contract, reportedly worth $5.7 million, with 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 ...

. Early in his tenure with the Braves, Esasky was placed on 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 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

and doctors determined he was suffering from

vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

, caused by an

inner ear The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...

infection. The condition limited him to nine major-league games during the 1990 season, during which he had a .171 batting average. After missing the 1991 season, Esasky played briefly 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 ...

during 1992, then was released by the Braves in July 1992. He did not play professionally thereafter. Overall for his major-league career, Esasky appeared in 810 games, compiling a .250 batting average with 122 home runs and 427 RBIs. Defensively, he played 479 games at first base, 230 games at third base, and 98 games in left field. He had a .993

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

at first base, .927 fielding average at third base, and did not commit an error in the outfield. Esasky served as manager of NICK ESASKY HEALTH & FITNESS, a Florida LLC that was established February 22, 2019 and filed articles of dissolution April 29, 2022.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esasky, Nick 1960 births Living people Baseball players from Hialeah, Florida Miami Carol City Senior High School alumni Atlanta Braves players Boston Red Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Billings Mustangs players Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Waterbury Reds players Nashville Sounds players Indianapolis Indians players Richmond Braves players

Biography

References

Further reading

External links