Glenn Richard "Rocky" Nelson (November 18, 1924 – October 31, 2006) 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 ...

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 ...

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 all or parts of nine seasons between and for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

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

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 ...

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. A native of

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, Ohio, Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky and just east of the mouth of th ...

, Nelson batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . He signed his first professional contract in 1942 with the Cardinals' organization. He then missed three seasons (1943–1945) while serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Prior to 1959, when he rejoined the Pirates, Nelson was a journeyman major leaguer, although he was one of the most feared hitters in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. Apart from his rookie year, he had not spent more than half a season on a major league roster, playing for five different teams. Pittsburgh was one of three teams (the Dodgers and Cardinals were the others) who gave Nelson multiple opportunities during the 1950s. Reggie Otero,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the Triple-A

Havana Sugar Kings The Havana Sugar Kings () were a Cuban-based minor league baseball team that played from 1946 to 1960. From 1954 until 1960, they belonged in the Class Triple-A (baseball), AAA International League, affiliated with Major League Baseball's Cinci ...

from 1954–1956 and later a longtime coach for 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 ...

, saw Nelson clobber major league pitchers while playing winter baseball in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

.Baseball's Fabulous Montreal Royals, William Brown, p. 156, Robert Davies Publishing, Montreal, 1996, It was Otero's view that, for Nelson to gain a toehold in the major leagues, he needed a manager that would show patience toward him.

Prodigious minor-league slugger

Nelson was regarded as one of the best sluggers to ever play in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. As a rookie in 1948, he helped the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

qualify for the Governors' Cup playoffs. From 1953 to 1955, while playing for the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club ( Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

, Nelson led the International League once in

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 ...

(1955), twice in

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

(1954, 1955), and twice in

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 ...

(1953 and 1955). He would win his first minor-league Triple Crown in 1955 and was the league's MVP Award winner in 1953 and 1955. His performances were a topic of conversation among many managers of the time. They were baffled as to how to pitch to him, and even more mystified that he was still playing in the minor leagues. Before Nelson finally caught on in the majors, he had to endure two more failed tryouts with the Dodgers and the Cardinals, both in , plus one more stint in Triple-A. In 1957, he was acquired by the International League's

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

, whose owner,

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and new ...

, boasted that "…whatever is worth buying in the pitching or power line will find its way to Toronto." In 1958, Nelson was voted the league's most valuable player for a third time after winning his second Triple Crown, leading the league in batting average (.326), home runs (43) and RBIs (120) while playing for the Maple Leafs. He was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 1960—while he was still an active player—and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.

Success with Pirates

In 1959 at age 34, Nelson became a full-year major leaguer with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had reacquired him in the 1958

Rule 5 Draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. From 1959 to 1961, Nelson was a platoon first baseman, playing with and behind right-handed slugger Dick Stuart. In and , he posted batting averages of .291 and .300 and hit 13 total home runs, but never duplicated his Triple-A slugging success. Despite these shortcomings, Nelson had some memorable moments with the Pirates. He was the first baseman in May 1959 when Harvey Haddix lost his perfect game bid in the 13th inning. He also appeared in four games of the

1960 World Series The 1960 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1960 Major League Baseball season, 1960 season. The 57th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National Leag ...

, batting .333 (with three hits and a

base on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

in ten

plate appearance 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 ...

s), and belting a two-run home run off pitcher Bob Turley in the first inning of Game 7. Although his blow was not as dramatic as teammate

Bill Mazeroski William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "the Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A seven-time All- ...

's home run in the same game to win the series, Nelson earned a world championship ring. As a major leaguer, he helped the Dodgers win the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

pennant. He appeared in 37 games for Brooklyn from June 24 through season's end, mostly as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

(taking the field for only five games and 29 total

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

at first base),Information
at

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores fr ...

and collected ten

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 ...

in 39

at bats 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, b ...

. Then, in the

1952 World Series The 1952 World Series featured the 3-time defending champions New York Yankees beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their 4th consecutive title, tying the mark they set in 1936–1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and Cas ...

, he pinch hit in four games; in four plate appearances, he was hitless in three at bats and drew a base on balls. During all or parts of nine major league seasons, Nelson played in 620 games and had 1,394 at bats, 186

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

, 347

, 61

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s, 14

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 ...

, 31 homers, 173 RBI, seven

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 ...

, 130 base on balls, walks, and a .249 career batting average, .317

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 ...

, .379

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 ...

, 529

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

, 11

sacrifice hit In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, a ...

s, eight sacrifice flies and 13 intentional walks. He batted .250 with three hits, one home run, two bases on balls, and two runs batted in eight World Series games. As a minor leaguer, Nelson amassed 1,604 hits, 308 doubles, 81 triples, 234 home runs, 1,009 runs batted in, and batted .319, with 87 stolen bases. He retired after spending the 1962 campaign in the minor leagues, having played for 18 seasons over 21 years. His baseball card was featured in the 1993 movie ''

Deception Deception is the act of convincing of one or many recipients of untrue information. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the information does not. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Tort of ...

,'' starring Andie MacDowell and

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Mortensen made his film debut with a small role in ...

. Nelson died at age 81 in 2006 in his native city of Portsmouth.

Triple Crown seasons

Nelson twice won the International League "Triple Crown", so called because it is earned by a player who leads his league in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Rocky 1924 births 2006 deaths Almendares (baseball) players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Cuba Baseball players from Ohio Brooklyn Dodgers players Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Red Birds players Denver Bears players Johnson City Cardinals players International League MVP award winners Lynchburg Cardinals players Major League Baseball first basemen Montreal Royals players Sportspeople from Portsmouth, Ohio Pittsburgh Pirates players Rochester Red Wings players St. Joseph Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen