Roger Eugene Nelson (born June 7, 1944) 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 ...

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, ...

. Nelson pitched all or part of nine seasons 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 ...

between 1967 and 1976 with a record of 29 wins, 32 losses, and 5 saves. Born in

Altadena, California Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, California, Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtow ...

, the right-hander was listed as tall and . He attended Mount San Antonio College. Nelson was signed by the

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 ...

as an amateur

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 ...

before the 1963 season. He played four seasons in the minor leagues before earning a September call-up in 1967. He was traded along with Don Buford and Bruce Howard to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

for

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League ...

, Russ Snyder and John Matias on November 29, 1967. After one season with Baltimore, he was chosen by 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

with the first selection in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

phase of the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft. Along with

Wally Bunker Wallace Edward Bunker (born January 25, 1945) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Bunker pitched for the Baltimore Orioles from to and Kansas City Royals from to . Early life Bunker pitched for the Capuchino ...

, Nelson formed a formidable starting duo for the expansion Royals in 1969, compiling a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts. After struggling with injuries in 1970 and 1971, Nelson bounced back in 1972 to finish fifth in the league in ERA (2.08) and also setting career bests with 11 wins and 120 strikeouts. He finished his tenure with the Royals in style, throwing a complete game shutout at the Texas Rangers, 4-0, in the final regular season game ever played at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium on October 4, 1972. Nelson was dealt along with Richie Scheinblum to 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 ...

for Hal McRae and Wayne Simpson two months later on December 1, 1972.Durso, Joseph. "A's Send Epstein to Rangers; Scheinblum, Nelson to Reds," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, December 2, 1972.
Retrieved April 12, 2020 Unfortunately, Nelson would never repeat the successes of 1969 and 1972, and he was sold back to the

. He was released by the White Sox before ever pitching for them, and after a brief turn through the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

farm system, Nelson got one last chance with the Royals in 1976, appearing in 3 games in September to end his major league career.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Roger 1944 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Los Angeles Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Dorados de Chihuahua players Evansville White Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Middlesboro Cubsox players Mt. SAC Mounties baseball players Omaha Royals players Portland Beavers players Rochester Red Wings players Sarasota Sun Sox players Tucson Toros players Tidewater Tides players Florida Instructional League White Sox players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico