Joe Nelson

Joe Nelson was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the June 1996 major-league amateur draft. The day after he was drafted, his scout, Mack “Shooty” Babitt, came over to Nelson’s house to discuss a signing bonus with Nelson and his parents. Shooty asked Nelson what he wanted. Nelson had already done some research and came up with a number. It was $105,000, plus $38,500 for school. He wrote the number on a piece of paper and showed it to Shooty. Shooty asked if he could use his phone.

After a couple of minutes, Shooty handed the phone to Nelson. It was the Atlanta Braves GM John Schuerholz, who said, “Welcome to the Atlanta Braves, we’ll give you exactly what you asked for.”1

The Braves signed their fourth-round pick the year before for $435,000 and Nelson knew that, but the scenario was different and Nelson knew what he wanted.

Joe Nelson’s family held a party to celebrate the signing and Nelson asked Shooty if he left anything on the table. Shooty said, “You didn’t leave anything on the table, you got exactly what you wanted.” A few years later, Shooty said, “Man, you left a ton of money on the table!”

When Nelson reported to Eugene, Oregon, a few days later and met other players, Mark DeRosa informed him that players drafted after Nelson were upset with him because the Braves refused to sign them for more than Nelson got.

“I don’t regret it, but the guys behind me regretted it,” said Nelson.2

Joseph George “Joe” Nelson was born in Alameda, California, on October 25, 1974, to George and Paula Nelson. George was then and in 2023 still was in the car sales business. George and Paula split up when Joe was 6 years old and George was out of the picture as Joe grew up, but the two developed a strong relationship as adults.3

Joe joined sisters Joeli Yaguda, who is six years older than Joe, and Shannon Nelson, three years older.

Joe’s mother, Paula, was a stay-at-home mom and a radio DJ for a few years. In 2023, she was living in Arizona with Joe’s stepfather, Larry Rodriguez. Paula drove Joe to every practice and game growing up. “My mom was the person who always made sports possible; she would drive me and was always taking me to camps or playing catch in the back yard,” Nelson said. He added, “Larry was instrumental in my development as a player starting at age 15. He was at every game I ever played in from 15-18 and really taught me about mental toughness and playing with a chip on my shoulder.”4 

Joe was a huge Oakland A’s and Raiders fan and despised the Giants and 49ers. He was born on October 25 and his mother took him to a Raiders-49ers game two days later. His grandfather had season tickets and took Joe and his mother to every game.

Two early highlights of Nelson’s sports career were at age 6, when he turned an unassisted triple play in T-ball, and at age 12, when he played on the California Pee Wee state football championship team.5

Nelson attended St. Joseph’s Notre Dame High School in Alameda, where he was a standout in baseball and basketball. In his junior year, he was a member of the Division I California State Championship basketball team. His backcourt mate was senior Jason Kidd, who went on to a successful NBA career. On the baseball diamond, Nelson played shortstop and pitched, and Kidd was leadoff man and center fielder. “Joe was Mr. Baseball,” Kidd said. “He pitched a little, but he played more shortstop. And he could really handle the bat. He loved to play baseball. He was a gifted athlete.”6

As a senior in 1993, Nelson had a 5-0 record as a pitcher and batted .489. He was named the East Shore Athletic League’s Player of the Year.7

After high school, Nelson played baseball at Seminole (Oklahoma) State College in 1994 and 1995, where he batted .380 with 150 RBIs over the two seasons.

Lloyd Simmons, his coach at Seminole, saw some potential as a pitcher, but told Nelson that he needed to come up with a split-finger pitch. The traditional split-finger grip between the index and middle finger was too uncomfortable for Nelson, so he tried it with the ball between the middle and ring fingers and it worked, so when he moved on to the University of San Francisco, he used the pitch regularly. The pitch was called the Vulcan changeup, named after a lookalike hand gesture on Star Trek. He never pitched at Seminole, but Simmons said to Nelson when he left for USF, “You’ll pitch in the big leagues someday.”8

Nelson pitched in 14 games with the University of San Francisco in 1996 and was 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA. In 54 innings, he gave up 45 hits and struck out 52.

At Eugene of the short-season Class-A Northwest League, Nelson compiled a 5-3 record with a 4.37 ERA. In 70 innings he allowed 69 hits and struck out 67 batters.

Nelson moved up to the Durham Bulls of the High-A Carolina League for 1997. In 25 games, 24 as a starter, he threw 124⅔ innings and had a 10-6 record with an ERA of 4.76. His progression through the minors on track, he pitched for the Greenville Braves of the Double-A Southern League in 1998 and put together a 6-9 record.

Nelson split the 1999 season between Greenville and the Triple-A Richmond Braves. Used primarily as a reliever, he posted a 2.37 ERA with eight saves at Greenville. Promoted to Richmond, he was 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA before going down with an elbow injury in August, requiring Tommy John surgery.9

Nelson said he asked his orthopedic surgeon if there were any cute nurses at the hospital where he was scheduled for an MRI and was told yes. At the hospital he was introduced to a woman who he thought was a nurse. She was actually a physician, a radiologist resident doing the MRI. Nelson asked her why she wasn’t married because he didn’t see a ring. She said she was always at the hospital and never dated doctors. He told her that lucky for her he wasn’t a doctor. He got her to go to the game that night and they went out afterward, and the night after that, and the next night. Nelson and the doctor, Teresa Cortinas, eventually married.10  

After limited action in 2000 recovering from the injury, Nelson pitched for Richmond in 2001, posting a 1.13 ERA in 29 games with eight saves. He was named International League Pitcher of the Month in May.11 His work earned him a promotion to Atlanta in June after John Smoltz went on the disabled list. Nelson made his major-league debut on June 13, 2001, against the Toronto Blue Jays in the SkyDome in Toronto. Nelson entered the game in the bottom of the seventh, replacing Matt Whiteside. The Jays led 8-3. In one inning of work, Nelson gave up four runs on three hits, a walk, and a hit batter.

On June 19 Nelson pitched an inning against the Florida Marlins and surrendered five runs on four hits, including a grand slam by Cliff Floyd. What had happened? He was lights out in Richmond just a month earlier. It turned out that he had a torn labrum in his right shoulder. “I tried to fight through it at obviously the biggest time in my career,” said Nelson, “But you can’t pick when they call you up the first time. If I could, I would have said, ‘Come get me’ four weeks ago. Getting up here was one thing, staying up here is another. … But I will be back healthy.”12

He didn’t get the chance with the Braves. On August 2 he was released. A week later he signed with the Boston Red Sox and was assigned to the Trenton Thunder of the Double-A Eastern League. In four games he pitched 4⅓ innings, giving up eight runs on nine hits when he blew out his shoulder again. Thanks to a call from Nelson to John Schuerholz of the Braves, the Braves took care of the labrum surgery and rehab.13

Nelson was released by the Red Sox and missed the rest of 2002 and all of 2003 in rehab.

On March 30, 2004, Nelson signed with the Red Sox again and was assigned to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Double-A Eastern League. In 30⅓ innings he gave up only 16 hits and struck out 49 with an ERA of 2.37 and 13 saves. This earned him a promotion to the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Triple-A International League. In 21⅓ innings with Pawtucket, Nelson gave up 27 hits and struck out 31. He had a 4.64 ERA.

An injury to Lenny DiNardo created an opportunity and the Red Sox promoted Nelson on July 10. He pitched in three July games for the Red Sox, giving up five runs on four hits. On July 21, with a 16.88 ERA, the Red Sox sent him back to Pawtucket.

Before his call-up to the Red Sox, on a Pawtucket day off, Nelson and three teammates drove to Boston to watch the Red Sox play. They were down on the field prior to the game and Red Sox manager Terry Francona asked if any of the four wanted to see the clubhouse. Three said yes, but Nelson told Francona that he didn’t want to go into the clubhouse until he was on the team. A month later, Nelson was on the Red Sox and Francona remembered what Nelson said.14

Nelson was not on the Red Sox postseason roster and was released on October 5, 2004. He signed as a free agent with the New York Mets on January 11, 2005, but was released on April 1.

On April 19 Nelson signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was assigned to the Durham Bulls of the International League. In 46 innings, Nelson struck out 62 while surrendering 41 hits. He was released on July 25 and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals six days later. The Cardinals assigned Nelson to the Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Texas League, where he struck out 22 batters in 13⅓ innings.

Nelson became a free agent after the season and signed with the Kansas City Royals. He started the 2006 season with the Triple-A Omaha Royals. On April 21 the Royals’ David DeJesus was placed on the disabled list and Nelson was summoned from Omaha.15 He spent the rest of the season with Kansas City, pitching in 43 games and posting 9 saves. He won his first major-league game, against the Red Sox, on September 9 at Fenway Park when the Royals exploded for six unanswered runs in the top of the 12th inning. His record was 1-1.

At the Royals’ spring training in February 2007, Nelson was diagnosed with shoulder soreness. A month later he underwent labrum surgery for the third time and missed the entire 2007 season.

Released by the Royals after the season, Nelson signed with the Florida Marlins. He began the 2008 season with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, where in 19 games he racked up 11 saves. The Marlins called him up on May 26. “That’s what spring training was for me – proving I was healthy again, proving to myself I was healthy and proving to the Marlins I was healthy,” Nelson said.16 With the Marlins, he enjoyed his best season by far, 3-1 with an ERA of 2.00 in 59 games and 60 strikeouts in 54 innings. On September 28 he picked up the win in the final game of the season and the last major-league game at Shea Stadium. Nelson entered the game in the bottom of the seventh with the score tied 2-2 and pitched a one-two-three inning. In the top of the eighth, Wes Helms and Dan Uggla hit back-to-back home runs and the Marlins took a 4-2 lead which they held to preserve the win for Nelson.

Earlier in the season, on July 18, Nelson’s wife, Teresa, was in labor with their third child. Alexander was born at 3:30 P.M. and the Marlins had a game that night. Marlins manager Fredi González asked Nelson if he was going to make it to the game that evening. Since the mother and baby were both doing well and Teresa saw that Joe was champing at the bit, she said that he could go to the game as long as he made it on SportsCenter that evening. He went to the ballpark and told the pitching coach what she had said.

With the visiting Philadelphia Phillies up by a score of 4-2, Nelson came in to pitch the ninth inning. After he struck out Pedro Feliz, Carlos Ruiz singled to third. Nelson then struck out Greg Dobbs and Jimmy Rollins to end the inning by striking out the side. His teammates gave him a framed lineup card that was signed by members of the team.17

After the 2008 season, Nelson was once again a free agent. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays on December 30 and started the 2009 season on the big-league roster. In 42 games, Nelson was 3-0 as a middle reliever.

This was a fun time for Nelson to be a member of the Rays. On May 16 he introduced the Rays’ lineup on the Fox broadcast in the voice of Bill Murray’s character in Caddyshack, groundskeeper Carl Spackler.18

That was just a day after ESPN did a spot on Nelson’s “Vulcan changeup grip,” where Nelson offered to be a “hand stunt double” in the next movie since the new Mr. Spock, Zachary Quinto, reportedly had to have his fingers glued to do the “live long and prosper” gesture that Nelson used as a pitching grip.19

His last game for the Rays was on July 31. Jeff Bennett was released by the Braves and signed by the Rays, and to make room for him, Nelson was sent to the Durham Bulls, where he remained for the rest of the season.

Released by the Rays after the season, Nelson signed again with the Red Sox and was assigned to Pawtucket. On May 19, 2010, he was called up after Josh Beckett was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He pitched in eight games for the Red Sox, giving up 14 hits in 8⅓ innings.

Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell said of Nelson, “He’s shown lots of perseverance, both from a physical standpoint and what he’s come back from and never being a guy who was guaranteed anything.”20   

The Red Sox released Nelson on June 21 and he was picked up by the Seattle Mariners three days later; they sent him to their Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. With the Rainiers, Nelson pitched in eight games before being released on July 26.

“My career came to an end from self-sabotage in a way,” Nelson wrote in an email to the author. “I have always been goal oriented, and from the time I started playing professionally I wanted to make an Opening Day roster and make a million dollars a year. I achieved both in 2009 and I made the fatal flaw of not setting new goals. It took me so long to get to the mountain top, I just didn’t have it in me anymore. I had lost the desire to do all the work. I have no regrets in baseball at all, I played a kids’ game my entire life and made a living at it. I truly had a blessed life, and thank GOD every day for the life I get to live.

“I told Theo Epstein that I needed a job and I had no idea what path to take; scouting, coaching, or player development. He sent me to meet Allard Baird (my GM in Kansas City). We scouted a game in Portland, Maine, and it turns out I was a scout my entire career. I see things other people didn’t on a baseball field. I was never the best player, so I had to use video and look for flaws in hitters’ approaches, and scouting was similar. I had to write a lot of reports for various teams and worked with some great people; Theo Epstein, Ben Cherington, Allard Baird, Jared Porter, Tom Allison, to name a few. There are so many people in this great game who took the time to share with me their knowledge and experience and made me the best scout and baseball guy I could be. When the Cubs let me go during COVID, I was gutted.”21

Nelson scouted for the Red Sox in 2011, the Mariners from 2012 to 2016, and the Cubs from 2016 to 2020.22

Nelson’s wife’s career is going strong and he is now the homemaker; makes lunches for school, drives their children to school and back, makes breakfast and dinner, and coaches a couple of local teams in flag football.23

Nelson received a World Series ring for his part in the Red Sox 2004 World Series championship team.

Nelson played 13 seasons in professional baseball but did not make an Opening Day roster until his 12th season at age 34. He persevered through four major surgeries and lots of rehab to survive in the game as long as he did. He put up some really good numbers when his arm was healthy and it would be interesting to see how his career would have panned out if he was healthy all of those years.

Joe and his wife, Dr. Teresa Cortinas, live in Jupiter, Florida, and are the parents of three children, Sofia, Olivia, and Alexander.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used Retrosheet.org and Baseball-Reference.com for stats and game information. Thanks to Joe Nelson for telephone interviews and email correspondence.  

Notes

1 Telephone interview with Joe Nelson, October 12, 2023

2 Nelson telephone interview.

3 Email correspondence with Joe Nelson, September 29, 2023.

4 Nelson email.

5 Nelson email.

6 Mark Hale, “Reliever Was Kidd’s Backcourt Mate,” New York Post, February 16, 2005, retrieved from: www.nypost.com/2005/02/16/reliever-was-kidds-backcourt-mate/.

7 “Nelson Voted ESAL’s Player of the Year,” Oakland Tribune, May 26, 1993: 47.

8 Dick Kaegel, “Nelson Takes Spot in Kansas City ‘Pen,’” www.milb.com/news/gcs-71373, May 15, 2006; Rob Cox, “Second Thoughts,” Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Little Rock), May 4,2009. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2009/may/04/second-thoughts-20090504/.

9 “Reliever Joe Nelson Still Going Strong After Four Surgeries,” NESN.com, March 8, 2021. www.nesn.com/2010/03/reliever-joe-nelson-still-going-strong-after-four-surgeries/.

10 Nelson email.

11 Carroll Rogers, “Calls Costly After Nelson Call-Up,” Atlanta Journal, June 13, 2001: 63.

12 Carroll Rogers, “Nelson on DL After Two Outings,” Atlanta Journal, June 21, 2001: 91.

13 Telephone interview with Joe Nelson, October 4, 2023.

14 Telephone interview October 4, 2023.

15 Bob Dutton, “Baird Unfazed by Comments,” Kansas City Star, April 22, 2006: 76.

16 Marlins Daily Report, “Nelson Called Up to Bolster Bullpen,” Miami Herald, May 27, 2008: 73.

17 Telephone interview, October 4, 2023.

18 Rays Report, “Impersonation of the Day,” Tampa Bay Times, May 17, 2009: 28.

19 James Borchuck, “Star Trekking,” Tampa Bay Times, May 17, 2009: 12. 

20 NESN Staff, “Reliever Joe Nelson Still Going Strong…”

21 Nelson email.

22 Telephone interview October 12, 2023.

23 Nelson email.