Shane Nance

“I’ve been told as long as I can remember, ‘You’re too small. You’ll never pitch in the big leagues. You’re too short.’ I’ve always used that to kind of fuel my fire” – Shane Nance, June 12, 2002.1

“When you get sent down, your goal is to get back up. I got some things figured out down there. My confidence was the main thing. I felt good about the way I was throwing the ball again.” – Shane Nance, July 3, 2003, upon his recall to the big leagues2

“LHP Shane Nance was called up from Class AAA Indianapolis to replace RHP Curtis Leskanic, who was traded to the Royals for minor league RHP Wes Obermuller and IF Alejandro Machado. Nance will pitch mostly in the middle innings.” – The Sporting News, July 14, 20033

The last of these quotes, a brief notice in The Sporting News, heralded the arrival of Shane Nance for his third shot in the big leagues, after a journey that had taken him from J. Frank Dobie High School in Pasadena, Texas (just outside of Houston), to the University of Houston and five minor-league stops. In those and subsequent minor-league stops, he compiled 36 wins against 22 losses. At the big-league level, in parts of three seasons, he had only four decisions, one of which was a win.

Joseph Shane Nance was born on September 7, 1977, in Pasadena. His parents were Joe Wayne Nance and Kimberly Denise Nance. The left-hander grew to be 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighed 180 pounds.

During his senior year of high school, things could not have been more promising. His performance in Galveston on March 4, 1996, drew a particularly favorable review. He pitched a one-hitter, striking out nine, as Dobie defeated Ball High School of Galveston, 4-0. He also homered in the game. Opposing coach Gary Key indicated that he would not have been surprised if Nance drove the team bus and said, “He probably teaches biology there, too.”4

Nance appeared in the regional all-star game, where he came in to squelch an eighth-inning rally and pitched a perfect ninth to gain the save as his South team won the game, 8-6.5 He was named to the Class-5A All-State team.

He went on to play at the University of Houston.

On May 1, 1998, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Nance hurled another one-hitter, this time victimizing Southern Mississippi on a diet of changeups mixed in with his 88-mph fastball. The 3-1 win brought his record to 8-4. The previous day, the sophomore had been told that he had been selected to try out for Team USA.6

On June 13 it was announced that Nance was selected to play on Team USA, and he picked up a win, in relief, as the US defeated the Dominican Republic, 4-3 (11 innings), in the World Championship qualifier tournament in Nicaragua.7

Nance’s career highlight came on July 4, 1998. He pitched for Team USA against the Japan College Stars at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson. He pitched the first seven innings, allowing no runs, scattering seven hits, and striking out six batters, and was credited with the win as Team USA won, 6-0.8

It was the third of his four wins in the qualifying rounds. In all, Nance was 4-0 (0.93 ERA) as Team USA qualified for the World Cup tournament. The fourth win came on July 10, when he pitched five innings (the first four being perfect), allowing only one hit in an 11-0 win over Mexico at Tucson, bringing Team USA’s record to 22-9.9 Casey Fossum came on in relief to secure the win for Team USA.10 Six years later, their paths would cross again.

Before Team USA headed to Italy for the 16-team World Cup championship round in Palermo, Italy, they had a tune-up game in Norwich, Connecticut, defeating Canada, 8-4. Nance hurled the first six innings, striking out 10, to gain the win.11 In Italy, Team USA failed to make it to the quarterfinals. In a tough-luck loss, Nance struck out 12 as the Team USA lost to South Korea, 3-1, on July 23.12

After going 7-6 (5.00 ERA) as a junior in 1999, Nance was drafted in the 24th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He elected not to sign and returned to Houston for his senior year. When not pitching, Nance played in the outfield and on February 22, 2000, when it seemed that everyone except Nance pitched, he slugged two homers in a 14-12 win over Rice.13 It was while playing the outfield on March 10 that he sprained his shoulder and missed the next month of games. When he returned, he showed good form and, on April 23, he posted his 28th collegiate win, setting the record at the University of Houston,14 a record that had previously been held by Doug Drabek. Nance’s final collegiate record included Houston career highs in wins (32) and strikeouts (388). After the season, in which he finished 8-1 (2.05 ERA), he was named to the all-tournament team in the Conference-USA tournament, which was won by Houston. He then went on to defeat Rice in the NCAA regional tournament, but Houston lost to San Jose State in the super-regional.

The Dodgers once again drafted Nance in 2000, this time in the 11th round. He was signed by scout Chris Smith, and the signing was announced on June 12.

Nance’s first stop in the minor leagues was at Yakima in the Northwest League, where he went 2-4 with a 2.48 ERA in 12 games. He split 2001 between Class A Vero Beach (6-3) and Double-A Jacksonville (7-0), earning a promotion to Triple A for 2002. One of his more memorable appearances during his time at Vero Beach came on May 5. The Cinco de Mayo Classic went 19 innings (6:26), and Nance, who had pitched in the prior game, was not available, or so it seemed. A cell-phone call to the Dodgers organization resulted in authorization for Nance to enter the game in the 19th inning after Vero Beach had taken an 11-7 lead. He became the ninth player to pitch for Vero Beach, and he closed out the win with three strikeouts sandwiched around two walks. The last pitch was thrown at 1:35 A.M.15

With Jacksonville, Nance was on a team that finished the season with an 83-56 record. His 7-0 mark came in 28 relief appearances (45⅓) innings during which his ERA was 1.59. The team finished first in the East Division of the Southern League, but proceeded no further as the playoffs were canceled after the 9/11 attacks.

In 2002 Nance led the PCL with 10 wins at the All-Star break. He hurled the sixth inning in the Triple-A All-Star Game and received credit for the win as the PCL defeated the International League, 5-0. On July 23, 2002, he was traded, along with Ben Diggins, to the Milwaukee Brewers for Tyler Houston and Brian Mallette. He was sent to Indianapolis where, in nine relief appearances, he pitched 16⅔ scoreless innings and was credited with three wins.

Nance was called up to the majors and made his debut with Milwaukee on August 24, 2002. By the time he entered the game, the Brewers trailed 14-3. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning and came up to bat in the bottom of the inning with runners on second and third base and the score 14-4. His single to the right side scored Eric Young, but it was a case of too little too late. With the score 14-6 and the bases loaded, Paul Bako lined into a double play, stranding Nance at third and ending the Brewers rally. With one out in the top of the eighth, Nance’s ERA of 0.00 was jolted when Armando Rios hit a solo homer. In the bottom of the eighth, Nance was removed for a pinch-hitter and the Brewers lost 17-10.

A week later, Nance’s dreams were put on hold. He entered a game at Cincinnati with the Brewers in front 11-2. The Reds had scored their second run, and there were runners at the corners with one out. Nance recorded two outs without further scoring and was allowed to bat in the top of the ninth. During that at-bat, he tore his right biceps swinging at a pitch and required season-ending surgery. In four appearances with the Brewers, Nance had no decisions and a 4.26 ERA in 6⅓ innings.

Nance began the 2003 season with the Brewers but was largely ineffective in his first nine appearances, with a loss, a blown save, and a 6.75 ERA. He was sent back to Indianapolis on May 2. He was with Indianapolis for three months during which he put together, from May 23 through June 26, a streak of 17⅓ scoreless innings.

Back with Milwaukee, Nance continued to have problems at the big-league level. He gave up home runs in each of his first two games against the Colorado Rockies. Although he came around and was not scored on in his last four July outings, he was once against sent back to Indianapolis. On July 31 at Indianapolis, he pitched 1⅓ inning of hitless relief after starter Derek Lee had allowed only one hit, as Indianapolis defeated Durham, 2-0.16

The performance on July 31 added to Nance’s scoreless streak at Indianapolis, and it continued to grow. On August 8 he extended the streak to 29 innings, and on August 10 he tacked on two more zeros. On August 18 Nance received his first starting assignment since his first year in pro ball and allowed one run in 3⅔ innings. A first-inning home run by Cody Ross snapped the scoreless streak at 34⅔ innings.17 On August 25 he struck out all four batters he faced as he closed out a 5-2 win over Louisville.18 The next night it was more of the same as he recorded another save, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. It brought his ERA for the season to 1.38. Nance had allowed only one run in his last 42 innings of work.19 His ERA was the lowest in the league for any pitcher with more than 50 innings.

With Milwaukee in September, Nance had a 3.00 ERA in nine innings. He was charged with one loss and credited with a hold.

After the season, Nance was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a nine-player deal that sent Richie Sexson, minor leaguer Noochie Varner, and Nance to Arizona for six players. Nance battled a sore elbow in spring training and began the 2004 season on the disabled list.20 He did a rehab assignment with Tucson of the Pacific Coast League, appearing in 22 games with the Sidewinders. He joined the Diamondbacks on June 2, but the stay was brief. After two appearances he was sent back to Tucson. He was in another 24 games with Tucson before returning to the Diamondbacks on August 8.

From August 8 through 23, Nance appeared in seven games (5⅓ innings) without yielding a run. He adapted well to his role of being brought in to face left-handed hitters.21 His appearance at Pittsburgh on August 23 resulted in his only big-league win. The starting pitcher for the Pirates that night was Casey Fossum, who had been a teammate of Nance’s on Team USA in 1998. Fossum was out of the game by the time Nance entered the contest with one out in the eighth inning and the score tied 4-4. He was brought in to face José Bautista, but Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon sent up right-hand-hitting Rob Mackowiak to pinch-hit. Nance struck out Mackowiak for the second out of the inning but yielded singles to Tike Redman and José Castillo. Pinch-hitter Humberto Cota flied to center field to end the threat. The Diamondbacks took the lead in the top of the ninth inning after Nance, who was due to lead off the inning, came out of the game for a pinch-hitter. Greg Aquino pitched the bottom of the ninth inning for Arizona and saved the win for Nance.

Nance made 10 more appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2004 without a win. He finished the season 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA. He never pitched again in the majors. His major-league record in parts of three seasons (49 appearances) stands at 1-3 with a 5.02 ERA in 43 innings.

Nance began the 2005 season with Tucson and was released on June 15. Shortly thereafter, he signed with the Kansas City Royals and was placed with Omaha in the Pacific Coast League, for whom he went 3-2 in 23 appearances. After the season, he signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers, but chose to retire, announcing his retirement on March 12, 2006.22

As of 2023 Nance lived with his wife, Amy, and two daughters in the Houston area.

Sources

In addition to the sources shown in the Notes, the author used Ancestry.com, Newspaper Source Plus, Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and the following:

McManaman, Bob. “Cintron RBI Lifts D-Backs,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix), August 24, 2004: C5.

Photo credit: Shane Nance, June 4, 2004, courtesy of Norm Hall/Arizona Diamondbacks.

Notes 

1 Mark Anderson, “51s’ Nance Provides Relief with Unexpected Win Total,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 13, 2002: 5C.

2 “Around the Horn,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), July 4, 2003: C2.

3 “Milwaukee Brewers,” The Sporting News, July 14, 2003: 37.

4 Manuel Moreno Jr., “Dobie’s Nance Does In Ball High,” Galveston News, March 5, 1956: 1B.

5 “De La Garza Helps South Triumph 8-6,” McAllen (Texas) Monitor, June 18, 1996: 10.

6 Jim Mashek, “Pitcher Shuts Down USM,” Biloxi (Mississippi) Sun Herald, May 2, 1998: C-1.

7 “UH Pitcher Gets First Win,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 20, 1998: D8.

8 Phil Villareal, “Ludwick Takes Brother’s Cue to Success After Draft Snub,” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), July 5, 1998: C-6.

9 Phil Villareal, “U.S. Has Another Big Win,” Arizona Daily Star, July 11, 1998: C7.

10 “Easy Win Puts Team USA on Verge of Sweep of Mexico,” Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun, July 12, 1998: 11C.

11 “Italian Wins Stage, Aussie Still Leader,” Toronto Star, July 17, 1998.

12 Howard Fendrich, “South Korea 3, United States 1,” AP Online, July 23, 1998.

13 “Houston 14, Rice 12,” Waco Tribune-Herald, February 23, 2000: 6D.

14 “Colleges,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 24, 2000: 2C.

15 Phil Denis, “Welcome to the Twilight Zone,” Venice (Florida) Herald-Tribune, May 7, 2001: 1C-2C.

16 Sarah Trotto, “Indian Pitchers Hurt 1-Hitter,” Indianapolis Star, August 1, 2003: D5.

17 Hank Lowenkron, “Luuloa Sparks Tribe to Sweep of Hens,” Indianapolis Star, August 19, 2003: D4.

18 Lowenkron, “Louisville Hopes Take Another Jolt at Hands of Tribe,” Indianapolis Star, August 26, 2003: D4.

19 Lowenkron, “Tribe Wins 5th in Row from Division Leader,” Indianapolis Star, August 27, 2003: D5.

20 “Short Hops,” Arizona Republic, April 6, 2004: C4.

21 “Nance Embraces Role,” Arizona Republic, August 12, 2004.

22 “Notes,” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, March 13, 2006: 10C.