Nelson Figueroa

From BR Bullpen

Nelson Walter Figueroa

Bats Both, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 155 lb.
School Brandeis University
Debut June 3, 2000
Born May 18, 1974 in Brooklyn, NY USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Nelson Figueroa is the only major league player to come out of Brandeis University through 2006. He pitched in the minor leagues from 1995-2006, winning in double digits six times, while going just 7-17 in major league trials. In the 2007 Taiwan Series, Figueroa dominated, going 3-0 to win MVP honors and help the Uni-President Lions to the title. Figueroa was the first foreigner to be named MVP of a Taiwan Series. Figueroa had been a late addition to the Lions, after spending the bulk of the season in the Mexican League with the Dorados de Chihuahua, with a 4-0, 3.00 record in the 2007 CPBL season. He had gone 8-6 with a 3.87 ERA for Chihuahua.

He was 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA for the Hermosillo Orange Growers in the 2007-2008 Mexican Pacific League.

Figueroa continued to shine in the postseason in the 2007-2008 Dominican League, going 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA for the Águilas Cibaeñas to help them to their 20th title. Since he joined the team late, he was not eligible for the 2008 Caribbean Series; he went instead to the Yaquis de Obregón for the Series, his 4th team at least in under a year. He was 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in the Series to lead the Yaquis staff. He had now won 13 of 14 decisions between the CPBL season, the Taiwan Series, the Mexican Pacific League, the Dominican League playoffs and Caribbean Series.

Figueroa returned to Major League Baseball with the New York Mets in 2008. The Mets had originally picked him in the 30th round of the 1995 amateur draft, but he had been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998, two years before he made his major league debut.