Seattle Mariners Jeff Nelson
Jeff Nelson was another critical member of the 1995 Seattle Mariners bullpen. This was his fourth season with the team, and it would be the best of his career. Coming from the right side, the six-foot-eight sidearm reliever struck out 96 batters in 78.7 innings and had a 2.17 ERA. In one memorable outing, Nelson smartly lets a popped up bunt drop, then threw to second to start a triple play.
In December of 1995, Nelson was traded along with Tino Martinez and Jim Mecir to the New York Yankees for Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock. This was a terrible trade for the Mariners. Davis was below replacement level in three of his four seasons with the team, and Hitchcock had a 5.35 ERA in his one season in Seattle.
Nelson returned to the Mariners before the 2001 season as a free agent, and it was just like old times. He had his only all-star season thanks to a 2.76 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 65.3 innings. Also, the Mariners won an incredible 116 games and reached the ALCS, which they lost to the Yankees in five games.
Nelson pitched for the Mariners in 2002 and the first four months of the 2003 season before being traded to the Yankees for Armando Benitez. The way Nelson was swapped back and forth between the Mariners and Yankees, it was like he was a groupie in the movie “Almost Famous” (hat tip, Kate Hudson).
After pitching for the Yankees at the end of the 2003 season, Nelson moved on to Texas in 2004, then back to the Mariners for a third time in 2005. This time around wasn’t as successful as the first two. Nelson had a 3.93 ERA in 49 games, and the Mariners went 69-93. He pitched in six games for the 2006 White Sox before riding off into the sunset.