I have so many players that I cannot wait to discuss in this section, I had a difficult time choosing which one to talk about today. I narrowed it down to one of my favorite Rangers of all time, and one of the least talked about. He played 2B for the 2nd place, 1974 ball club and his name was Dave Nelson. Manager Billy Martin called him one of the scrappiest kids that he had ever been around. When a reporter advised Martin that Nelson was 30 years old and far from a “kid”, Martin replied, “He is?”
Nelson came over with the Senators in ’72 and only played for the Rangers for four years (’72-’75). Despite his lack of history with the club, I would definitely consider him one of the largest over achievers in Ranger history. Nelson loved to run, although he was not the fastest guy in the league, he was the prototypical baserunner. He took pride studying pitchers and testing himself to see when he could get the quickest jump. From ’72-’74, Nelson stole 119 bases for Texas and ranks 4th on the Rangers all time list in stolen bases. His best year with the club was in 1973 when he hit .283 with 7 HR, 48 RBI, 71 runs and 43 SB. In 1974, Nelson broke his nose and never seemed to be the same type of player again.
The greatest day in Nelson’s career was August 30, 1974 (16 years ago today) against the Indians. He was facing Indians pitcher Dick Bosman in the first inning and Nelson singled. He then proceeded to tie a major league record by stealing second, third and home in the same inning. No other Ranger has ever accomplished this feat. If you give me nine players with the same type of heart as Dave Nelson, I promise you that I win the World Series every year, for as long as they are with me.
Thanks for reading and keep checking in for my next entry. I will discuss the 4th worst trade in franchise history and bring up another “Player from the past”. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, E-mail me. I would be happy to take the feedback and promise to answer all mail.
Click here to see Dave Nelson’s career statistics.
Remember the Rangers!
Jeremy Northrip
rangerhistory@hotmail.com
