Infield: First baseman Rocky Nelson (1949-61) sounds like a tough guy. In fact, he sounds like a Prohibition-era gangster. But he was actually a guy who could never nail down a starting job in the majors. He did hit 31 home runs – in his career, 31 home runs in 620 games. So he’s not a slugger. In fact, he was basically a .250 hitter who didn’t do much. (In the minors, he was a different story – 231 career minor-league home runs, earning him a spot in the International League Hall of Fame.) The payoff to all of this? At age 35, he split time at first base with Dick “Dr. Strangeglove” Stuart for the 1960 Pirates, batting .300 during the regular season and .333 in the World Series. Shortstop Rabbit Nill (1904-08) was a .212 hitter and, like just about every ballplayer nicknamed Rabbit, he was a diminutive middle infielder with wheels. (Could there possibly be two names that provide more radically different visual images than "Rocky Nelson" and "Rabbit Nill?") Second baseman Ray Nelson (1901) batted .200 in his brief career. Third baseman Roy Nichols (1944) batted .222 in an even briefer career (though he batted .300 for a decade in the minors).
Outfield: Right fielder Ron Northey (1942-57) was a very good ballplayer, a .280 hitter who would hit 15-20 home runs in a typical season. After a few years starting for the Phillies he drifted around and had some great years as a pinch-hitter, especially with the White Sox. In fact, he is tied (with Rich Reese and Willie McCovey) for the all-time record with three career pinch-hit grand slams. Reid Nichols (1980-87) was a functional player who was ideally cast as a backup or platoon guy at corner outfield. Here, he’s a fulltime starter in center. He was a .270 hitter who drew a few walks and hit some line drives. Left fielder Ricky Nelson (1983-86) was a child star on “Ozzie and Harriet,” a wonderful pop singer with songs like “Hello Mary Lou” and “Garden Party,” and his death in a plane crash was tragic. Oh, wait. Different guy. This Ricky Nelson had a brief and undistinguished career with the Mariners.
Catcher: Russ Nixon (1957-68) was a .268 hitter over a career that lasted several years. He didn’t really walk or have any power, and he certainly couldn’t run, but a passable defensive catcher who batted .260 is nothing to sneeze at.
Rotation: Roger Nelson (1967-76) was the first pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 1968 expansion draft. He pitched well for them, but a guy can only win but so many games pitching for an expansion team. Ricky Nolasco (2006- ) has a great arm but is still struggling to find consistency. He'll follow a good start with a bad one, a good season with a mediocre one. He has a winning record, and his strikeout rates and K-BB ratio are great, so there’s every chance that he will finish his career as the unquestioned ace of this staff. Rollie Naylor (1917-24) pitched for those dreadful Philadelphia A’s teams during the era after rising salaries forced Connie Mack to sell off all of his stars, as a result of which Naylor had a league-average ERA but a career record of 42-83. Rod Nichols (1988-95) could relate. Pitching for Cleveland in 1991 he had a 3.57 ERA and a 2-11 record. Rich Nye (1966-70) was a promising lefty who won 13 games for the Cubs at age 22 but then blew out his arm and became a veterinarian.
Bullpen: Closer Robb Nen (1993-2002) was a flame-thrower who saved 310 games for Florida and the Giants. In 2002, in mid-career and still at the peak of his game, his shoulder began to give out but he continued to pitch down the stretch and into the postseason because the Giants were in the thick of the pennant race. He saved 43 games in the regular season, then added two more in the NLDS, three more in the NLCS and two more in the World Series. He pitched brilliantly, wrecked his shoulder, and never pitched in the majors again. As a completely pointless (but undeniably fun) side note, early in his career he and Dave Otto hooked up in the first game in major-league history in which both starting pitchers had palindromic last names. Ray Narleski (1954-59) had a couple of really good seasons out of the Cleveland bullpen, and he was making the transition to a part-time starter when he sustained a back injury that ultimately ended his career. Randy Niemann (1979-87) was a big lefty who showed promise as a rookie with the Astros but never developed into much of a big-league pitcher. Roberto Novoa (2004-06) had a couple of decent enough years in the majors, and he’s still chuckin’ somewhere, so don’t rule out the possibility that he could come back. Ron Negray (1952-58) bounced around for a few years and wasn’t terrible. He won 128 games in the minors. Ray “Hello” Newman (1971-73) was a lefty who had brief call-ups with the Cubs in 1971 and with the Brewers in 1972 and ’73. He pitched well all three times and was never given another shot in the majors. Surely there’s an explanation, though none leaps immediately to mind. Randy Nosek (1989-90) on the other had got pounded in both of his callups to Detroit.
Bench: Rob Nelson (1986-90) was a minor-league slugger in the Oakland A’s organization, and they gave him the starting first base job in 1987. When that wasn’t working out so well, they moved their rookie third baseman, a kid named Mark McGwire, over to first base and traded Nelson. McGwire won the Rookie of the Year award and went on to hit 500 home runs. Nelson, who had been a fine minor-league slugger, batted .178 for his career in the majors. Ray Noble (1951-53) is the backup catcher. Russ Nagelson (1968-70) was an outfielder who batted .211. Red Nonnenkamp (1933-40) was a pretty fair minor-league outfielder but nothing special in the majors. Rube Novotney (1949) is another backup catcher, which means this bench has two backup catchers but no backup infielders. Depth is a problem.
Manager: Russ Nixon will be player-manager. He was a coach under Sparky Anderson with The Big Red Machine, which is a great pedigree, but when he had chances to manage the Reds and the Braves, it didn’t go well.
Outfield: Right fielder Ron Northey (1942-57) was a very good ballplayer, a .280 hitter who would hit 15-20 home runs in a typical season. After a few years starting for the Phillies he drifted around and had some great years as a pinch-hitter, especially with the White Sox. In fact, he is tied (with Rich Reese and Willie McCovey) for the all-time record with three career pinch-hit grand slams. Reid Nichols (1980-87) was a functional player who was ideally cast as a backup or platoon guy at corner outfield. Here, he’s a fulltime starter in center. He was a .270 hitter who drew a few walks and hit some line drives. Left fielder Ricky Nelson (1983-86) was a child star on “Ozzie and Harriet,” a wonderful pop singer with songs like “Hello Mary Lou” and “Garden Party,” and his death in a plane crash was tragic. Oh, wait. Different guy. This Ricky Nelson had a brief and undistinguished career with the Mariners.
Catcher: Russ Nixon (1957-68) was a .268 hitter over a career that lasted several years. He didn’t really walk or have any power, and he certainly couldn’t run, but a passable defensive catcher who batted .260 is nothing to sneeze at.
Rotation: Roger Nelson (1967-76) was the first pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 1968 expansion draft. He pitched well for them, but a guy can only win but so many games pitching for an expansion team. Ricky Nolasco (2006- ) has a great arm but is still struggling to find consistency. He'll follow a good start with a bad one, a good season with a mediocre one. He has a winning record, and his strikeout rates and K-BB ratio are great, so there’s every chance that he will finish his career as the unquestioned ace of this staff. Rollie Naylor (1917-24) pitched for those dreadful Philadelphia A’s teams during the era after rising salaries forced Connie Mack to sell off all of his stars, as a result of which Naylor had a league-average ERA but a career record of 42-83. Rod Nichols (1988-95) could relate. Pitching for Cleveland in 1991 he had a 3.57 ERA and a 2-11 record. Rich Nye (1966-70) was a promising lefty who won 13 games for the Cubs at age 22 but then blew out his arm and became a veterinarian.
Bullpen: Closer Robb Nen (1993-2002) was a flame-thrower who saved 310 games for Florida and the Giants. In 2002, in mid-career and still at the peak of his game, his shoulder began to give out but he continued to pitch down the stretch and into the postseason because the Giants were in the thick of the pennant race. He saved 43 games in the regular season, then added two more in the NLDS, three more in the NLCS and two more in the World Series. He pitched brilliantly, wrecked his shoulder, and never pitched in the majors again. As a completely pointless (but undeniably fun) side note, early in his career he and Dave Otto hooked up in the first game in major-league history in which both starting pitchers had palindromic last names. Ray Narleski (1954-59) had a couple of really good seasons out of the Cleveland bullpen, and he was making the transition to a part-time starter when he sustained a back injury that ultimately ended his career. Randy Niemann (1979-87) was a big lefty who showed promise as a rookie with the Astros but never developed into much of a big-league pitcher. Roberto Novoa (2004-06) had a couple of decent enough years in the majors, and he’s still chuckin’ somewhere, so don’t rule out the possibility that he could come back. Ron Negray (1952-58) bounced around for a few years and wasn’t terrible. He won 128 games in the minors. Ray “Hello” Newman (1971-73) was a lefty who had brief call-ups with the Cubs in 1971 and with the Brewers in 1972 and ’73. He pitched well all three times and was never given another shot in the majors. Surely there’s an explanation, though none leaps immediately to mind. Randy Nosek (1989-90) on the other had got pounded in both of his callups to Detroit.
Bench: Rob Nelson (1986-90) was a minor-league slugger in the Oakland A’s organization, and they gave him the starting first base job in 1987. When that wasn’t working out so well, they moved their rookie third baseman, a kid named Mark McGwire, over to first base and traded Nelson. McGwire won the Rookie of the Year award and went on to hit 500 home runs. Nelson, who had been a fine minor-league slugger, batted .178 for his career in the majors. Ray Noble (1951-53) is the backup catcher. Russ Nagelson (1968-70) was an outfielder who batted .211. Red Nonnenkamp (1933-40) was a pretty fair minor-league outfielder but nothing special in the majors. Rube Novotney (1949) is another backup catcher, which means this bench has two backup catchers but no backup infielders. Depth is a problem.
Manager: Russ Nixon will be player-manager. He was a coach under Sparky Anderson with The Big Red Machine, which is a great pedigree, but when he had chances to manage the Reds and the Braves, it didn’t go well.
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