Name: Gene Nelson

Rank: 225

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1984-1986

With the White Sox struggling to repeat as AL West Champions in 1984, they swung a deal with the Mariners on June 27 to swap relief pitchers, sending Salome Barojas out west in exchange for Jerry Don Gleaton and Gene Nelson.  Nelson, who had been in Triple A for the Mariners, came to the big leagues with the White Sox and split his time between the rotation and bullpen, starting 9 of his 20 appearances.

In 1985, Nelson was penciled in to work strictly out of the pen.  “It was tough to adjust after starting for so long,” he said.  “It was a matter of learning the mental parts of the game in the bullpen.”  However, an injury to Richard Dotson and the ineffectiveness of Bruce Tanner forced manager Tony LaRussa to move Nelson back in to the rotation in early July.  By year’s end, Nelson had completed his first full big league season with 46 appearances, 18 of them as a starter.

1986 saw Nelson back in the bullpen full time, save one emergency start due to the death of Tom Seaver’s mother.  He appeared in a career-high 54 games and posted his best ERA to date.  In December, the White Sox packaged Nelson with Bruce Tanner and sent him to the A’s in exchange for second baseman Donnie Hill.

Nelson’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →