Phil Nevin

Phillip Joseph Nevin (born January 19, 1971 in Fullerton, California) is a retired American professional baseball player who spent twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is currently the manager of the Toledo Mud Hens, the Detroit Tigers Class-AAA affiliate, assigned to the International League. In MLB, he played for the Houston Astros (1995), Tigers (1995–1997), Anaheim Angels (1998), San Diego Padres (1999–2005), Texas Rangers (2005–2006), Chicago Cubs (2006) and Minnesota Twins (2006).

Nevin attended California State University, Fullerton where he played college baseball for the Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball team. Leading the Titans to the championship game in the 1992 College World Series (CWS), he named the CWS Most Outstanding Player and won the Golden Spikes Award. Chosen with the first-overall pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, Nevin went on to play in MLB for six teams across 12 seasons. He was selected to appear in the 2001 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

After retiring, Nevin stayed involved in baseball. He briefly went into broadcasting, then managed the unaffiliated Orange County Flyers for a season. The Tigers hired Nevin to manage the Class-AA Erie SeaWolves before promoting him to manage the Mud Hens. Nevin is considered a potential MLB manager.

Career

Amateur career

Nevin attended El Dorado High School in Placentia, California.^[1] After graduating, Nevin was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round of the 1989 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, with the 82nd overall selection.^[2] He decided to attend California State University, Fullerton after turning down an offer that included a signing bonus of $100,000 ($187,490 in current dollar terms).

A two-sports star, Nevin played American football and baseball for the Cal State Fullerton Titans, competing in the Big West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. He was a punter and placekicker on the Cal State Fullerton Titans football team.^[3] He was named an All-American placekicker his freshman year for the Titans,^[4] as he connected successfully on his first nine field goal attempts, finishing the year with a 15-for-21 field goal percentage, with a season-long field goal of 54 yards (49 m). In his junior year, he averaged 40.9 yards (37.4 m) per punt.^[5]

For the Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball team, Nevin batted .358 with 56 runs batted in (RBIs),^[5] as the Titans won the conference championship and reached the 1990 College World Series (CWS).^[6][7] However, the Titans lost two games in the 1990 CWS, and were eliminated.^[8] Nevin batted .335 in his sophomore season.^[5] As a junior, he batted .391 with 20 home runs and 71 RBIs, winning the Big West Conference Triple Crown. Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America named Nevin their College Player of the Year.^[4][8] He credited his past CWS experience with allowing him to remain calm.^[8]

Across three seasons, he had .364 with 39 home runs and 184 RBIs during his Titans career.^[4] Nevin led the Titans to the finals of the 1992 CWS, where the Titans lost to the Pepperdine Waves baseball team, which represented the West Coast Conference.^[5] Despite not winning, Nevin was voted the CWS Most Outstanding Player, as he batted 10-for-19 with two home runs and 11 RBIs during the CWS.^[4] He also won the Golden Spikes Award, given to the best amateur player in the nation.^[1][9]

Draft

The Houston Astros chose Nevin with the first overall pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft.^[3] Hal Newhouser, a scout for the Astros, had evaluated Derek Jeter extensively prior to the draft. Convinced that Jeter would anchor a winning team, Newhouser lobbied team management to select Jeter, and quit in protest over the Astros' decision.^[11] The Astros believed that Jeter would insist on a salary bonus of at least $1 million ($1,656,154 in current dollar terms) to forgo his college scholarship for a professional contract. Signing bonuses given to the first overall pick were increasing rapidly. Todd Van Poppel, the first pick of the 1990 MLB draft, signed for $1.2 million ($2,134,692 in current dollar terms), while the 1991 MLB draft's first pick, Brien Taylor, signed for $1.55 million ($2,644,808 in current dollar terms) after insisting he would otherwise enroll in college.^[10] Meanwhile, the Astros were unable to sign their first round draft pick in 1991, John Burke, who insisted on a bonus of $500,000 ($853,164 in current dollar terms) as the sixth overall selection.^[10] Consequently, the Astros passed on Jeter in the draft.^[11]

Bill Wood, the Astros' general manager, indicated that they believed Nevin was close to MLB level, and would require little development in minor league baseball.^[10] As evidence for this, they pointed to Nevin's training with wooden bats, as used in professional baseball, in an effort to prepare himself for the transition from metal bats.^[5] The Astros believed he would be a solid power hitter, able to hit the ball to all fields, and have a strong work ethic. Also, Nevin did not intend to seek a signing bonus approaching the bonuses received by Van Poppel and Taylor.^[10] The Tigers decided to employ Nevin as a third baseman.^[10] Not wanting to draw out his contract negotiations, Nevin signed with Houston in June, receiving a $700,000 signing bonus ($1,159,308 in current dollar terms).^[5][11]

International career

Nevin tried out for the United States national baseball team in the summer of 1990, in order to play in the 1990 Goodwill Games and World University Baseball Championship (WUBC). To prepare for those tournaments, the team played a series against Japan, and a game in Cuba.^[6] After playing in 13 of 22 games for Team USA, batting .229 (8-for-35) and playing second base and third base, he was released from the team prior to the Goodwill Games and WUBC, as the team needed to cut players to meet the roster maximum. He was considered for the 1991 Pan American Games.^[7]

Nevin tried out for Team USA again for the 1992 Summer Olympics. He embarked on a 30-game tour and 38-city exhibition game schedule in the United States before leaving for Barcelona. He made the team, and served as the team's starting third baseman throughout the tournament.^[4] Olympic coach Ron Fraser credited Nevin as an excellent player and student of the game.^[4]

Professional career

Prospect years: Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers (1992–1997)

Nevin traveled with the Astros during the end of the 1992 Houston Astros season. While visiting the stadiums of opposing teams, Nevin heard various insults hurled at him, due to the attention the first overall selection receives.^[1] The Astros sent Nevin to the instructional baseball Arizona Fall League during the off-season.^[4][5] Before the 1993 season, Baseball America ranked Nevin as the 30th best prospect in baseball.^[12]

The Astros considered starting Nevin's professional career with the Jackson Generals of the Class AA Southern League.^[4] There was discussion of promoting him to MLB, skipping the minor leagues entirely. Invited to Astros' spring training in 1993, Nevin batted .350, while demonstrating good power hitting.^[1] The Astros considered whether or not to bring Nevin to Houston for Opening Day, as they sought to add right-handed power to complement the left-handed power of Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley and Eric Anthony, and make the Astros less vulnerable to left-handed pitching. With Ken Caminiti in the first year of his three-year contract to play as the Astros' starting third baseman, Nevin had nowhere to play defensively with the Astros. Instead, they assigned him to the Class AAA Tucson Toros of the Pacific Coast League, one level below Major League Baseball, where Nevin made his professional debut.^[1]

With the Toros, the Astros' they began to transition Nevin into a left fielder. Veteran first baseman Jim Lindeman, identifying himself a "pretty intense" player when he was younger, served as Nevin's mentor, helping him maintain his composure while receiving significant attention and pressure to perform.^[1] Nevin started the 1993 season with a .247 batting average, but batted .309 with baserunners in scoring position, allowing him to record 49 RBIs. By July, he made ten starts in left field, without committing an error.^[1] However, Astros' evaluators became concerned that Nevin did not take the same mental approach and level of intensity he had in "clutch" situations, and apply it to situations when there were no baserunners and the score was not close.^[1]

Nevin's intensity almost got the better of him during a June 1993 game with Tucson.^[1] With only hundreds of fans in the stands, Nevin was able to hear the grossly insulting taunting of a fan who was seated in the front row.^[1] Nevin nearly attempted to jump over the fence into the stands to confront the fan, before he was restrained by teammates. The fan was arrested.^[1]

Nevin played in the field at third base and in left field in 1993.^[1] Nevin batted .286 that season, with ten home runs, 91 RBIs, He batted .286 that season, with a .359 on-base percentage (OBP) and .413 slugging percentage (SLG).^[13] Baseball America rated him the 24th best prospect in baseball before the 1994 season.^[12] He returned to Tucson for the season, posting a .263 batting average, 12 home runs, 71 RBIs, a .343 OBP, and .393 SLG.^[13] Nevin also played first base.^[13] However, his MLB debut was delayed, both by his defense (61 errors in his first two seasons), and the MLB 1994–95 work stoppage.^[13]

The Astros traded Caminiti to the San Diego Padres before the 1995 season. Now rated the 59th best prospect in baseball,^[12] and with Caminiti no longer blocking Nevin's path to MLB, Nevin hoped that he would be named the Astros' starting third baseman. However, the Astros did not invite Nevin to spring training, angering Nevin. He attributed this to his refusal to work out with replacement players during the work stoppage.^[14] Not wanting to be seen as "scabs" by the Major League Baseball Players Association, minor league players who felt they would play in MLB after the resolution of the strike felt pressure to avoid playing with replacement players, while "career minor leaguers" were willing to get a taste of MLB. When Padres' prospects, such as Nevin and Billy Wagner, refused to play with the replacement players, Astros' general manager Bob Watson issued an ultimatum that all who refused to play in their first exhibition game would be sent out of camp until further notice and be held in breach of contract.^[15][16] The Astros returned Nevin to Tucson to start the 1995 season, while Dave Magadan started at third base on Opening Day for the Astros. The Astros also intended to use Shipley and Chris Donnels at third base.^[17]

With the Toros in 1995, improved to a .291 batting average, .367 OBP, and .463 SLG, while contributing seven home runs and 41 RBIs,^[13] before receiving a promotion to the Astros on June 10, 1995.^[13] He made his MLB debut on June 11, 1995. Nevin played 18 games for the Astros during the 1995 season.^[18] He struggled with the Astros, batting .117 with no home runs, one RBI, a .221 OBP, and .133 SLG in 60 at-bats.^[14] When he learned of his demotion to Tucson on July 5 in Colorado, Nevin cursed at Watson and Astros' manager Terry Collins.^[13] After Watson called for an apology,^[14] Nevin reported that he would use the incident as a learning experience in controlling his temper.^[19] The Astros acquired Mike Henneman from the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later (PTBNL) on August 10; Nevin was identified as the PTBNL on August 15. In 1996, Nevin played in Class AA for the Tigers, with the Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League, where they converted him into a catcher.^[18]

Recovering from earlier struggles: Detroit Tigers, Anaheim Angels, and San Diego Padres (1998–2001)

After the 1997 season, the Tigers traded Nevin with Matt Walbeck to the Anaheim Angels, where Collins now managed, for minor league player Nick Skuse. With an injury to Todd Greene, Nevin became the Angels' backup catcher, and Collins gave him the opportunity to compete for the starting job with Walbeck.^[20] Continuing to follow his passion, Nevin tore off his jersey while arguing balls and strike calls with the home plate umpire in a 1998 game.^[21]

Before the 1999 season, the Angels traded Nevin with minor league player Keith Volkman to the San Diego Padres for Andy Sheets and minor league player Gus Kennedy. Nevin made his break late in his career with the Padres, appearing in 100 games for the first time during the 1999 season. He then had the best offensive years of his career: he hit 31 home runs with a .916 on base plus slugging (OPS) during the 2000 season. He was named to the National League All-Star team in 2001, when he hit 41 home runs with 126 RBIs and had a .976 OPS. That year he led major league third basemen in errors, however, with 27, and had the lowest fielding percentage of all major league third basemen (.930).^[22]

Injuries and final seasons; San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and Minnesota Twins (2002–2006)

Nevin played first base in 2002, which was considered to be his strongest defensive position.^[23] However, Nevin's 2002 and 2003 seasons were shortened by injuries. In 2002, Nevin missed time with a strained left elbow. Three games after returning from the elbow injury, Nevin broke his arm diving for a ground ball, requiring him to miss another six weeks.^[24] He suffered a dislocated shoulder in spring training in 2003 while making a diving catch in the field.^[25] He had surgery on his left shoulder, returning to action in June.^[26] With Rondell White, who the Padres acquired to replace Nevin, having an All-Star season in left field and Ryan Klesko playing first base, and with rookie Sean Burroughs playing well at third base, Nevin's favorite position, he offered to be used in a utility role, spelling White, Klesko, and Burroughs, as well as Xavier Nady in right field.^[23] In 2004, Nevin had his third season with more than 100 RBIs. However, he required arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee in July.^[27]

Frustrated with the dimensions of Petco Park, Nevin hit a double during a 2004 game that he believed would have been a home run in other stadiums; when he reached second base, he made what was perceived as an obscene gesture towards Padres' General Manager Kevin Towers, who admitted the two had a "love-hate" relationship.^[21]

Two nights after San Diego Padres management informed him that he was being replaced by Xavier Nady as the starting first baseman, Nevin rejected a trade to the Baltimore Orioles for Sidney Ponson, who the Orioles were seeking to dump due to his high earned run average and personal problems, on July 25, 2005.^[28] Nevin had exercised a clause in his contract which gave him the right to block transactions that would have sent him to any of eight franchises, one of which was the Orioles.^[29] He was traded to the Texas Rangers for Chan Ho Park, whose salary the Rangers wanted to dump, and cash on July 30, the day prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.^[28][30] In his first thirteen games with the Rangers, they had a 1–12 won-loss record, while Nevin batted 5-for-44, which lowered his season batting average under .200, known as the "Mendoza Line". After September 13, the Rangers benched Nevin, giving his starts to prospect first baseman Adrian Gonzalez once the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention.^[28] In his first game back in the lineup, September 24, his average dropped to .182. He refuted the scout's opinions that he was losing bat speed.^[28]

Nevin had one year remaining on his contract, worth $9 million ($10,375,702 in current dollar terms). Manager Buck Showalter stated that despite Nevin's benching at the end of the 2005 season, Nevin was his starting designated hitter for the 2006 season.^[28] In spite of beliefs that working with renowned hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo and playing at the hitter-friendly Ameriquest Field would increase Nevin's offensive production in 2006, Nevin's production continued to suffer,^[28] as he batted .216 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs in 46 games. The Rangers promoted rookie Jason Botts on May 23, who began to receive Nevin's playing time.^[31]

Nevin had only two hits in his last 32 at-bats with the Rangers, though both of those hits were home runs.^[31] However, the Chicago Cubs sought a slugging first baseman to replace the injured Derrek Lee, and the Rangers traded Nevin to the Cubs on May 31, 2006. In return, the Rangers received second baseman/outfielder Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Cubs. The Rangers agreed to pay the difference in the two players' salaries.^[31] On August 31, the deadline for trades of players who had cleared waivers, the Cubs traded Nevin to the Twins for a PTBNL and cash considerations. To make room for Nevin, Twins' outfielder Shannon Stewart was placed on the 60-day disabled list.^[32]

With the Twins, Nevin stopped being concerned with his statistics, and enjoyed contributing in a pennant race.^[33] Nevin appeared in the MLB postseason for the first time in his career with the Twins in 2006.^[18][33]

Retirement: Broadcasting and managing (2007–present)

Unsigned at the beginning of the 2007 season, Nevin announced his retirement on May 12, 2007. During his twelve-season career, Nevin had a .270 batting average with 208 home runs and 743 RBIs in 1,217 games.^[18]

Nevin worked on pre-game radio shows with the Padres. In June 2008, he returned to Goodwin Field at Cal State Fullerton as the ESPN analyst for the Super Regional against Stanford.

After two seasons away from the game, Nevin decided to return to baseball as a manager.^[21] In December 2008, he was named the manager of the Orange County Flyers in the independent Golden Baseball League (GBL). During the 2009 season, the Flyers finished with a 37–39 win-loss record, fourth in the five-team GBL.^[34] Nevin planned on returning to the Flyers in 2010, but a chance meeting at baseball's winter meetings led to Nevin hiring as manager of the Erie SeaWolves, the Class-AA minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.^[21] He replaced the previous manager, Tom Brookens, who was promoted to the Tigers' MLB coaching staff as the teams' first base coach.^[34][35]

Nevin managed the SeaWolves for one season. On November 11, 2010, Nevin was named manager of the Toledo Mud Hens, the Class AAA minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. He is considered a future MLB manager.^[21] Omir Santos described his managing the Mud Hens as "like having a big league manger in [Class AAA]."^[21]

Personal

Nevin's first daughter, Koral, was born during his freshman year at Cal State.^[4] Though he is no longer in a relationship with Koral's mother, he pays child support, visits weekly, and calls daily.^[4]

Nevin makes his home in the Heritage Estates neighborhood of Poway, California, along with many San Diego sporting figures, such as Bruce Bochy, Tony Gwynn, and LaDanian Tomlinson. The neighborhood suffered significant damage in the October 2007 California wildfires.^[36]

Nevin hosted a baseball camp for children aged 6 through 16 in 2010.^[37]

See also

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• 1992 College Baseball All-America Team
• Golden Spikes Award
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Phil Nevin: The Happiest Twin (Minnesota Public Radio)