Nelson Figueroa Biography
Nelson Figueroa is a two-time Emmy Winning Sports Analyst and Co-Host of Sports Nation Nightly for PIX11 New York City Metropolitan Area since May 2023. Before turning into a sports analyst, Nelson was a professional Major League Baseball (MLB) player, he played for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Figueroa also worked for Mets broadcasts as a post-game studio analyst.
Education
Figueroa went to Brandeis University in 1992 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies in 1995. While still in the university, he played with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League for the collegiate summer baseball and was named a league all-star. In the 1995 Major League Baseball draft, Nelson was drafted 833rd overall by the New York Mets in the 30th round. In 1998, cash considerations, Willie Blair, and Jorge Fábregas, Nelson was traded by the Mets with outfielder Bernard Gilkey to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Early career
Figueroa’s major league debut was with the Diamondbacks when he became the first Brandeis University alumnus to reach the major leagues, this was during the 2000 season. That year alone, he started in three games, he was able to compile a 0–1 record and a 7.47 ERA. Nelson was then traded with Omar Daal, Travis Lee, and Vicente Padilla to the Philadelphia Phillies for Curt Schilling on July 26, 2000. He therefore spent the remaining part of 2000 pitching for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons of the International League and compiled a record ERA of 3.78 and 4–3.
Nelson got into a minor-league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 23, 2011. He was assigned to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. Also on January 19, 2012, he got into another minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. They then released him on March 31, 2012, and he therefore moved to the New York Yankees signing a minor league contract on April 17, 2012. His stay there was short-lived but he still got into another minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox and they assigned him to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. This time, he was the winning pitcher in all the team’s clinching games and it won its first Governors’ Cup after playing for 28 years.
The Arizona Diamondbacks also allowed him to sign a minor league contract with them on December 21, 2012, but they later released him on April 26, 2013. He thus took to Taiwan’s Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in mid-2013 for another contract.
Brewers
Nelson had a stop at the Phillies in 2001 where he tossed 89 innings, he was able to finish the season with a 3.94 ERA, and a 4–5 record. Although he is a right-hander, the Milwaukee Brewers on October 11, 2002, claimed him off. He stayed in Milwaukee for one season and regressed to a 1–7 record and 5.03 ERA.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Nelson did not stop at the Brewers, within no time, he signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a free agent on January 6, 2003. Most of his season in 2003 was therefore spent in pitching for the Triple-A affiliate of the Pirates, Nashville Sounds. This led to his promotion later in the season going 2–1 with a 3.31 ERA for Pittsburgh. In 2004, he had a short stint with the Pirates and later spent his 2005 season doing rehabilitation for a torn rotator cuff that he had played with in the earlier season.
He then moved to the Washington Nationals early in 2006 where he signed a minor-league contract. During that season, he was pitching for the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs and posted a 4.38 ERA in 76 innings of work.
Foreign leagues
Figueroa got into a contract with Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League in 2007. He then went to Taiwan in a late-season addition to the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in September 2007. He won all 4 games for the Lions, had 21 strikeouts in 30 innings, 8 walks, and an ERA of 3.00. Through his help, the Lions were able to secure the wild-card spot in the playoff series.
Nelson played against Macoto Cobras in the first-round best-of-five series and started for the Lions in the first game. He was able to pitch for 8 innings but gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs and struck out 8 hitters. This way, The Lions were lucky to win the game with a score of 9–4 with Nelson as the pitcher winner. Further, he moved on to the championship series and beat the Cobras in 3 games.
In addition to the Lions, Figueroa played in the Taiwan Series CPBL championship series against the La New Bears in 2007 and won all three 3 games; the seventh game, the fourth, and the first. As such, he got the opportunity to be chosen as the series MVP. As of now he still holds the record in the Taiwan Series history as the starting pitcher who has won the most games.
Nelson also pitched for Cardenales de Lara (Lara’s Cardinals) in 2009 in the Venezuelan Winter League round-robin. He also pitched a no-hit no run for 9 innings, and the game went 0–0, but he came once more in the 10th, he gave up a hit and ended the streak, it is the Cardenales that won in 10 innings, 1–0 but Figueroa was once again the winning pitcher.
Philadelphia Phillies
For use in the role of long reliever, the Phillies claimed Figueroa off waivers on April 7, 2010. They then designated him for assignment which he agreed to outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley the following month. In June of the same season, Chad Durbin was placed on the DL, so he was re-assigned the following month, July.
Post-playing career
SNY announced on February 16, 2015, saying that Figueroa was going to replace Bob Ojeda as their pre/post-game analyst for their Mets broadcasts. He was then assigned the new pitching coach for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball on March 3, 2022. Figueroa pitched the first game on August 9, with the FerryHawks playing a doubleheader which was unexpected. He threw 119 pitches through all 7 innings of the contest at age 48.
His next stop was the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball where Nelson was announced as their new pitching coach on January 31, 2023. He however quit the position before the season began to start a new career in broadcasting, a position he still holds to date, follow him at PIX11 Sports where he brings his viewers the best features and coverage.
Nelson Figueroa PIX11
He joined this station as the Sports Analyst and Co-Host of Sports Nation Nightly, he has worked for such outlets as SNY and MLB Network and has been lucky to earn two Emmys since 2015.
Nelson Figueroa as an Artist
Apart from his Baseball and broadcasting career, Nelson is also an artist. He played a big role in helping Major League Baseball design patriotic T-shirts after 9/11. These shirts were then sold to collect money for charity. Further, Nelson has a skill with electronics that was referred to as “just amazing,” by the former manager Jerry Royster. Most of this information was derived from Wikipedia.
You may read about other TV personalities working with Nelson at PIX11.
- Byron Miranda
- Marc Malusis
- Star Harvey
- Stacy-Ann Gooden
- Kaity Tong
Parents | Family
Figueroa was born and brought up in Brooklyn United States, however, information concerning his parents and siblings is not yet verified, so we will not talk about them for now.
Nelson Figueroa Age
Figueroa is 49 years old as of 2023, he was born on May 18, 1974, in Brooklyn United States, and celebrates his birthday on the 18th of May of every year. He loves to spend his off-season in Arizona and New Jersey.
Wife
Nelson is happily married to Alisa Albert Figueroa, the couple is so far blessed with one child, a daughter called Renee.
Nelson Figueroa Salary
Nelson’s salary ranges between $100,000 and $400,000.
Net Worth
Figueroa has an estimated net worth of between $5 Million and $20 Million. His primary source of income is working as a Sports Analyst, Baseball Player.
Social Media Platforms
Figueroa is very active on social media i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. He has over 220 followers on Instagram, over 7200 followers on Facebook, and 20,000 followers on Twitter.
Nelson Figueroa Height
Figueroa stands at an approximate height of 6 feet 0.8 inches tall.
6 Quick Facts About Nelson
- Age: 49 years old as of 2023
- Marital Status: Married
- Net Worth: Between $5 Million and $20 Million
- Salary: Between $100,000 and $400,000.
- Nationality: American
- Height: 6 feet 0.8 inches tall