Phil Nevin

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Phil Nevin bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Phil Nevin : biography

January 19, 1971 –

Phillip Joseph Nevin (born January 19, 1971) 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, a Detroit Tigers Triple-A affiliate assigned to the International League. In his MLB playing career, lasting from 1995 through 2006, he played for the Houston Astros, Tigers, Anaheim Angels, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and Minnesota Twins.

Nevin attended California State University, Fullerton where he played college baseball for the Cal State Fullerton Titans team. He led the Titans to the championship game in the 1992 College World Series (CWS), after which he was 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 seven 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 major-league manager.

Career

Amateur career

Nevin attended El Dorado High School in Placentia, California. After graduating, he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round of the 1989 Major League Baseball Draft with the 82nd overall selection. He decided to attend California State University, Fullerton after turning down an offer that included a signing bonus of $100,000.

A two-sport 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. He was named an All-American placekicker his freshman year for the Titans as he connected successfully on his first nine field goal attempts and finished the year with a 15-for-21 field goal percentage. His longest field goal of the season was . In his junior year, he averaged per punt.

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

In three seasons at Cal State Fullerton, Nevin had a .364 average with 39 home runs and 184 RBI. He 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. Despite the loss, Nevin was voted the CWS Most Outstanding Player after he batted 10-for-19 with two home runs and 11 RBI. He also won the Golden Spikes Award, given to the best amateur player in the nation.

Draft

The Houston Astros chose Nevin with the first overall pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft. 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 to take Nevin instead. The Astros believed that Jeter would insist on a salary bonus of at least $1 million 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, while the 1991 MLB draft’s first pick, Brien Taylor, signed for $1.55 million after insisting he would otherwise enroll in college. Meanwhile, the Astros were unable to sign their first-round draft pick in 1991, John Burke, who insisted on a bonus of $500,000 as the sixth overall selection. Consequently, the Astros passed on Jeter in the draft.