Junk Wax Prospector - David Nied - Colorado Rockies



I had this poster on the wall of Basement World until I moved out of my parent's house in 1995. It was cool but cheesy, David Nied pitching a snowball over some superimposed mountains... I didn't have many baseball posters that I hung up, but I picked the Nied poster up at a card show soon after it came out.

(This is not my picture of said poster... I found it online, as I didn't want to dig out my posters, unroll them just to take a photo... Thanks Google Images!)


When I decided that I wanted to collect Colorado Rockies cards back in 1993, logically David Nied would be a player that I would tend to collect.


A hyped prospect...


Getting a ton of hobby press....


Playing a key role on a team I collected...


Yeah, that about fits the bill for where my collection was heading in the early 1990's...


Atlanta took Nied in the 14th round of the 1987 draft, out of high school in Duncanville, Texas.


His first three seasons in Atlanta's minor leagues were promising, but Nied put it all together in 1991. Going 15-6, 2.01 ERA, 125 hits and 43 walks in 170 innings, with 178 strikeouts, while splitting the season between A and AA.


Next year with AAA Richmond, Nied went 14-9, 2.84 ERA, 144 hits and 44 walks in 168 innings, with 159 strikeouts.

His performance earned him a 6 game stint (2 starts) with the 1992 Atlanta Braves. Nied pitched to a 3-0 record, with a 1.17 ERA, 10 hits and 5 walks, 19 strikeouts in 23 innings.


Solidified as one of Atlanta's top prospects, the Braves were so deep in pitching they had to leave Nied unprotected in the Expansion Draft (in favor of Deion Sanders, who the Braves feared would get drafted, then immediately traded to another team).


Going into the Expansion Draft, Colorado made it no secret that Nied was their pick.


Drafted at #1 by Colorado, Florida Marlins GM Dave Dombrowski was quoted as saying that he would have taken Nied if he was available at #2. (Florida took OF Nigel Wilson from Toronto.)


The first game in Rockies history was played in New York, against the Mets, on Opening Day 1993. Nied opposed Dwight Gooden. The Mets won 3-0. Nied pitched okay, but battled control problems. Walking 6 in 5 innings. He only gave up 2 runs and struck out 3. Gooden shut the Rockies out on 4 hits... But he had only 4 strikeouts, so it was an encouraging first game for Colorado...


His next start came in Denver against the Montreal Expos. Colorado won, and Nied got the win despite a not-so-great game. He gave up 9 hits and 2 walks, amounting to 4 runs in 7 innings.


An injury cost Nied the months of June, July and August with the Rockies... 


He came back in September 1993 for a couple of good starts and a couple of bad ones.


For the 1993 season, Nied pitched to a record of 5-9, with a 5.17 ERA in 16 games, totalling 87 innings. Giving up 99 hits and 42 walks, while striking out 46.


Nied will forever hold the Colorado Rockies record for team firsts in: 


First Pitch...


First Complete Game...


First Shutout...


First Strikeout...


First Walk...


Among others...


Nied came back stronger in 1994, lasting the full season in the majors


Inexplicably, Nied seemed to pitch well at Mile High Stadium. Throwing a complete game 4 hit shutout against the power hitting Houston Astros, on June 21, 1994. For his career, he pitched better in Denver (at altitude) than he did on the road...


Before losing his last 5 starts (3 decisions) in 1994, Neid was 9-4, 4.31 ERA. His previous 2 starts totaled 16 innings with only 2 runs given up.


There were some real positive signs indicating Nied could be a solid pitcher for Colorado in seasons to come.


1994 saw his numbers improve overall from 1993. He went 9-7, 4.80 ERA over 22 starts and 122 innings. Still too many walks and hits given up, but the numbers showed improvement.


At 25 years of age, and pitching in (then) Mile High Stadium, there was a great deal of optimism surrounding Nied when the 1994 season was cut short in mid-August due to the players strike.


From August 1994 to mid-March 1995, the players were in limbo...
No one knew when/if they would be returning to work. 


Once it was ruled the owners acted in poor faith to try and break the players union, a court ordered that baseball return! Each team would run an abbreviated training camp, before opening a shortened 144 game season.


Nied hurt his elbow early in Spring Training 1995. He later stated in interviews that he was too excited and tried to throw too hard too early, while getting ready for games. He tried to compensate the injury by altering his throwing mechanics, with caused the injury to worsen. Something snapped in his elbow and he spent the next two years trying to regain what he lost, and ultimately couldn't...



After rehabbing in the minors in July, he made his 1995 season debut in August. 
After only 2 relief appearances, he was shut down for the rest of the season.



His final numbers for 1995: 2 games, 0-0, 20.77 ERA.
11 hits, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. 


Attempting to come back in the 1996 led to more disappointment for Nied.


Nied started 16 games for AAA Colorado Springs in 1996. The numbers were not promising. A 3-8 record, with 32 walks and 116 hits given up in only 62 innings. His ERA for those 16 starts: An unheard of 12.27...


His numbers in a six game stretch to close the 1996 in the Major Leagues didn't show any improvement: 0-2, 13.50 ERA, 4 strikeouts, 5 hits and 8 walks in 5 1/3 innings.


Nied left the Rockies following the 1996 season, signing a contract with the Cincinnati Reds. 


He would not make the Reds Major League roster in 1997. After all the injuries and problems Nied had over the prior two seasons, he chose to retire instead of accepting a demotion to AA Chattanooga, in March 1997.


Leaving baseball at age 27, Nied took a job selling farm equipment for his father's company, based in Grand Prairie, Texas.


I have about 45 different David Nied cards, this was a bunch that I liked...
Still one of my favorite players, I will pick up a Nied card if it's one I don't have...

Anyone have an extra Nied 1993 Finest Refractor laying around?

*****

One additional cool piece of Rockies trivia...


Nied was the only player in Rockies history to wear #17.


Besides this guy...

#17 is also the only number retired by the Rockies (with the exception of #42 for Jackie Robinson), so in a backwards and incorrect way, David Nied also has his number retired...

Hidden tribute to the number 1 pick in the Expansion Draft...

Comments

  1. Daniel WilsonAugust 16, 2017 at 1:54 PM

    Nice tribute! I was able to get Nied's autograph by ttm a year or so ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Captain HonkassAugust 16, 2017 at 2:11 PM

      Thanks!

      I haven't tried to do any TTM autos since 1991, but there are quite a few players from the 1980's and 90's I would like to get...

      Delete

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