The 40-Year-Old (PEBA) Virgin
December 26th, 2014
Max Nelson celebrated his 41st birthday a month ago today. The big four-oh has been kind to the former Florida pitcher. Nelson finally realized his PEBA dream this past season. He became the second pitcher in history to debut in the PEBA at the ripe age of 40.
Ken Richards was the first 40-year-old to debut in the PEBA. Unlike Richards, who started in Manchester‘s farm system, Nelson entered the PEBA in a roundabout fashion. After barely touching first base with the PEBA seven years ago, the Salt Lake City native finally made it to home base this past season.
The soft-throwing control specialist started his career drafted in the seventh round of PEBA’s 2007 inaugural draft by the Palm Springs Codgers. He was promptly dumped by the Codgers a day later; apparently, the then-33-year-old was considered too young for Palm Springs’ organization. Destiny left him stranded on first base without any opportunity to reach second, third or home.
At the time, Nelson considered this setback a little blip in his budding baseball life. Everything must happen for a reason, right? Without any contract obligation, Nelson fully embraced the free agency perk of having teams court you like royalty. Being an available, appealing bachelor, surely another team would pick him up. It never happened. His agent, Blair Greene, sent out feelers to the remaining PEBA teams for two weeks and received little interest.
LRS teams that showed interest in Nelson, however. This was the most important decision yet in his baseball life – sign with an LRS team or risk sitting through spring training without a contract. Under the guidance of Greene, Nelson decided to make the trip over to the Land of the Rising Sun. Greene advised Nelson that the best way to become more desirable to one team was to have another team show interest in him. Nelson achieved that by signing a two-year contract with the Niihama-shi Ghosts eighteen days after breaking up with Palm Springs. According to Greene, Nelson would be back to the PEBA in no time.
Nelson enjoyed a wonderful two-year relationship with the Ghosts. He compiled a 28-22 record, including a 52.7 VORP season in 2007 that ranks 35th all time on the LRS single-season leaderboard. Coming off two solid seasons with the Ghosts, the free-agent-to-be expected to garner much interest from baseball’s top leagues – the LRS and PEBA.
Much to the chagrin of Nelson and his agent, the exact opposite occurred. Nelson received zero interest from the PEBA in the 2009 off-season. Stateside general managers were skeptical of his age and bloated statistics in a “somewhat lesser-talented league”.
With a lack of PEBA interest, Nelson settled for a two-year contract with the Fushigi Yugi Celestial Warriors. He finished his first season with the C-Warriors with a 9-17 record and a solid 3.41 ERA. Nelson rebounded in 2010 to put together a masterful campaign, finish 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA. He was selected to the All-Star Game and went on to become a Neo-Tokyo Cup champion.
At the time, this was the pinnacle of Nelson’s career. Surely, his accolades and achievements would put general managers in the States on notice. But that was far from the case. Despite his superb showing with the C-Warriors, Nelson once again found himself jilted by PEBA teams in the spring of 2011. Nelson waited and waited all through the summer for a phone call that never came.
By his 37th birthday, Nelson was faced with another life-changing decision – keep on playing the game or call it quits. He had gained some humility while losing a great part his confidence. But rather than hang up his glove and cleats, Nelson decided to continue pursuing his PEBA love by making a detour to the Alianza Béisbol Al Sur de la Frontera League. He signed a lucrative $13.5 million, two-year contract with the Acapulco Zambullidores del Acantilado. For all intents and purposes, this was Nelson’s slump-buster. He earned All-Star honors in both seasons while compiling an 18-10 record with a sub-3.00 ERA and WHIP hovering around 1.00.
By the time his relationship ended with Acapulco, Nelson was a 40-year-old man seeking his first true date with the PEBA. Once again, he waited throughout the winter and early spring for a suitor, and once again, no one called. Rather than seek another detour, Nelson assured Greene that this was it. There were no more stops along the road; PEBA was the girl for him. It was now or never – time to make it to the PEBA or live the rest of his life as a PEBA virgin.
The 2014 PEBA season started in April, and still no phone call. Nelson sat patiently at home, at peace at the fact that his baseball career and dream may just be over.
Then… it happened. Call it Lady Luck or a stroke of fate, but Nelson finally received that phone call that he had waited for all his life. The Florida Featherheads offered him a contract in part due to the injuries of Chris York and António Rivera. Call it a “rebound” signing if you will, but Nelson didn’t care. One way or another, Nelson had touched first base again. He finally stepped foot back into PEBA land.
Not stopping there, Nelson went on to touch second, third, and home base. In his debut, Nelson pitched eight scoreless innings to earn a 2-0 victory over New Orleans. Nelson became the first pitcher over 40 to notch 10 wins. The “rookie” helped Florida reach its fifth consecutive post-season berth while pitchers York, Rivera, Roberto Córdova, and Dustin Moyer were on the mend. He finished the season with a 14-7 record in 25 crucial starts. Nelson was rewarded with a post-season roster spot for his efforts. He ended up making one scoreless appearance – a nice highlight to cap off the season.
Despite Nelson’s efforts, the Featherheads informed Greene that they would not renew his client’s contract. He did everything the organization could have asked for a pitcher signed under short notice, yet things still did not work out. Florida told him, “It’s not you; it’s us.” There was a numbers game in Florida and Nelson simply was the odd man out. The breakup was hard for Nelson but life goes on. Florida has already moved on and so will he.
With free agency underway once again, it is unknown whether Nelson will get another shot under the lights of the grand stage known as the PEBA. Could fate be so cruel to let a man taste his dream for a mere evanescent moment? Does Nelson feel like a jilted lover? Does he feel cheated? When asked of the question, Nelson poetically replied, “It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.”
Whatever happens, no one can take away Nelson’s 2014 season. He experienced perfect love: playing in the PEBA. He always will forever remember it as the year that he finally went back home – seven years removed from his “first kiss”.
Nelson holds no grudges from the bittersweet breakup with Florida. The Featherheads gave Nelson what no other team could – a chance for baseball love. For this, Nelson will be forever grateful to the organization. He didn’t need a 15-season tenure with the PEBA. All he needed was to feel the love, the love of professional PEBA baseball for one fleeting moment – a feeling that will last a lifetime.