Congratulations Nelson

Congratulations to Nelson Figueroa, who won his first MLB game in five years last night for the Mets, as he went six innings, allowed just two runs on two hits while striking out six, as the Mets won over Milwaukee, 4-2 at Shea Stadium.

Nelson's also a Brooklyn guy, as he was born and raised in Coney Island, and grew up a Mets fan. He went to Lincoln High School, which also produced Lee Mazzilli, as well as Brandeis University in Massachusetts. He was originally drafted by the Mets in 1995, and his career has bounced around, as he came up with Arizona in 2000 and was traded to the Phillies in the Curt Schilling deal that year. It was there that my father, who worked for the Phillies in their spring training complex in Clearwater, FL, got to know him and said he was a really nice guy.

His career took to him to Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Washington, as well as Mexico and Taiwan. The Mets signed him after pitching in the Taiwan Series last year. He had a terrific spring, and was brought up when Pedro Martinez went down with a hamstring injury.

Back in February, there was an interesting article in the New York Post about him, and how he designed a t-shirt (he's pictured wearing it) dedicated to the 9/11 victims, and how it was so popular that it raised over $450,000 that went to 9/11 charities. You can read it here.

I wish Nelson all the best with the Mets. He's a good guy, and I hope he can help the Mets out more this season.