Mark Nussbeck
From BR Bullpen
Mark Alan Nussbeck
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 205 lb.
- School Bellevue College
- Born May 25, 1974 in Kansas City, MO USA
Mark Nussbeck pitched for five years in AAA yet never made the majors.
[edit] Biographical Information
The St. Louis Cardinals took Mark in the 29th round of the 1996 amateur draft. He made his pro debut with the New Jersey Cardinals and was 6-3 with a 2.94 ERA, striking out 74 and walking 16 in 79 2/3 innings; he led the team in wins and led the starting pitchers in ERA. In 1997, he posted a 8-12, 4.58 record for the Peoria Chiefs, leading the St. Louis organization in defeats. He split 1998 between the [[Prince William Cannons] (3-6, 3.56) and Arkansas Travelers (4-2, 5.10).
The Bellevue alumnus made it to AAA in 1999 but his numbers were gaudy - for the year, he was 0-1 with a 6.17 ERA for Arkansas and 6-10, 8.23 for the Memphis Redbirds with 100 runs in 101 2/3 innings. Mark was 9-4 with a 3.96 ERA for Memphis in 2000, looking much sharper; he finished 7th in the 2000 Pacific Coast League in ERA. In late July, he was dealt with Chris Richard to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike Timlin. He was 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA for the Rochester Red Wings after the trade.
Nussbeck missed all of 2001 with injury. He struggled in a comeback with Rochester in 2002 (1-2, 6.39, 6 K in 25 1/3 IP) and was let go. Signing with the Atlantic League's Camden Riversharks, he rebounded to go 9-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 2003. He was even sharper for Camden in 2004 at 7-1, 3.45, walking 14 in 70 1/3 innings. Had he qualified, he would have been 4th in the circuit in ERA behind Kevin Henthorne, Linc Mikkelsen and Tim Cain. That earned him another chance with the Cardinals organization - he finished the year back with Memphis and went 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA.
In 2005, the Missouri native pitched for the Springfield Cardinals (3-0, 3.12) and Memphis (3-6, 3.42, 2 Sv, 11 BB in 68 1/3 IP). He ended his career with the 2006 St. Joe Blacksnakes, going 8-3 with a 2.97 ERA, a WHIP under 1 and over a K per inning. Nussbeck was third in the American Association in ERA, trailing only Lindsay Gulin and Jeffrey Blitstein.
Overall, Nussbeck was 70-56 with a 4.26 ERA in 223 minor league games (167 starts), walking 293 in 1,042 innings.
Sources: 1997-2007 Baseball Almanacs
