Roger Nelson (baseball)

Infobox MLB retired
name=Roger Nelson
position=Pitcher


bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1944|6|7
city-state|Altadena|California
debutdate=September 9
debutyear=by|1967
debutteam=Chicago White Sox
finaldate=September 23
finalyear=by|1976
finalteam=Kansas City Royals
stat1label=Win-Loss record
stat1value=29-32
stat2label=ERA
stat2value=3.06
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=371
teams=
*Chicago White Sox (1967)
*Baltimore Orioles (1968)
*Kansas City Royals (1969-72, 1976)
*Cincinnati Reds (1973-74)
highlights=
*Led American League in WHIP, by|1972

Roger Eugene Nelson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Nelson pitched all or part of nine seasons between by|1967 and by|1976 with a record of 29 wins, 32 losses, and 5 saves.

Nelson was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before the by|1963 season. He played four seasons in the minor leagues before earning a September call-up in by|1967. That off-season, he was part of a major trade with the Baltimore Orioles which saw Don Buford traded to the White Sox and future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio headed to Baltimore.

After one season with Baltimore, he was chosen by the Kansas City Royals with the first selection in the American League phase of the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft. Along with Wally Bunker, Nelson formed a formidable starting duo for the expansion Royals in by|1969, compiling a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts. After two seasons struggling with injuries, Nelson bounced back in by|1972 to finish fifth in the league in ERA (2.08) and also setting career bests with 11 wins and 120 strikeouts.

That offseason, Nelson was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in a deal that would bring long-time Royals mainstay Hal McRae to Kansas City for the first time. Unfortunately, Nelson would never repeat the successes of 1969 and 1972, and he was sold back to the Chicago White Sox. He was released by the White Sox before ever pitching for them, and after a brief turn through the Oakland Athletics farm system, Nelson got one last chance with the Royals in by|1976, appearing in 3 games in September to end his major league career.

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