Mel Nelson (#367)

With this card, all 20 teams are now represented on all 3 of my baseball card blogs. This would be Nelson's last card until 1969.

Mel Nelson was signed by the Cardinals in 1954, and except for a 2-game stint with the Cardinals in September 1960, he spent the next 9 seasons in the minors. Originally an outfielder, he didn't begin pitching until 1956.

After the 1962 season, he was purchased by the Los Angeles Angels. In 1963 he made 36 appearances for the Angels (mostly in relief) along with 12 games in triple-A (mostly as a starter). He spent all of 1964 in the minors, first with the Angels' AAA team in Hawaii, then after his May 25th purchase by the Twins, with their AAA team in Atlanta.



After spending all of 1965 in the Twins' bullpen, and all of 1966 back in the minors, he would bounce up and down for the next 3 seasons. After the 1967 season, the Twins sold him to the Cardinals. Nelson made one appearance in the 1968 World Series for the Cardinals, mopping up the 9th inning of game 6 (a 13-1 blowout by the Tigers).

His last major-league game was on June 2, 1969. Mel wrapped up his career in 1970 with the Braves' triple-A team in Richmond, VA.