Columbia Basin College's Rod Nettnin could both hit and pitch. He liked both and did both well, The Tri-City Herald wrote in April 1988.
Looking ahead, he hoped he did both well enough to get the notice of pro scouts, he told The Herald.
"I'd like to get drafted (by Major League team) and give it a run and see how far I can go," Nettnin told The Herald, the paper adding the parenthesis to clarify. "I'd like to both hit and pitch, but sooner or later I'll have to decide."
For Nettnin, he did eventually get drafted, just not by an organization he expected - the independent Miami Miracle. His career then spanned just three seasons, his on-field time confined to another independent, Salt Lake City.
Nettnin's career began in 1990, taken by the Miami Miracle in the 12th round of the draft out of the University of Nevada, Reno.
Nettnin was taken by the Miracle after the high-A Florida State League club won the right that year to draft players like the major league clubs. Nettnin signed and was then optioned to Salt Lake City.
He saw 13 outings that first year, 12 starts. He went 4-4, with a 3.23 ERA.
That July, Nettnin picked up his first win, a six-inning, rain-shortened win after the team had gone through a rough stretch, The Salt Lake Tribune wrote.
"Somebody's got to go out and stop the bleeding," Nettnin told The Tribune of getting back in the win column. "So you put a little extra pressure on yourself."
Late in the year, though, he suffered a muscle strain in his pitching elbow. By the next spring, it had turned into scar tissue and required surgery for Nettnin to continue, The Herald wrote. He'd been slated to play with Miami for 1991, but lost the full season.
He was then sent back to Salt Lake City for 1992.
"It'll be the moment of truth," Nettnin told The Herald that March. "I know I was given the tools to play baseball well. The only question is health."
Nettnin's comeback season, however, proved short. He saw four relief outings, 3.2 innings, and gave up eight earned runs to end his career.
- Tri-City Herald, April 18, 1988: CBS's Nettnin gets them out - and hits them out
- Salt Lake Tribune, July 9, 1990: Trappers Win in the Rain
- Tri-City Herald, March 29, 1992: Persistent Nettnin on way back to baseball recovery
Made the Majors:1,424-31.9
Never Made Majors:3,038-68.1%-X
More 1990 Minor Leaguers:
- Jerome Nelson, His Part, 7/31/17
- Mike Nelson worked hard to run his own club, 11/4/19
- Rick Nelson, Bases Cleared, 3/31/16
- Mike Newby, College Transfer, 2/19/17
- Tom Newell turned pitcher, made bigs, 10/17/15
- Craig Newkirk, Quiet Style, 6/1/14
- Tim Newlin, Door Slammed, 11/6/14
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