This past Saturday, former pitcher Nelson Figueroa ’98 was inducted as part of the 2015 class of the Joseph M. Linsey Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame, which also elected contributor Israel “Ace” Weinstein, women’s tennis player Brenda Schafer ’77 and the 1957 to 1958 men’s basketball team. Figueroa is the first and only Brandeis alum to reach the ultimate pedestal in professional baseball: Major League Baseball. Before the ceremony on Saturday, the Justice was able to sit down with Figueroa to talk about a career which took him from a park in Waltham to the bright lights of Citi Field. 

Growing up as a star pitcher in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Coney Island, Figueroa had not considered attending Brandeis — in fact, he had never even heard of it. Figueroa had always imagined himself going to “[a] Big East powerhouse, or somewhere warm and sunny,” he said. While he had garnered interest from schools of this type, he received mostly negative feedback from them.

“They told me that I was too small. They said I would not play till probably junior year.”

Figueroa did not want to simply wait in the wings for his turn. He remarked that he “wanted to stand out. I’d rather be a big fish in a small pond.” Brandeis perfectly fit this opportunity, and that all became clear to him during a visit to Waltham with his summer league baseball team. 

He was playing with his summer team at Niper Mayer Park, just a few a blocks away from Brandeis’s campus. At the time, members of the University’s baseball team lived in a house next to the park and came to watch the game that was taking place. The young Puerto Rican-American pitcher who dominated his competition impressed the players, who eventually talked Figueroa into considering Brandeis.

The genuine nature and friendliness of these older players is what attracted Figueroa to attending the small Division III school, along with the challenging academics that went along with it. It did not hurt either that the coach at the time, Pete Varney, had an impressive pedigree that included MLB experience.

While adjusting to an environment that was a stark contrast from his Coney Island home was not easy, it was not long before Figueroa became an essential member of the Brandeis community, both on and off the field. 

Figueroa starred while pitching for the team during the time that he was at Brandeis. Even more impressive, as he was only at school for three seasons, Figueroa compiled an ERA of 3.68 while striking out 168 batters and throwing 12 complete games, both good for top-10 in Brandeis history. 

Figueroa attributes much of his success to Coach Varney, remarking that Varney “challenged me. He pushed me out of my comfort zone.” He noted that things that Varney told him stayed with him during his career in the majors, and that the coach was always a second father-figure in his life. 

Figueroa was drafted after his junior season by his hometown and favorite team, the New York Mets. After a trade, the right-hander made his Major League debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000. He pitched nine seasons in total, playing for the Mets, Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers. Figueroa also spent seasons abroad, in the Mexican League, the Chinese Professional Baseball League and the Venezuela Winter League. Figueroa noted that though it is rare for Division III players to make the Major Leagues, there was a certain camaraderie among the ones who did. While that comfort was certainly present, there were some contrasts between the few players with backgrounds like Figueroa and the players who came from large storied college programs. 

He remarked that one time the team was instructed to sign baseballs, he randomly chose a spot on the ball, not knowing that the “sweet spot” he had chosen was normally reserved for the managers.

He was mocked by his teammates, who were accustomed to signing autographs and dealing with the life that comes with being a famous athlete, to which Figueroa had had no exposure. 

Figueroa made history throughout his career, most notably when he became the first Mets pitcher to throw a complete game shutout at Citi Field, which he did on the final day of the 2009 MLB regular season. 

He also helped bring Puerto Rico to the silver medal in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, on the back of his six-inning shutout of the United States in the quarterfinals. 

This past season, Figueroa took over his new role as the pre/post-game analyst for Mets broadcast, which he has continued to be a part of as the Mets thrive in the 2015 MLB postseason.