Monday, May 12 wasn't one of Nelson Figueroa's '96 finest days as a member of the New York Mets. He surrendered six runs in five innings to the last-place Washington Nationals, leaving the mound to a chorus of boos from the sparse Shea Stadium crowd. As reporters surrounded his locker, Figueroa maintained his composure but called out his opponents as a "bunch of softball girls" for cheering during his pitches. One day later, the Mets designated him for assignment, giving him the choice to accept a minor league demotion or to be released from the organization.

Still, as reporters moved away from his locker, Figueroa's lips, slowly, but surely, curled into a smile. Despite his demotion, he has overcome so much to even make it back to the major leagues and start six games for his boyhood team this season-a team that originally drafted him in 1995 before trading him prior to his big league debut.

"It's a dream come true. I had the opportunity to be a Met early in my career and to finally get up here and put on the uniform of the team I adored as a kid; it's a great feeling," he said.

Figueroa became the first Brandeis graduate to appear in the major leagues when he debuted as a 26-year- old with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000. He bounced around for five years with four different teams. After missing the 2005 season with a torn rotator cuff, he didn't make it back to the majors in 2006 and was cut by the Seattle Mariners before the 2007 season.

Undaunted, Figueroa went on a world tour to get back into the majors. He began the 2007 season in the Mexican League, but also pitched in the Dominican Republic. In September, he went to Taiwan, where he was named the Most Valuable Player of the league's World Series.

The Mets gave him an invitation to spring training and recalled him from the minors early in the season after star pitcher Pedro Martinez went on the disabled list. Initially, Figueroa excelled, winning his first start against the Milwaukee Brewers April 11 and retiring the first 14 hitters in an eventual no-decision against the Nationals April 17 in his second start. But the shine eventually wore off, as Figueroa allowed five runs in each of his last two starts before being released.

Still, Mets manager Willie Randolph praised Figueroa's contributions even after his final start.

"For the most part, he's been making the right pitches," he told reporters after the Nationals game May 12. "He's kept us most games we've pitched."

Figueroa's latest journey back to the major leagues mirrors his initial foray into baseball's top league. As a high school pitcher in Coney Island, Figueroa hoped to attend a Big East school, but they all told him he was too small and wiry to make a major impact right away.

Instead, Figueroa took his game to Division III Brandeis. He hoped to make a name for himself in an anonymous environment before heading to the Cape Cod League, where he held his own against several Division I stars.

"I had an opportunity to be a big fish in a little pond at Brandeis, to really stand out and get my chance to go to the Cape Cod League, where the top Division I college players are playing, and show I belonged and show that I could excel at that level," he said. "Brandeis really was my stepping stone into my future of playing pro ball."

Figueroa's Brandeis experience did not start as expected. He wanted to major in Engineering, but Brandeis had recently dropped its program. He eventually switched to American Studies.

"A lot of electrical engineers are used to working alone, and I'm used to being around of lot of people," he explains.

But he still has a mechanical mind, as detailed extensively in a 2002 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel feature that described Figueroa fixing the computers of then-manager Jerry Royster and clubhouse manager Tony Migliaccio. Figueroa knows all too well that his technological savvy can be a source of friendly banter with his current teammates.

"I'm the geek on the team," he jokes. "If they have computer problems or need computer necessities, they call me. I'm the one-man geek squad."

However, Figueroa's technological skill is not simply a hobby. He said he "dabbles in graphic arts," making images for T-shirts. In 2001, he made one in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Figueroa, made the shirts for Major League Baseball, and the proceeds went to charity.

The front featured an image of an American flag with the message "For all the victims and the heroes, united we stand." On the back, there was a picture of a glove and a ball wrapped in flag, and the text read, "America's pastime would like to thank the men and women of the FDNY and the NYPD. They are truly America's bravest and finest."

Since then, he had made images for all sorts of events.

"I've done wedding invitations; I've done 'Save the Date' cards, birthday cards, birthday party invitations," he said. "It's little things like that that keep me out of trouble."

At Brandeis, he performed well on the mound, notching a 2.35 ERA in his junior season in 1995.

"I think he had very good command of all of his pitches," coach Pete Varney said. "He probably threw about 88 miles per hour, which is a little bit above average for our level, and he had a very good curveball, changeup, [and] split-finger."

The Mets selected him in the 30th round of the 1995 draft and eventually traded him to the Diamondbacks in 1998. He finally made his major league debut in 2000 at age 26, having persevered despite his unconventional background.

"Brandeis was very good for me," he said. "Just to be able to represent Brandeis as its first major league player, it's something really special for me."

Figueroa's quest to get back into the major leagues following his release will undoubtedly be difficult for a 34-year-old who sports a 5.12 ERA this season. But Figueroa can take solace for one reason.

He's overcome similar odds before.


-Julie Ganz contributed reporting