Mark Nussbeck

Mark Alan Nussbeck

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 205 lb.
• School Bellevue College

• Born May 25, 1974 in Kansas City, MO USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Mark Nussbeck pitched for five years in AAA yet never made the majors.

The St. Louis Cardinals took Mark in the 29th round of the 1996 amateur draft. He made his pro debut with the New Jersey Cardinals and was 6-3 with a 2.94 ERA, striking out 74 and walking 16 in 79 2/3 innings; he led the team in wins and led the starting pitchers in ERA. In 1997, he posted a 8-12, 4.58 record for the Peoria Chiefs, leading the St. Louis organization in defeats. He split 1998 between the [[Prince William Cannons] (3-6, 3.56) and Arkansas Travelers (4-2, 5.10).

The Bellevue alumnus made it to AAA in 1999 but his numbers were gaudy - for the year, he was 0-1 with a 6.17 ERA for Arkansas and 6-10, 8.23 for the Memphis Redbirds with 100 runs in 101 2/3 innings. Mark was 9-4 with a 3.96 ERA for Memphis in 2000, looking much sharper; he finished 7th in the 2000 Pacific Coast League in ERA. In late July, he was dealt with Chris Richard to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike Timlin. He was 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA for the Rochester Red Wings after the trade.

Nussbeck missed all of 2001 with injury. He struggled in a comeback with Rochester in 2002 (1-2, 6.39, 6 K in 25 1/3 IP) and was let go. Signing with the Atlantic League's Camden Riversharks, he rebounded to go 9-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 2003. He was even sharper for Camden in 2004 at 7-1, 3.45, walking 14 in 70 1/3 innings. Had he qualified, he would have been 4th in the circuit in ERA behind Kevin Henthorne, Linc Mikkelsen and Tim Cain. That earned him another chance with the Cardinals organization - he finished the year back with Memphis and went 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA.

In 2005, the Missouri native pitched for the Springfield Cardinals (3-0, 3.12) and Memphis (3-6, 3.42, 2 Sv, 11 BB in 68 1/3 IP). He ended his career with the 2006 St. Joe Blacksnakes, going 8-3 with a 2.97 ERA, a WHIP under 1 and over a K per inning. Nussbeck was third in the American Association in ERA, trailing only Lindsay Gulin and Jeffrey Blitstein.

Overall, Nussbeck was 70-56 with a 4.26 ERA in 223 minor league games (167 starts), walking 293 in 1,042 innings.

Sources: 1997-2007 Baseball Almanacs