Nick Dempsey

Nicholas Andrew Dempsey

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 210 lb.
• High School King Edward VII High School (Johannesburg)

• Born December 15, 1978 in Durban South Africa

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Nick Dempsey played four years in the minor leagues and for South Africa in several major events, including the Olympics. Having reached high A ball, he was one of the best South African players in the USA through 2007. In the following 8 years, several players made it higher, such as Gift Ngoepe, Dylan Unsworth and Anthony Phillips.

Dempsey signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and debuted as a pro at age 18 with the Great Falls Dodgers, going 0 for 8 with a walk and two strikeouts. In 1998, he improved to .295/~.336/.442 in a full season with Great Falls. In the 1998 Baseball World Cup, the big first baseman hit .227/.250/.364 with one of the team's three home runs. In the 1999 All Africa Games, he went 10 for 13 with 2 doubles, 2 homers and 4 times hit by pitch then sat out the last two games in favor of Neil Adonis as South Africa was running roughshod over the competition en route to the Gold, averaging over 30 runs per game. He was second on the team in slugging, behind Ian Holness.

Dempsey batted .280/.280/.440 in the 2000 Olympics and drove in four of South Africa's 11 runs. He hit a 2-run homer off of South Korean star Min-han Son in a 13-3 loss. Dempsey was back in the minor leagues in 2001 after signing with the Montréal Expos. He hit .300/.333/.450 in 15 games for the Vermont Expos and .304/.365/.383 in 34 for the Clinton Lumber Kings. In 2002, Nick batted .252/.291/.307 in 51 games for the Brevard County Manatees with 9 walks to 45 strikeouts in 163 AB. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Tony Medrano but was hampered by a back problem and only played 8 games for the Kinston Indians, hitting .129/.156/.129. It was his last look at Organized Baseball.

Dempsey hit .296/.345/.333 in the 2005 Baseball World Cup; South Africa went 0-8. Dempsey helped them force the Brazilian national team for extra innings ; his RBI single was the lone hit for South Africa in a 2-1 loss. Dempsey was one of the best performers in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, going 5 for 11 with a walk. He tied Sidney de Jong for 6th in average, just ahead of Derek Jeter. His hits came off of Francisco Campos, Pablo Ortega, Erik Bedard, Jesse Crain and Roger Clemens.

Dempsey was a coach for South Africa in the 2006 World Junior Championship and 2007 Baseball World Cup.

He has been a scout for the Cincinnati Reds in South Africa, signing Robert Lewis-Walker.

Primary Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• Sportsline
• 1998-2003 Baseball Almanacs