As the Phillies and Comcast SportsNet seek to finalize their broadcast team with just a few days left until pitchers and catchers report, the station's New York Mets affiliate, SNY, made an addition to their own today that may be recognizable to some Phillies fans.
Nelson Figueroa, 40, has been announced as the replacement to Bobby Ojeda as the Mets' pre and postgame show studio analyst, similar to the role Ricky Bottalico has held for Phillies coverage on CSN Philadelphia. The official press release from SNY states:
SNY – the official television home of the New York Mets, Jets and all things New York sports – today named nine-year Major League veteran, Brooklyn native and former New York Mets pitcher Nelson Figueroa studio analyst for the network's pre- and post-game coverage. Figueroa will serve as lead analyst alongside host Gary Apple while former Mets General Manager Jim Duquette returns in his role as contributor to the network's year-round Mets coverage.
The nine-year veteran right hander had two separate stints with the Phillies, nine years apart. The first stint for Figueroa in red pinstripes came to be as a part of the July 2000 trade that sent ace and then three-time All Star, Curt Schilling, to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Along with Figueroa came left hander Omar Daal, infielder Travis Lee, and right-handed starter Vicente Padilla.
On April 7, 2010, Figueroa returned to Philadelphia, as he was selected off of waivers from the New York Mets. 106 days later, on July 21, he was selected off of waivers by the Houston Astros, ending his brief return to the City of Brotherly Love.
| Year | Age | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | BF | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 27 | PHI | 4 | 5 | 3.94 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 89.0 | 95 | 40 | 39 | 8 | 37 | 3 | 61 | 2 | 393 | 1.483 |
| 2010 | 36 | PHI | 2 | 1 | 3.46 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 26.0 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 104 | 1.115 |
| 9 Yrs | 20 | 35 | 4.55 | 145 | 65 | 18 | 499.0 | 525 | 273 | 252 | 66 | 203 | 21 | 337 | 22 | 2207 | 1.459 | ||
| PHI (2 yrs) | 6 | 6 | 3.83 | 32 | 14 | 6 | 115.0 | 115 | 50 | 49 | 9 | 46 | 5 | 76 | 4 | 497 | 1.400 | ||
Figueroa is native to Brooklyn, New York, and was selected by the Mets in the 30th round of the 1995 amateur draft. You would think that this hire would be a good public relations move for the franchise, who has had a hard time accomplishing such feat in recent years. One of their biggest fans, however, was highly vocal on Twitter this afternoon in displaying his disappointment. That fan is none other than another Brooklyn-native himself, comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
Nelson Figueroa is taking over for Bobby Ojeda as analyst on pregame and postgame show. #mets "Booooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!"
— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) February 16, 2015
Figueroa, who threw in two seasons with the Mets in 2008 and 2009, was quick to respond:
@JerrySeinfeld Helllllloooooooo Mr Seinfeld hoping you'll give me a chance to change your mind about me #feelinglikean'87Met
— Nelson Figueroa Jr. (@FigSNY) February 16, 2015
Jerry Seinfeld once said on his television sitcom, "If you know what happened in the Met game don't say anything, I taped it. Hello?". Based on his reaction today, it's safe to say he won't be taping the network's pre- and post-game coverage any time soon.
Who knows how effective Figueroa will be as a studio analyst, although his experience playing with ten different franchises in his career will surely provide him enough league-wide expertise. Along with the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Mets and Astros, the right hander also held Major League contracts with the Brewers and Pirates, as well as minor league deals with the Nationals, Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.
