Nicholas James Vincent (born July 12, 1986) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. Vincent was drafted by the Padres in the 18th round of the

2008 Major League Baseball draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

, and made his major league debut in 2012.

High school and college

Vincent was born in

Poway, California Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The unincorporated community became a city on December 1, 1980. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city has a population of 49,701 as of 2 ...

, to Randy and Jill Vincent.Nick Vincent Stats, Highlights, Bio , MiLB.com Stats , The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
/ref>Nick Vincent – Baseball – Long Beach State University Athletics
/ref> He attended Ramona High School (Class of 2004) in

Ramona, California Ramona is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 20,292 at the 2010 census. The name ''Ramona'' also refers to an unincorporated community (with some plans to incorporate) that includes both the ...

, a town in the foothills northeast of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. In 2004 he was 6-6 with a 2.73 ERA, and was named Valley League Pitcher of the Year. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Palomar College Palomar College is a public community college in San Diego County, California. The main campus is in San Marcos and three centers and four education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County. The largest of these by student p ...

, a junior college, and

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, where he majored in

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

. As a freshman at Palomar in 16 games (15 starts) he was 9-2 with a 1.51 ERA in 101 innings. As a sophomore at Palomar he was 6-3 in 14 starts over 97.1 innings, with a 2.96 ERA. He was named first team All-Pacific Coast League in 2006 and 2007 for Palomar. As a junior at Long Beach State he switched to the bullpen, and in 26 games was 4-0 with two saves and a 1.76 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.

Professional career

San Diego Padres

Vincent was drafted by the

in the 18th round (555th overall) of the

. He spent 2009 and 2010 pitching out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

with the High-A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park se ...

of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. In 2009 he was second in the league in appearances, with 59. In 2010, Vincent posted a 1.87

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 81 innings with 76

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

. He spent 2011 with the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

, posting a 2.27 ERA, 89 strikeouts, and held opponents to a .196

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 79 innings over 66 games (leading the league) as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

, and was named a Texas League mid-season All Star. The Padres added Vincent to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the 2011 season. Vincent suffered a severe high

ankle sprain A sprained ankle, also known as a twisted ankle or rolled ankle, is an injury where sprain occurs on one or more ligaments of the ankle. It is the most common injury to occur in ball sports, such as basketball, volleyball, football, and racquet s ...

in spring training of

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and opened the season on the disabled list before joining the Triple-A

Tucson Padres The Tucson Padres were a minor league baseball team representing Tucson, Arizona in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team moved to Tucson from Portland, Oregon for the 2011 season. I ...

in May. He was first promoted to the big leagues on May 18, 2012, but did not make it into a game before being optioned back to Tucson on May 26. Vincent wasn't throwing well in Tucson and in early June was sent down to San Antonio, where he had a 1.86 ERA in 9 outings. He was then recalled directly to the Padres and made his MLB debut on June 26, 2012, pitching 2 scoreless innings against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. Vincent earned his first big league win two days later, pitching in relief. He was sent back to Tucson on July 5 after allowing runs in back-to-back appearances, but returned on July 16. Vincent pitched scoreless relief in 3 games before being optioned to Tucson on July 22 when

Eric Stults Eric William Stults (born December 9, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves in Major League Baseball, and for ...

came off the disabled list. He came back to San Diego for the remainder of the season on August 18. For the 2012 Padres Vincent was 2-0 in 26 innings pitched over 27 relief appearances, with a 1.71 ERA and 28 strikeouts.Nick Vincent Stats , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> Vincent was sidelined by inflamed

tendons A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

in his forearm in spring training of

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and began the season with the Tucson Padres. He was called up on May 30 when

Anthony Bass Anthony Edward Bass (born November 1, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Chica ...

was sent to Triple-A. Vincent pitched four scoreless innings in two appearances before being sent back to Tucson. He returned again on June 11 when

Burch Smith Burch Taylor Smith (born April 12, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Smith was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 11th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball d ...

was sent down and remained with the Padres for the rest of the season. In 2013 Vincent was 6-3 with one save and pitched in a total of 46 innings in 45 games with the big league club, posting a 2.14 ERA and 49 strikeouts. The Padres broke

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

training camp with Vincent in their bullpen; he had a stretch of 20 consecutive batters retired in April. Vincent was with the Major League club all year except for a six-week trip to the disabled list with shoulder fatigue in June and July. He finished 2014 with a record of 1-2, and with a 3.60 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 55 innings over 63 relief appearances. He stranded 42 of 48 inherited runners (85.7%), the fifth-best rate among National League relievers.Nick Vincent Stats, Fantasy & News , MLB.com
/ref> Vincent also began

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

with the Major League club, but was optioned to Triple-A

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

on April 10 after the Padres bullpen was used extensively in the first week of the season and required fresh arms. He had two more stints with the Padres in May and June before being called up again on September 1 when rosters expanded. With El Paso in 2015, he was 5-3 with a 3.04 ERA, and had 68 strikeouts in 50.1 innings for a 12.16 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched ratio, the highest rate of any Triple-A pitcher in 2015. Vincent finished 2015 with a record of 0-1 and a 2.35 ERA, and 22 strikeouts in 23 innings over 26 relief appearances with the Major League club.

Seattle Mariners

Vincent was traded to the

for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

on March 30, 2016. In his first season with Seattle, in 2016 he went 4-4 with three saves in 60 games with a 3.73 ERA, and struck out 65 in innings. In 2017, Vincent appeared in 69 games, recording a record of 3-3 with a 3.20 ERA in innings, as he had 29

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

s (second-most in the major leagues, and the second-most in team history). In 2018, he appeared in 62 games (one start), collecting a record of 4-4 with a 3.99 ERA and 56 strikeouts in innings. On November 2, 2018, Vincent elected to become a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after clearing waivers and being outrighted off the Mariner's

San Francisco Giants

On February 21, 2019, Vincent signed a minor league contract with the

. On July 28, he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. Vincent was released on August 2. With the Giants in 2019 he was 0-2 with a 5.58 ERA over 18 appearances (one start), with 30 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.

Philadelphia Phillies

On August 10, 2019, Vincent signed a minor league deal with the

. He was assigned to the AAA

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, with whom he was 0-0 with a 1.46 ERA, as in 10 relief appearances he pitched 12.1 innings in which he walked one and struck out 13 batters. On September 1, the Phillies selected Vincent's contract. With the Phillies in 2019 he was 1-2 with a 1.93 ERA, as in 14 relief appearances he pitched 14 innings and struck out 17 batters.

San Francisco Giants (second stint)

On January 31, 2020, Vincent signed a minor league contract with the

organization. Vincent was released by the Giants on June 26, 2020.

Miami Marlins

On June 29, 2020, Vincent signed with the

organization. On August 3, Vincent was selected to the active roster. In 2020, Vincent pitched to a 4.43 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 22.1 innings of work across 21 games.

Texas Rangers

On February 3, 2021, Vincent signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization and was invited to Spring Training. On March 26, 2021, Vincent was released by the Rangers. On March 28, Vincent re-signed with the Rangers on a new minor league contract. Vincent recorded a 4.11 ERA in 15 games for the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

before being released by the organization on June 22.

Minnesota Twins

On June 23, 2021, Vincent signed a minor league contract with the

organization and was assigned to the Triple-A

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

. On August 10, 2021, the Twins selected Vincent's contract. Vincent appeared in 2 games for the Twins, giving up 1 run with 4 strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. On August 18, Vincent was designated for assignment by the Twins. On August 20, Vincent cleared waivers and was assigned outright to the Triple-A

. Vincent was re-selected to the active roster on September 17. Vincent was outrighted off of the 40-man roster on October 8, 2021.

Atlanta Braves

On March 20, 2022, Vincent signed a minor league deal with the

. He was released on June 20, 2022.

Detroit Tigers

On July 8, 2022, Vincent signed a minor league contract with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Personal life

Vincent plays as much golf as possible during the off-season and is a regular at the San Vicente Golf Resort in Ramona. Vincent and his wife, Jackie, have one daughter, Hazel, who was born in October 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Nick 1986 births Living people People from Poway, California People from Ramona, San Diego County, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players San Francisco Giants players Philadelphia Phillies players Miami Marlins players Minnesota Twins players Palomar Comets baseball players Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball players Eugene Emeralds players Portland Beavers players Lake Elsinore Storm players San Antonio Missions players Tucson Padres players El Paso Chihuahuas players Everett AquaSox players Arkansas Travelers players Arizona League Giants players San Jose Giants players Sacramento River Cats players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Round Rock Express players St. Paul Saints players