Nelson was named as the Top Prospect at the
Joe Brinkman Umpiring School in 1989. He was promoted to the National League prior to the 1999 season along with
Paul Nauert to fill vacancies left by the retirements of
Jim Quick and
Harry Wendelstedt. While in the minor leagues, Nelson was the chief rules instructor at the former Brinkman-Froemming umpire school in
Cocoa, Florida from 1997 until the school's closing in 1998. He continues to teach at umpire clinics in the off-season. Additionally, Nelson is currently the secretary/treasurer of the major league umpires' union, the
Major League Baseball Umpires Association. Nelson retired prior to the 2024 season, and
Chris Guccione succeeded him as crew chief.
Notable games Nelson received several postseason assignments, including the
2005 World Series,
2009 World Series,
2014 World Series, and the
2018 World Series. He also worked the
League Championship Series in
2002,
2004,
2010,
2011,
2012,
2015,
2016,
2019, and
2020; the
Division Series in
2000,
2001,
2005,
2008,
2009,
2014,
2017, and
2018; and
Wild Card games in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2022. Nelson also umpired in the
2006 and
2014 MLB All-Star Games. Nelson was behind home plate when
Mark McGwire hit his 500th home run in 1999 and when
Rickey Henderson hit his 3,000th hit in 2001. Nelson served as the second base umpire when
Chicago Cubs pitcher
Carlos Zambrano threw a
no-hitter against the
Houston Astros at
Miller Park on September 14, 2008. Nelson was the plate umpire on September 27, 2012, when Tigers pitcher
Doug Fister set an
American League record by striking out nine consecutive batters. During Game 2 of the
2012 American League Championship Series, Nelson ejected
New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi for arguing a missed call at second base after Nelson incorrectly ruled
Detroit Tigers infielder
Omar Infante was safe. Nelson later acknowledged his safe call was wrong. Nelson worked home plate for Game 7 of the
2014 World Series between the
San Francisco Giants and the
Kansas City Royals. Nelson was the plate umpire for the
Baltimore Orioles-
Seattle Mariners game on August 12, 2015, when Mariners pitcher
Hisashi Iwakuma threw a no-hitter. Nelson was the home plate umpire for the
2015 National League Wild Card Game between the Chicago Cubs and
Pittsburgh Pirates. While working home plate during Game 3 of the
2019 American League Championship Series, Nelson took two foul balls off his mask and was forced to leave the game after the fourth inning due to suffering a concussion. He would miss the remainder of the series and was replaced by
Mike Everitt. == See also ==