Dave Nilsson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dave Nilsson |
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David playing for the Brewers
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| Catcher / Outfielder / First baseman / Designated hitter | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: 14 December 1969 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
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| Professional debut | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB: 18 May, 1992, for the Milwaukee Brewers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB: 31 March, 2000, for the Chunichi Dragons | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB: 3 October, 1999, for the Milwaukee Brewers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB: 28 July, 2000, for the Chunichi Dragons | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .284 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 105 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 470 | |||||||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .180 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Induction | 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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David Wayne Nilsson (born 14 December 1969) is a famous Australian former professional baseball player. He mainly played as a catcher. He is also a current manager for the Australia national baseball team and the Brisbane Bandits.
Nilsson played for the Major League Baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, from 1992 to 1999. In 1999, he became an All-Star. This made him the first Australian player ever to play in an All-Star game. He finished his Major League career with 837 games played, 789 hits, and 105 home runs. His career batting average was .284.
After the 1999 season, Nilsson chose not to sign with any MLB teams. He wanted to play for Australia in the 2000 Olympics. People praised him for this choice. He turned down a lot of money to represent his country. This was very rare in baseball.
Nilsson also played for the Brisbane Bandits and Melbourne Reds in the Australian Baseball League. He holds records for the highest batting average (.351) and slugging average (.661) in that league. His brothers Gary, Bob, and Ron also played baseball. He played in Japan's NPB and Italy's Serie A.
He represented Australia in the 2004 Olympics, where they won a silver medal. He also played for his country in the first World Baseball Classic in 2006. Nilsson managed the Brisbane Bandits from 2010 to 2011. He returned as manager in 2014 and has been there since. In 2018, he became the manager of the Australian national baseball team.
Nilsson was recognized as one of the Queensland Greats in 2018. This award celebrates people who have made a big difference to Queensland, Australia. In 2019, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). This was for his great service to baseball as a player, coach, and mentor.
Contents
Early Life & Baseball Start
Nilsson was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He went to Kedron State High School.
Playing Career Highlights
Minor League Journey
Nilsson was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in January 1987 when he was 17. He started his professional career that year with the Helena Brewers. He batted an impressive .394.
In 1988, he played for the Queensland Rams and won the MVP award in the Claxton Shield tournament. He then played for the Beloit Brewers. In the off-season, he played for the Gold Coast Clippers in the new Australian Baseball League.
In 1990, Nilsson improved a lot with the Stockton Ports. He helped them win the California League title. Back in Australia, he batted .400 for the Daikyo Dolphins. He was named an All-Star catcher and won the MVP Award.
At age 22, he played for the El Paso Diablos and had a .413 batting average. He was then promoted to the AAA Denver Zephyrs. He was named a Texas League All-Star catcher. In the winter, he helped Daikyo win the 1991–92 ABL season.
Major League Success
After playing well for Denver in 1992, Nilsson was called up to the Milwaukee Brewers. He played as a catcher. In his first game, he hit a three-run double. Nilsson was one of the youngest players in the American League that year.
In 1993, he was the main catcher for the Brewers. On April 11, 1994, Nilsson hit the first home run at Rangers Ballpark. A few days later, on April 14, 1994, Nilsson and Graeme Lloyd became the first all-Australian pitcher-catcher team in an MLB game.
In the 1994 off-season, Nilsson played for the Brisbane Bandits. He batted .362 and was named an All-Star catcher. He helped Brisbane win the championship. He even played the final inning with his brother Gary as the pitcher.
Later that year, Nilsson had his first full Major League season. He batted .275 and was named Brewers Player of the Year. He then returned to Australia and led the 1994–95 ABL season in batting average (.388). He helped Waverly win their second title.
Nilsson missed the start of the 1995 Major League Baseball season due to illness. When he returned, he played mostly as an outfielder. In 1996, he had a great year, batting .331. He hit 33 doubles and 17 home runs. On May 17, 1996, Nilsson became the first Milwaukee Brewer to hit two home runs in the same inning.
He became a player-manager for the Brisbane Bandits in the 1996–97 ABL season. He led the team to the finals with a .420 batting average. In the US, he batted .278 with 20 home runs.
In his last Major League season in 1999, Nilsson was 29 years old. He batted .309 with 21 home runs. He was also fit enough to play catcher regularly again. In the 1999 All-Star Game, he became the first Australian to play in an MLB All-Star Game.
Nilsson signed a contract in Japan for the 2000 season. This allowed him to play for Australia in the 2000 Summer Olympics. He gave up millions of dollars in earnings to do this.
International Star
In 1999, Nilsson played in the Intercontinental Cup. He batted .379 and won the tournament MVP. He helped Australia win its first gold medal in an international baseball event.
In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he had his best international tournament. He batted .565 and led the Olympics in batting average, slugging, and on-base percentage. Despite his amazing performance, Australia finished with only two wins.
Later Years and Retirement
Before the 2003 Major League Baseball season, Nilsson signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox. However, he retired before playing for them. He said he "lost his desire to play."
Nilsson managed the Queensland Rams in the 2003 Claxton Shield, leading them to a surprise title. He returned to playing baseball that year in Italy.
He played in the Australian season again in the 2004 Claxton Shield. He hit 4 home runs and had 12 RBI in just 11 at-bats. He even pitched well in one game. Nilsson then tried to make a comeback in the Major Leagues. He signed with the Atlanta Braves.
Nilsson returned to the Australian national baseball team for the 2004 Athens Olympics. As captain, he led the team to a Silver Medal. This was Australia's first Olympic medal in baseball. He batted .296 in 8 games. He also had a perfect fielding percentage as a catcher.
Nilsson's playing career ended when he played for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. In 2008, Nilsson was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Coaching Career
In 2014, Nilsson was invited to manage the Brisbane Bandits. He made changes that helped the team improve. He worked on improving the team's culture and teamwork. In 2016, Nilsson led the team to win the Claxton Shield. This was their first title in the new Australian Baseball League.
In 2017, Nilsson coached the Brisbane Bandits to another championship. They swept the Melbourne Aces in the Championship Series. This gave them back-to-back Australian Baseball League Championships.
Nilsson won the Coca-Cola Amatil 2017 Queensland Sport Coach of the Year award. In 2018, after winning three straight ABL championships, Nilsson was announced as the manager of the Australian national baseball team. In 2021, Nilsson became the bench and hitting coach for the Lake Country DockHounds in the American Association of Professional Baseball.
Personal Life
Nilsson currently lives in Brisbane. He is the manager of the Brisbane Bandits (since 2014) and the Australian national baseball team (since 2018). Dave Nilsson is the uncle of Brisbane Bandits player Mitch Nilsson.
Images for kids
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David playing for the Brewers
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Sport Australia Hall of Fame
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David Nilsson, circa 2018
