BY PATRICK “PACKY” MADER
Immersed and surrounded by athletics early in life, Tom Nevers, born in 1971, is the youngest of five children raised in Edina, Minnesota. His father, Gordon, pitched in the Kansas City Athletics’ professional baseball organization for four years. His older brothers, Gordy and John, played sports throughout their years at Edina High School and Tom wanted to be like them. Ernie Nevers, the All-American Stanford football player who also pitched in the major leagues, is Tom’s great uncle.
“Conlon Collection”
“I loved to compete and went to everything and absorbed it,” Tom says of his love of sports. As a youth he played soccer, basketball, and football (until 9th grade) as well as baseball and hockey. In addition to his brothers, Tom idolized two-sport Edina star Peter Hankinson and he cites John McMorrow as an influential coach.
Tom had both the physical and mental tools to be successful in baseball and hockey: commitment, a competitive spirit, high-end work habits, and self-confidence paired with exceptional hand-eye coordination and strength. Playing both sports on the varsity level as a 9th-grader, Tom soon experienced early signs of recruiting from Minnesota and Wisconsin in both sports and Mississippi State and Arizona in baseball and St. Cloud State University in hockey. The Edina High School baseball team was competitive in the challenging Lake Conference, but the hockey team went to the state tournament three consecutive years, 1987-89, with Tom playing wing and center under legendary coach Willard Ikola. The hockey team won the championship in 1988, but Tom had suffered a broken bone in his wrist and was unable to play. He was named a Minnesota “Mr. Hockey” finalist in 1990 and drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 1989 baseball season was one for the Edina High School record books. Tom, playing shortstop, hit 12 home runs, knocked in 42 runs, and did not strike out (for two and a half years). He was named Metro Player of the Year and was a repeat recipient the next year. That summer he was a member of the USA 18U national baseball team – along with St. Paulite Chris Weinke, the future Heisman Trophy winner – which won the gold medal at the World Baseball Youth Championships. Tom hit .333, scored six runs, had three doubles, the team’s only triple, and was 2-for-2 in stolen bases in the 7-game series. It would bring baseball scouts flocking to Edina games his senior year. His coach, Jim Luther, was anticipating that Tom might receive a lot of attention and once asked him to come to his biology classroom to take a battery of mental tests which pro teams were requesting.
Vividly remembering a windy game vs. Minnetonka (MN) in 1990, Tom was intentionally walked his first two at bats. On his third plate appearance, he smashed the ball only to see the wind dramatically slow its power and become a routine fly ball. Tom was not very aware of the attention he was garnering, but after the game he was introduced to more than 30 scouts – while his teammates on the bus razzed him mercilessly – and then hit in the gym under the scrutiny of the scouts afterward.
1992 Score
On the day of the 1990 amateur baseball draft, Tom was encouraged to stay home in case he might receive a call from a major league team. A Baltimore Orioles scout called and indicated that they were planning to make a pitcher their choice at #20 in the first round, but if the pitcher were drafted before the Orioles selected, they would be drafting Tom. The pitcher was available, namely Mike Mussina, who had a storied career with the Orioles and Yankees and is now a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The next person drafted was Tom, by the Houston Astros with the 21st overall choice.
While Tom had been offered multiple athletic scholarships and was planning to play both sports at the University of Minnesota (U of M), he opted to sign a contract with a large bonus and then embarked on a 13-year odyssey in pro baseball. “They matched my signing request. The Astros had great people and built a great organization,” says Tom of his career. “I am not going to complain – I have great memories.”
Tom got to play with and against many players who have found success in the major leagues. He quickly cites Bobby Abreu as a player he saw early in his career who had all the tools to be a standout in the majors. “Jeff Bagwell does it ugly, but gets it done all the time,” Tom says of the Hall-of-Famer’s unusual batting stance. The most memorable game for Tom was a 1992 Texas League playoff game when he hit a dramatic home run on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the 9th inning for the Jackson Generals to tie the game … and teammate Jeff Ball followed with a home run two pitches later to win the game. Tom’s minor league career statistics show he played in 1,330 games – primarily playing shortstop, but also every other infield position and both outfield corners – had 1,190 hits for a .259 batting average, hit 119 home runs with 620 RBIs, and 597 runs scored.
In 1997, at age 25, Tom received the opportunity to play one memorable hockey game for the U of M Gophers while registered for classes and had seven shots on goal vs. Denver. To prepare for life after baseball, Tom obtained a realtor’s license and has been a real estate agent for 21 years, currently with Compass. Since 2007, he has partnered with former Minnesota Twins player Gene Larkin to run a baseball training facility. “I wish there were an opportunity for players and families to have a conversation to know how hard it is to play Division I baseball,” says Tom. “We try to have kids appropriately placed for the level they play.” He is also now head baseball coach at Edina High School.
Married to Stacy Weaver of San Diego, California, for 23 years, they are the proud parents of three boys: Mason, Jackson, and Chase. Former MLB catcher and manager Bob Boone is Stacy’s uncle which means former MLB infielders Bret and Aaron Boone are her first cousins. Mason is a member of the Gophers hockey team and like his father was a Minnesota “Mr. Hockey” finalist (2019). Both Jackson and Chase play baseball and hockey – it’s become a family legacy. “We enjoy watching the boys play,” says Tom. “I want the kids to have a similar experience to what I had.”
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• Originally Published in Apr. 2024 on “MNAthletes.com” •
THIS ARTICLE FROM “MNAthletes.com” WEBSITE IS REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR. IT HAS BEEN RETYPED, BUT NO CONTENT HAS BEEN CHANGED, EXCEPT GRAPHICS.
Patrick “Packy” Mader has written several books, including two large volumes on Minnesotans who were in the Olympic Games or competed in world competitions. To view hundreds of articles on Minnesota athletes, be sure to visit Packy’s website: MNAthletes.com. You can click on the link below:
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