Nicky Delmonico is back in the Chicago White Sox organization but this time as a coach. The Winston Salem Dash, the White Sox Class A affiliate, released its player development staff on Wednesday and the former outfielder was named as the hitting coach.
Nicky Delmonico became an instant fan favorite during the doldrums of the 2017 season. The White Sox were mired in mediocrity when Delmonico burst onto the scene and provided an instant offensive spark. During his first month in the major leagues, he batted .307 with 6 home runs, 12 RBIs, and a 1.002 OPS.
He eventually cooled down after that finishing the season with a .262 average and 9 home runs. He played with the White Sox for four more seasons bouncing between the majors and minors.
His most memorable moment came in 2019. The White Sox were trailing by a run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning when Delmonico blasted an 83 mph slider off of Red Sox reliever Bos Brasier for a walk-off three-run homer.
After the 2020 season, he never played in the major leagues again. He finished his career with a lifetime .224/.312/.384 slash line.
While his numbers were not that impressive his road to the major leagues was remarkable. In 2014 he was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for amphetamines while playing for the Brewers organization.
There was a point when he thought his career was over. He flew home and told his mother that he was done playing baseball. However, the White Sox gave him a second chance and he grinded his way through the organization and eventually was starting in left field for the White Sox.
He talked about some of his struggles during a Zoom call with the media on Wednesday afternoon.
“I’ve had a bone spurt in my right elbow,” Delmonico said. “Meniscus in one of my knees, labrum, torn rotator cuff, and then just broken bones along the way. If I were to continue to play, I probably would have needed to get knee surgery on my other knee and maybe go in and repair my right shoulder. But yeah, it was a grind for sure.”
Delmonico seems like a good candidate to be a hitting coach. He knows the trials and tribulations of a minor leaguer and what it takes to reach the show. He also has coaching in his blood.
“I grew up around coaching,” Delmonico said during the Zoom call. “I grew up in a dugout, so it was something I always looked up to my dad and I kind of loved that aspect more than playing. I knew it was going to be in the future for me I just didn’t know when.”
Delmonico’s father, Rod, was the head baseball coach at Tennessee from 1990-to 2007. He was also named the manager for the Netherlands in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Nicky Delmonico will join his former White Sox teammate, Danny Farquhar, on the Winston Salem staff. Farquhar was named the pitching coach back in 2020.
