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THE NATURAL
Good morning! This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball as much as Greg Maddux loved painting the corner.
Greg Maddux once won a 9-inning complete game throwing only 78 pitches and with only 15 of them not being strikes. đł
â Codify (@CodifyBaseball)
4:48 PM ⢠Jan 23, 2023
Letâs dive in.
Todayâs story is about a guy from nowhere who almost made it to the big leagues against all odds.
When Greg âToeâ Nash came onto the baseball scene in the early 2000s, people were saying that he might be the next Babe Ruth.
But his origin story isnât anything like youâd expect.
Toe was born in a trailer park in Sorrento.

Via Tiger King
It was actually bum-f*ck Louisiana.

Via The Interview
AnywaysâŚ
Toe grew up in really tough conditions.
When he was young, his mom abandoned the family, so his dad raised him and his sister while working on a sugar cane farm.
There wasnât much going on in his town, so Nash would go to the local bar, dig bottle caps out of the trash, and hit them with a broomstick.
By the time he was 12, he was 5â 10â 140 lbs and the kid could hit bombs.
Although he had talent, Toe pretty much had zero chance of being discovered in Sorrento, but you know what they sayâŚ
If youâre good enough, theyâll find you.
One day, Toe was playing in a Little League game and a part-time scout named Benny Latino happened to be in attendance.
Latino wasnât there on business, his friend just asked him to come by and he had nothing better to do.
Luckily for him, Benny witnessed Toe strike out 17 of 21 batters and hit two home runs that day.
But after that game, Toe and Benny didnât see each other for many years.
Latino became a full-time scout for the Rays, and things really went sideways for Nash.
He was expelled twice in High School; once for fighting, and another time for threatening to stab a teacher.
After Toe dropped out, he got a job from his uncle, who happened to be Hotrod Williams, an ex-NBA player.
Williams owned a sugar cane farm and also ran the Sugar Cane Baseball League - an adult league mostly with guys in their 30âs and 40âs.
They played on a sugar cane field and got paid in gator meat.

Via Better Call Saul
It had been six years, and Benny Latino still found himself thinking about Nash, but Toe hadnât played organized baseball since 14 years old.
Latino couldnât find any information about Nash, so he went to Sorrento and just started asking around.
He found Toe playing in the sugar cane league, and watched him play.
Toe hit 460 foot bombs from both sides of the plate and Latino instantly offered him a pro tryout.
Nash didnât even know how to drive, so his friend took him.
Once he got there, it was pretty clear that this kid had no idea what he was doing, but his raw talent was off the charts.
He was thrown 50 pitches (25 from each side of the plate) and went yard 26 times.
Then he got on the mound and got clocked at 90 mph.
After a couple of mechanical tweaks, he was running it up to 95.
The Rays immediately signed him to a deal for $30K.
Unfortunately, Toe didnât know how to read, or he wouldâve probably made millions that day, but nonetheless he just happy to be playing ball.
By the time he was signed by the Rays, he had never even been outside the state.
He didnât even have a birth certificate or social security card.
The whole story was so ludicrous, people legitimately thought it was a hoax.
Which is totally reasonable, because this story sounds faker than Sidd Finchâs scouting report.
Toe got a book deal, they were writing a Hollywood script about his life, and Oprah reached out to have him on her show.
Everyone started reporting on the story and unfortunately, it led to journalists digging up a lot of dirt on Toe.
Turns out, he had been arrested five times in 10 months.
A couple times for drugs, once for domestic violence, and once for robbery.
But most of the serious charges were bogus, so the judge dropped them and Toe was allowed to continue playing ball.
When Toe got to Tampa, the Rays realized he would need special guidance since he didnât have much life experience.
Toe had never even ordered a pizza.
Basically, all Toe knew how to do was play baseball.
His agentâs brother happened to be Harold Reynolds.
Toe went to California to live with Reynolds for a bit and Harold was like a mentor, life coach, and hitting coach - all rolled into one.
Harold introduced Nash to people like Tony Gwynn and Eddie Murray, and when he left California, things were looking up.
He went to play for the Raysâ rookie ball team in West Virginia.
In 47 games, he had 171 ABâs and struck out 69 times.
BUT, he was sixth in the league with eight home runs.
Nash was ranked as the 11th best prospect in the league, one spot behind David Wright.

Via Curb Your Enthusiasm
That off-season, Toe went back to Sorrento and committed a terrible crime.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having sex with a 15-year-old girl, and the Rays released him immediately.
The judge gave him a suspended sentence so he could continue pursuing his career as a ballplayer, and he was miraculously signed by the Reds.
But nothing changed.
Shortly after, he got in a bar fight, failed a drug test, and went to jail again.
That was the last time Toe Nash ever played pro baseball.
BASEBALL TRIVIA
Before they moved to Oakland, the A's were based in Kansas City. Where were they based before that? |
Find the answer at the bottom of this email!
STRANGE NAMES
If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.
Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.
If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.
Today's winner is:

Fun fact: thereâs over half a dozen guys nicknamed âBunnyâ that have played in the big leagues.
Bunny Brief had as short of a career as youâd expect.
He played 184 games total, and honestly, his big league numbers are trash.
Whatâs crazy is that he won eight home run crowns in the minors, and in 1921 he dropped 42 dingers with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association.
Some guys just canât handle the showâŚ
BASEBALL TRIVIA ANSWER: Philadelphia