{{short description|American baseball player (born 1944)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Rich Nye |position=Pitcher |image=Rich Nye 1969.jpg |caption=Nye in 1969 |bats=Left |throws=Left |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1944|8|4}} |birth_place=Oakland, California, U.S. |death_date= |death_place= |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 16 |debutyear=1966 |debutteam=Chicago Cubs |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 2 |finalyear=1970 |finalteam=Montreal Expos |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=26–31 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=3.71 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=267 |teams= *Chicago Cubs ({{baseball year|1966}}–{{baseball year|1969}}) *St. Louis Cardinals ({{baseball year|1970}}) *Montreal Expos ({{baseball year|1970}}) }} '''Richard Raymond Nye''' (born August 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player who was a left-handed pitcher<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rumill |first=Ed |date=May 1968 |title=His Control's Nye Perfect |magazine=Baseball Digest}}</ref> in the Major Leagues from 1966–1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3883047.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105050630/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3883047.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 November 2012|title=Ex-Cub pitcher Rich Nye|author=Gold, Eddie|date=1 May 1988|work=Chicago Sun-Times|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Skipper |first=John C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vA4rtVacf-wC&q=rich+nye&pg=PA147 |title=Take me out to the Cubs game: 35 former ballplayers speak of losing at Wrigley |publisher=McFarland |year=2000 |isbn=0-7864-0810-3 |pages=256 |access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref>
Nye was drafted by the Cubs in 1966 while still at the University of California, Berkeley. Nye went to their Class A team in Caldwell, Idaho for a brief "spring training" and 3 weeks of action before being called up to the California Class A league to finish that minor league season; Chicago brought him to the majors in 1966 at the end of the season.<ref name=Birds>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/03/09/for-rich-nye-life-after-the-cubs-is-really-for-the-birds/|title=For Rich Nye, Life After The Cubs Is Really For the Birds|date=9 March 1997|author=Mueller, Jim|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref> Nye received a degree in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in the same year he was drafted.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Brosnan |first=Jim |date=June 1968 |title=Lip Service for the Cubs |magazine=Baseball Digest}}</ref> He played for the St. Louis Cardinals,<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Billy Gardner Jr. Returns to Blue Rocks |date=2004-01-12 |publisher=Wilmington Blue Rocks |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/billy-gardner-jr-returns-to-blue-rocks/n-2993042 |language=en-US |via=OurSports Central |access-date=2025-04-28}}</ref> Montreal Expos,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2XMlAAAAIBAJ&pg=6307,4342927&dq=rich+nye&hl=en|title=Rich Nye Is Sold By St. Louis Cards|date=16 May 1970|work=Gettysburg Times|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref> and Chicago Cubs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-williams-santo-cubs-1966-1969|title=The Williams-Santo Cubs: 1966-1969|author=Treder, Steve|date=15 February 2005|work=Hardball Times|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=14 June 1967 |title=Santo, Cubs Extend L.A. String to 8 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SyEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6688,2745161&dq=rich+nye&hl=en |access-date=3 December 2010 |work=St. Petersburg Times |via=Google News Archive |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
Nye was with the Cubs during the years Leo Durocher was manager and recalled learning when he was scheduled to pitch not from Durocher, but by reading the sports column.<ref name=Birds/> He was named Chicago's Rookie of the Year in 1968.<ref name="Rookie">{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4204414.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105050638/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4204414.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 November 2012|title=Animal Instinct // Ex-Cub Nye Tends to Exotic Critters These Days|author=Gillespie, Mary|date=12 December 1993|work=Chicago Sun-Times|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref>
Nye played in the major leagues for over five years; his baseball career came to an end due to injuries.<ref name="Bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.nessexotic.com/DrNye.php|title=Richard R. Nye, DVM|publisher=Ness Exotic Wellness Center|access-date=3 December 2010|archive-date=July 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721195611/http://nessexotic.com/DrNye.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoekstra/2008/07/when_excub_rich_nye_was_a_pup.html|title=When Ex-Cub Rich Nye Was a Pup|author=Hoekstra, Dave|date=17 July 2008|work=Chicago Sun-Times|access-date=3 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622031750/http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoekstra/2008/07/when_excub_rich_nye_was_a_pup.html|archive-date=22 June 2012}}</ref>
Upon retiring, Rich initially used his civil engineering degree, working for a time on what was to become the Willis Tower and became a commodities trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.<ref name=Birds/>
thumb|left|Rich Nye in 1968 A teammate of his with the 1971 Winnipeg Whips, Triple A affiliate of the Montreal Expos, was the father of major leaguer John Olerud, who was in medical school while playing baseball. Looking for something that would be as inspirational to him as baseball was, the two discussed the possibilities and Nye learned he needed some undergraduate science credits to be a candidate for the University of Illinois' veterinary program.<ref name=Birds/> He entered the University of Illinois School of Veterinary Medicine in 1972, becoming a veterinarian in 1976.<ref name=Birds/> He began practicing medicine at Niles Animal Hospital in Niles, Illinois.<ref name="Bio"/> Nye developed a special interest in birds while at the practice and became an exotic and avian specialist. When the Association of Avian Veterinarians was founded in 1980, he became a charter member and is also a past president of AAV (1989).<ref name="Bio"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aav.org/|title=Association of Avian Veterinarians|publisher=Association of Avian Veterinarians|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref>
Using his abilities in commodity trading to earn the money for starting his own practice, Nye and two other exotic animal veterinarians founded Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital in Westchester, Illinois in 1985, which was the first exotic-only specialist practice in the United States.<ref name=Birds/><ref name="Rookie"/><ref name="Bio"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1525672.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105050645/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1525672.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 November 2012|title=Ex-Cub Nye takes on birds, not batters Veterinarian flourishes in 2nd career treating exotic animals |author=Smith, Zay N.|date=28 March 2004|work=Chicago Sun-Times|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.midwestexotichospital.com/aboutUs.html|title=About Us|publisher=Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref>
Nye and Dr. Susan Brown, a partner and the inspiration for starting the all-exotic practice, were married. Their practice grew to include five veterinarians and a large support staff; almost 20 years after the founding of the hospital, the couple sold it to two veterinarians on their staff in October 2004.<ref name="Bio"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=34&A=683&S=0|title=About Dr. Susan Brown|publisher=Veterinary Partner|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.midwestexotichospital.com/docStaff.html|title=Doctors and Staff|publisher=Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref> The practice that Nye and Brown started outgrew its original home in Westchester;<ref name=Birds/> in 2005, it moved to its present location in Elmwood Park, Illinois.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.midwestexotichospital.com/index.html|title=Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital Home Page|access-date=3 December 2010}}</ref>
He is the author of several veterinary textbook chapters on avian medicine, serves as a consultant, and had continued to see patients at Ness Exotic Wellness Center in Lisle, Illinois on a part-time basis<ref name="Bio"/> until his retirement in 2024.
==References== <references/>
==External links== {{Baseballstats |mlb=119874 |espn= |br=n/nyeri01 |fangraphs= |cube= |brm=nye---003ric }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nye, Rich}} Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:American veterinarians Category:American commodities traders Category:Baseball players from Oakland, California Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Category:California Golden Bears baseball players Category:Charleston Charlies players Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:Lodi Crushers players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Montreal Expos players Category:Baseball players from Illinois Category:St. Louis Cardinals players Category:Tiburones de La Guaira players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:Treasure Valley Cubs players Category:UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni Category:University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine alumni Category:Wichita Aeros players Category:Winnipeg Whips players Category:Humboldt Crabs players Category:20th-century American sportsmen