Nate Colbert

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American baseball player (1946–2023)

title: "Nate Colbert" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1946-births", "2023-deaths", "amarillo-sonics-players", "american-expatriate-baseball-players-in-canada", "african-american-baseball-players", "baseball-players-from-st.-louis", "cardenales-de-lara-players", "detroit-tigers-players", "florida-instructional-league-cardinals-players", "houston-astros-players", "leones-del-caracas-players", "american-expatriate-baseball-players-in-venezuela", "major-league-baseball-first-basemen", "montreal-expos-players", "national-league-all-stars", "oakland-athletics-players", "oklahoma-city-89ers-players", "san-diego-padres-players", "tucson-toros-players", "21st-century-african-american-sportsmen", "21st-century-american-sportsmen", "20th-century-african-american-sportsmen", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American baseball player (1946–2023)" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Colbert" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American baseball player (1946–2023) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox baseball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Nate Colbert
image	Nate Colbert Padres.jpg
caption	Colbert as a coach with the San Diego Padres in 1983
position	First baseman
bats	Right
throws	Right
birth_date
birth_place	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
debutleague	MLB
debutdate	April 14
debutyear	1966
debutteam	Houston Astros
finalleague	MLB
finaldate	October 1
finalyear	1976
finalteam	Oakland Athletics
statleague	MLB
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.243
stat2label	Home runs
stat2value	173
stat3label	Runs batted in
stat3value	520
::

Nathan Colbert Jr. (April 9, 1946 – January 5, 2023) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1966 to 1976, most prominently as a member of the newly formed San Diego Padres, who joined the league as an expansion team in 1969. He was among the inaugural inductees into the Padres Hall of Fame.

Colbert played six seasons with San Diego from 1969 to 1974, earning all three of his All-Star selections and becoming the first star player for the young franchise. He held the Padres' career record for home runs (163) until 2024, and ranks among the Padres' top 10 in numerous other offensive categories. Colbert also played for the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, and the Oakland Athletics. After a back injury prematurely ended his playing career after just 10 seasons, he became a coach and manager in the minor leagues.

Early life

Colbert was born on April 9, 1946, in St. Louis, Missouri. His father, Nate Sr., played semi-professional baseball as a catcher and occasional pitcher in the Negro leagues; he caught for Satchel Paige. Colbert graduated from Sumner High School, which was about a five-minute drive from Busch Stadium.

Professional career

Colbert was signed by his hometown Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1964. There was no MLB draft until 1965, allowing him to sign with the team of his choosing. He declined 16 major league bonus offers and 30 college scholarships to sign with St. Louis. The Houston Astros selected Colbert in the Rule 5 draft in 1965, and he made his MLB debut with the Astros in 1966. He also played for the Astros in 1968 before being selected by the San Diego Padres in the 1968 expansion draft.

Throughout his career with the Padres from 1969 to 1974, he was a standout player and their biggest star as they finished in last place in the six-team National League (NL) West in each of their first six seasons, averaging 101 losses per season and concluding each year from to 42 games behind the division leader. In 1969, the Padres' inaugural season and Colbert's first full season in the big leagues, San Diego began the season with Bill Davis at first base, and Colbert started only four of the first 15 games. His home runs led all MLB rookies that season. He hit 38 home runs in 1970, tying him for fifth with Hank Aaron in the NL. The next year, Colbert was named to his first All-Star Game.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Nate_Colbert_1972.jpeg" caption="Colbert tied his career high with 38 [[home run]]s in 1972."] ::

Colbert's best day in the majors was August 1, 1972, when he hit five home runs—matching Musial's record from 1954—and drove in 13 runs in a doubleheader, breaking the record of 11 RBIs, set previously by Earl Averill (1930), Jim Tabor (1939), and Boog Powell (1966). Colbert's 22 total bases also broke another doubleheader record by Musial. He finished second only to the Cincinnati Reds' Johnny Bench (40) in home runs that year. Colbert's RBIs also set a major-league record for driving in the highest percentage of his team's runs (22.75%). None of his teammates had as many as 50 that year, as the team scored a league-worst 3.19 runs per game. He was selected to the 1972 MLB All-Star Game, and scored the winning run in the tenth inning. In 1973, he had career-highs in batting average (.270) and on-base percentage (.343), while dropping to 22 home runs and 80 RBIs. It was his final productive season. In the five seasons from 1969 to 1973, he averaged 30 home runs and 85 RBIs.

After three All-Star seasons at first base from 1971 to 1973, San Diego moved Colbert to left field after acquiring Willie McCovey in 1974. Colbert had agreed to the acquisition, and was also willing to move in the batting order from the cleanup position to fifth to accommodate McCovey. Colbert struggled that season, shuffling between left field and first base while dealing with nagging injuries. He began having problems with his back, suffering from a congenital condition caused by degeneration of his vertebrae. Danny Breeden went from the Padres to the Cardinals to subsequently complete the transactions. After batting .147 with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 45 games, the Tigers sold Colbert's contract to the Montreal Expos on June 15, 1975. He spent much of 1976 in the minor leagues before resurfacing very briefly with the Oakland Athletics at the end of the season. He attended spring training with the expansion Toronto Blue Jays in 1977, but back problems forced his retirement at 30.

Colbert was the first star for the Padres and remained the franchise's career home run leader (163) until 2024, Colbert also ranks among the top-10 in club history in RBIs (481), slugging percentage (.469), games played (866), runs scored (442) and base on balls (350). He was inducted as part of the inaugural class of the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 10 seasons covering 1,004 games, Colbert compiled a .243 average, 173 home runs, and 520 RBIs. He played on nine consecutive last-place teams from 1968 to 1976.

Later life

After his playing career, Colbert spent several years as a hitting instructor for the Padres during spring training. He later coached for them in the minor leagues, serving as a hitting coach with the Wichita Pilots (AA) and a first base coach for the Riverside Red Wave (A) from 1987 to 1990. He also became an ordained minister after graduating from St. Louis Baptist College (now Missouri Baptist University), and worked with disadvantaged youths. and he served a six-month sentence at a medium-security penitentiary in Lompoc, California.

Personal life

Colbert met his wife, Kasey, while playing with Oakland. They had nine children together.

He died on January 5, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 76.

Notes

References

"San Diego Padres Top 10 Career Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com.
Wolf, Gregory. "The Baseball Biography Project: Nate Colbert". Society for American Baseball Research.
Norcross, Don. (June 25, 1993). "A 5-HR day eased pain for Colbert". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Markusen, Bruce. "#CARDCORNER: 1969 TOPPS NATE COLBERT". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
(1995). "Total Baseball". Viking.
Sanders, Jeff. (April 24, 2020). "Padres history (April 24): Nate Colbert starts slugging away". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
"Nate Colbert". Baseball Reference.
(February 17, 1972). "24 Padres signed; Ivie's bat speaks". Evening Tribune.
Center, Bill. (July 10, 1999). "Padres Hall of Fame – Jones was club's first box-office draw". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
(September 8, 1993). "Whiten (as in Hittin')". Los Angeles Times.
Posnanski, Joe. (March 29, 2021). "Letters From Spring: With Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres are dreaming the biggest dreams". The Athletic.
Acee, Kevin. (May 26, 2020). "Padres by the numbers (17–24): Gwynn, Caminiti and what happened with No. 20". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
(August 2, 2012). "Colbert set history 40 years ago". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Belleville, Gary. "August 2, 1975: Expos stun Phillies on Nate Colbert's pinch-hit, walk-off homer". Society for American Baseball Research.
(1975-06-17). "A's Obtain Bahnsen on Deadline".
Wolf, Bob. (June 21, 1989). "Aug. 1, 1972, Was Nate's Great Day : Padres' Colbert Made History With Five Homers in Doubleheader". Los Angeles Times.
"San Diego Padres Hall of Fame". mlb.com.
Dubuque, Patrick. (June 22, 2015). "The Ironic Jersey Omnibus Lives". the Hardball Times.
Clark, Michael J.. (October 12, 2016). "The Padres First Power Hitter, Nate Colbert". East Village Times.
Gould, Derrick. (January 6, 2023). "St. Louis native Nate Colbert, Padres slugger who matched Musial's feat, dies at 76". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Sanders, Jeff. (January 5, 2023). "Padres franchise home run leader Nate Colbert dies at 76". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
(January 5, 2023). "Nate Colbert, Padres' all-time HR leader, dies at 76". Major League Baseball.

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