Kumar Nambiar began his baseball career in Little League like any other young kid who loves to play the sport. However, his story in baseball extends much further than playing summer travel.
Nambiar received support in baseball from his father, Anant, and mother, Hema. Before moving to New York, his parents were born in India and immigrated to Toronto, Canada.
Nambiar attended Mamaroneck High School in Westchester County, New York, committed to Yale University to play Division I college baseball in the Ivy League, and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 34th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft.
One of Nambiar’s earliest baseball memories started in his family’s backyard in New York.
“My dad grew up in Canada, a huge baseball fan,” Nambiar told World Baseball Network. “We always played catch in the backyard and grew up watching the Yankees. My brother, Sachin, and I enjoyed it together and always followed the latest news.”
His mother, Hema, built a pitching mound in the backyard to help Kumar and Sachin work on their pitching skills, which seemed to work wonders.
“I started to show improvements after my mom built the pitching mound, and she showed us how to improve ourselves as pitchers,” Nambiar said.
Perhaps the homemade mound was the foundation for the rest of his baseball career, which ended after the 2023 season with the Lansing Lugnuts, the A’s High-A affiliate. However, Nambiar has no regrets about his retirement. Simply put, the lefty felt the time was right to move on.
“I didn’t have the motivation to continue improving as an athlete,” Nambiar said. “At no point do I look at the players on the field and say that could be me. It was the right time to move on from the game, and I enjoyed what I did. I have a lot of friends in the minor leagues who keep me in the loop, and I will be there when they make their MLB debuts.”
Nambiar played four seasons of minor league baseball in the A’s organization from 2019-23, missing out on the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down all minor league baseball levels. He finished his MiLB career with a 5.11 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 223.2 innings.
Nambiar may also be in attendance when the first player of Indian descent makes their MLB debut. There was a time when Nambiar envisioned himself as the first Indian player to accomplish the feat but said he would be thrilled whenever that time came for another prospect. That player could be Toronto Blue Jays 18-year-old No. 3 overall prospect Arjun Nimmala, whose parents immigrated to the United States from India.
“When Nimmala or another player makes it to the Major Leagues, I will support them,” Nambiar said. “As soon as an Indian player makes it to the MLB, the opportunity for baseball to grow in India is much more significant and could get more fans involved.”
Off the field, Nambiar has worked with the Major League Baseball Players Association and was voted the A’s Minor League Player Representative. These opportunities led him to the White House last July, where he shared a room with United States President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, discussing the first-ever minor league baseball collective bargaining agreement he helped negotiate last spring.
“These events have altered the trajectory of my career, and it is now hard for me to ignore this new path,” Nambiar wrote in a blog post titled “My Payoff Pitch,” announcing his retirement from professional baseball. Nambiar wrote posts on his Wix.com account often about his team’s previous series and one story about his life-changing experience at the White House he called “the longest and most memorable day of my life… so far.”
Minor league players overwhelmingly voted to approve the collective bargaining agreement announced by the Major League Players Association in March 2023. The agreement included significant pay increases, improvements to the Minor League housing policy, and medical health and retirement benefits, among many other positive developments.
Nowadays, Nambiar works as a Professional Scouting Analyst for the Baltimore Orioles.
“Our job is to understand different organizations and assemble a list of players we think will be good ballplayers in the future,” Nambiar said of his position with Baltimore. “Our tasks depend on the time of year and keeping up to date with player performances. Sometimes, you are looking at trading Major League talent for minor league talent.”
Although Nambiar has seen the game from two different perspectives, both on and off the mound, his viewpoint of baseball has remained the same as a scouting analyst.
“I don’t think my viewpoint has changed,” said Nambiar. “You get a coaching staff and a game plan to win every night when you are a player. Our job is to build the best team on paper and find that balance. As a front office employer, you have to keep both in mind.”
Nambiar will keep both in mind as he continues to enjoy the game he loves—a game that has led him from his Mother’s homemade mound in the backyard to a scouting role with the Orioles and everywhere in between.
Photo Credit: General view of an Athletics logo tarp covering seats during regular season game between the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics on July 2, 2023, at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, CA. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
