Steve Nyisztor is one of the greatest middle infielders in Rockland Boulders history, posting solid seasons in 2013-2014, which warranted him being signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He then returned to the Boulders for the 2015 season, where he held down the infield once again.
After his second stint with the Boulders, Nyisztor left Rockland yet again, but he didn’t leave baseball. In fact, the former Rutgers Scarlet Knight didn’t even stop playing in the Can-Am league. In the 2016 season, Nysiztor signed with the Sussex County Miners, allowing him to continue to play with former Boulders pitching coach and current Miners manager, Bobby Jones.
While the fledgling Miners won’t be making the 2016 playoffs, the veteran Nyisztor is leading the on-field product with his trademark consistency. As of August 25th, Nyisztor is hitting .265, with a .326 on-base percentage, and a .320 slugging percentage. He’s played in almost every game for the Miners, and has been flexible, playing wherever Jones needs him to. He has filled in several times at third and second base, as well as shortstop. He even made a pitching appearance once this season when the team needed him to.
Nyisztor had some great years with the Boulders, and played well immediately after being signed out of Rutgers University in 2013 after falling undrafted. However, his greatest year was easily the 2014 season, the season that earned him a contract from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Before being taken away in early July, Nyisztor was slaughtering Can-Am pitching to the tune of a .341 batting average, recording 56 hits in only 40 games played, while also scoring 30 runs and knocking in 24. After having his contract purchased, Nysiztor was assigned to the Hillsboro Hops in Low-A. He continued the good times there, batting .309, as well as stealing ten bases.
After the 2014 season, the D-backs released Nysiztor, allowing him to come back and play his first full season with the Boulders in 2015. He showed great flexibility that year, allowing Junior Arrojo, who had filled in at shortstop upon Nysiztor’s departure, to stay at short, and moving to second base. The shift didn’t affect his bat negatively at all, as he finished the season with a .275/.314/.359 slash line in his 90 games played, posting a career best 98 hits at any single minor league level. As of now, the Toms River native has the fifth most hits in Boulders franchise history (208) as well as the fifth most doubles (40), making him one of the team’s greatest middle infielders of all-time, along with current Boulder Arrojo.