Neil Milbert, wrote an interesting post on the Chicago Tribune on Monday about the death of the founder of an environmental services company and thoroughbred owner, Nicholas Balodimas. The interesting fact about Balodimas is that he once played in the Mets Farm System.
Nicholas Balodimas (1943-2014)
Balodimas, who battled Cancer since being diagnosed with the disease in 2001, died at the age of 70 on Friday, January 3.
In 1966 and at the age of 23, he played only one pro baseball season before an injury ended his career. He played 12 games combined with Marion Mets (Appalachian League – Rookie), Greenville Mets (Western Carolina’s League – Class A), and the Auburn Mets (The New York-Penn League – Class A) and batted .233/.233/.333 in 30 plate appearances.
After the injury, he was forced to give up baseball, and he moved on and eventually became the founder and president of Midwest Environmental Services Inc., a company specializing in the cleanup of nonhazardous waste.
Milbert shares that Balodimas thrived on the competitiveness of sports and was an avid horse racing fan and also passionate about golf.
Its nice to read stories on what the ex- Mets minor league ball players have done with their lives and it seems as if Mr. Balodimas had a very fulling life after baseball. My condolences to his wife and family on their loss. May they find peace and happiness in their memories of Nicholas Balodimas.
(Photo: Chicago Tribune)
