LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — Nick Kurtz, first basemen for the Athletics based in West Sacramento, has burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2025, positioning himself as a top candidate for American League Rookie of the Year.
The 22-year-old was the 4th overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, propelling through the minor leagues in less than a full year before breaking into majors.
To many, Kurtz is known by his nickname, “Big Amish,” which is traced back to his roots in Lancaster County. The nickname was given to him by his teammates during Spring Training, where he was an invitee to Major League camp with the A’s.
“He’s there with all these guys and they have to get up in front of everybody and talk or something and tell everyone about themselves and that was what he talked about, Lancaster, PA…and you know, we’re the home of the Amish and this is what we do,” said Kurtz’s father, Jeff.
“It’s really funny ’cause we’re from Lancaster [and] we’re not Amish,” said Grace Kurtz, Nick’s sister.
Kurtz grew up in Lancaster County, playing his freshman year of high school at Manheim Township. He transferred to the Baylor School in Tennessee for the remainder of his high school career, but never forgot where he came from.
“He was told pretty, pretty frequently, like, kids from this area don’t really make it like that. It’s not really something that happens here,” said his mom, Marie.
Kurtz has two older brothers, eight and ten years older than he is, and his parents say they were the first ones to put a glove in his hand when Nick was a newborn. He joined a youth baseball league at two-years-old and the rest was history.
“It was a lot of cold baseball,” Marie Kurtz said. “We played in the snow, we played in the wind, we played in the rain.”