King Kelly, baseball player, 1878-1893

King Kelly

⭐ Hall of Fame 1945

Born: 12/31/1857 in Troy, NY, USA

Died: 11/8/1894 in Boston, MA, USA

MLB Debut: 1878-05-01 | Final Game: 1893-09-02

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 170 lbs

Full name: Michael Joseph Kelly

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Biography

King Kelly, born in 1857, was a notable figure in the early days of professional baseball, primarily recognized for his contributions as a pitcher. His career spanned from 1878 until his retirement on September 2, 1893, during a transformative period in the sport that saw the establishment of modern baseball rules and the rise of organized leagues. Throughout his playing years, Kelly recorded a win-loss record of 2-2, with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.14 and a total of 4 strikeouts. While his pitching stats may not reflect the dominant performances of some of his contemporaries, Kelly's influence extended beyond the mound, as he was a versatile player who contributed to the development of the game during its formative years. Kelly's legacy was solidified when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945, recognizing his impact on the sport and his role in shaping the early baseball landscape. His career unfolded during an era characterized by the transition from the deadball style of play to the more offensive approach that would define the following decades. Despite the limited statistical achievements as a pitcher, King Kelly remains a significant figure in baseball history, symbolizing the evolution of the game and the players who laid the groundwork for future generations.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
2 2 12 0 0 0 0 45.7 63 21 5 30 4 4.14 0

Career ERA 4.14 vs. league average 3.49 across their career seasons — 18.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1880 CHC NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 3 0 1 1 0.00 — -
1883 CHC NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0.00 — -
1884 CHC NL 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 5.3 12 5 2 1 8.44 — -
1887 BSN NL 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 13.0 17 5 14 0 3.46 4.17 (+17%) -1087.2
1890 BSP PL 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 1 2 2 4.50 — 0.0
1891 CN3 AA 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 15.3 21 9 7 0 5.28 3.52 (-50%) -870.7
1892 BSN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 6.0 8 1 4 0 1.50 — 0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1456 5896 1357 1813 359 102 69 950 368 549 418 0.307 0.368 0.438 0.806 27299.7

Career AVG .307 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — +21.0% above league average.

Career OBP .368 vs. league average .309 across their career seasons — +18.8% above league average.

Career SLG .438 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — +28.4% above league average.

Career OPS 0.806 vs. league average 0.651 across their career seasons — +23.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1878 CN1 NL 60 237 29 67 7 1 0 27 0 7 7 0.283 .259 (+9%) .278 (+9%) .319 (+1%) .597 (+4%) 186.6
1879 CN1 NL 77 345 78 120 20 12 2 47 0 8 14 0.348 .255 (+36%) .270 (+34%) .328 (+50%) .599 (+43%) 2162.2
1880 CHC NL 84 344 72 100 17 9 1 60 0 12 22 0.291 .244 (+19%) .267 (+18%) .319 (+25%) .586 (+22%) 1110.9
1881 CHC NL 82 353 84 114 27 3 2 55 0 16 14 0.323 .260 (+24%) .290 (+21%) .338 (+28%) .628 (+25%) 1425.7
1882 CHC NL 84 377 81 115 37 4 1 55 0 10 27 0.305 .248 (+23%) .275 (+17%) .329 (+31%) .605 (+25%) 1366.1
1883 CHC NL 98 428 92 109 28 10 3 61 0 16 35 0.255 .257 (-1%) .285 (-2%) .345 (+12%) .631 (+6%) 332.5
1884 CHC NL 108 452 120 160 28 5 13 95 0 46 24 0.354 .243 (+46%) .278 (+48%) .327 (+60%) .606 (+55%) 4270.1
1885 CHC NL 107 438 124 126 24 7 9 75 0 46 24 0.288 .244 (+18%) .287 (+23%) .325 (+34%) .613 (+29%) 2222.0
1886 CHC NL 118 451 155 175 32 11 4 79 53 83 33 0.388 .246 (+57%) .302 (+60%) .331 (+61%) .634 (+60%) 5335.3
1887 BSN NL 116 484 120 156 34 11 8 63 84 55 40 0.322 .270 (+19%) .331 (+18%) .373 (+30%) .705 (+25%) 2350.3
1888 BSN NL 107 440 85 140 22 11 9 71 56 31 39 0.318 .238 (+33%) .290 (+27%) .319 (+50%) .610 (+39%) 2773.0
1889 BSN NL 125 507 120 149 41 5 9 78 68 65 40 0.294 .263 (+11%) .334 (+13%) .357 (+25%) .691 (+19%) 1907.7
1890 BSP PL 90 342 83 111 18 6 4 66 51 52 22 0.325 .260 (+25%) .336 (+24%) .351 (+27%) .687 (+26%) 1729.0
1891 CN3 AA 82 283 56 84 15 7 1 53 22 51 28 0.297 .254 (+17%) .331 (+23%) .343 (+19%) .675 (+21%) 1212.4
1891 BS2 AA 4 15 2 4 0 0 1 4 1 0 2 0.267 — — — — 1212.4
1891 BSN NL 16 52 7 12 1 0 0 5 6 6 10 0.231 .254 (-9%) .331 (-3%) .343 (-27%) .675 (-15%) 1212.4
1892 BSN NL 78 281 40 53 7 0 2 41 24 39 32 0.189 .244 (-23%) .316 (-9%) .327 (-28%) .644 (-19%) -800.3
1893 NY1 NL 20 67 9 18 1 0 0 15 3 6 5 0.269 .279 (-4%) .356 (-8%) .379 (-25%) .735 (-17%) -180.2

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 58 13 14 3 1 1 1 4 4 0.241

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1892 CS BSN 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
1886 WS CHN 6 24 4 5 0 0 1 1 2 2 0.208
1885 WS CHN 7 26 9 9 3 1 0 0 2 0 0.346

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 25 0 125 14 19 7
2B 54 0 122 158 52 27
3B 96 0 108 182 59 9
C 584 0 2198 857 368 57
OF 750 0 892 285 259 26
P 12 0 0 10 2 0
SS 90 0 128 243 92 19

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1878 CN1 3B 2 0 0 2 0 0
1878 CN1 C 17 0 99 39 20 3
1878 CN1 OF 47 0 51 24 23 2
1879 CN1 2B 1 0 0 2 1 0
1879 CN1 3B 33 0 36 88 25 3
1879 CN1 C 21 0 82 36 12 1
1879 CN1 OF 29 0 46 13 20 0
1880 CHN 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1880 CHN 3B 14 0 22 20 7 0
1880 CHN C 17 0 40 15 12 2
1880 CHN OF 64 0 49 32 23 1
1880 CHN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1880 CHN SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1881 CHN 3B 8 0 8 12 1 0
1881 CHN C 11 0 28 9 10 1
1881 CHN OF 72 0 85 31 22 2
1882 CHN 1B 1 0 3 2 2 0
1882 CHN 3B 3 0 1 6 1 0
1882 CHN C 12 0 13 3 4 0
1882 CHN OF 38 0 50 21 9 3
1882 CHN SS 42 0 66 117 43 9
1883 CHN 2B 3 0 6 11 8 0
1883 CHN 3B 2 0 3 4 2 0
1883 CHN C 38 0 73 37 21 2
1883 CHN OF 82 0 101 38 32 5
1883 CHN P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1884 CHN 1B 2 0 8 2 2 1
1884 CHN 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1884 CHN 3B 10 0 12 16 8 2
1884 CHN C 28 0 105 55 32 3
1884 CHN OF 63 0 69 31 26 1
1884 CHN P 2 0 0 0 0 0
1884 CHN SS 12 0 7 37 18 3
1885 CHN 1B 2 0 9 1 3 0
1885 CHN 2B 6 0 7 15 3 1
1885 CHN 3B 2 0 2 3 3 0
1885 CHN C 37 0 146 64 30 2
1885 CHN OF 69 0 95 29 19 2
1886 CHN 1B 9 0 41 4 2 0
1886 CHN 2B 6 0 14 12 5 4
1886 CHN 3B 8 0 8 6 3 2
1886 CHN C 53 0 259 94 28 3
1886 CHN OF 56 0 62 24 20 1
1886 CHN SS 5 0 3 1 1 1
1887 BSN 2B 30 0 88 105 35 19
1887 BSN 3B 2 0 1 1 2 0
1887 BSN C 24 0 80 35 15 3
1887 BSN OF 61 0 78 11 15 2
1887 BSN P 3 0 0 4 2 0
1887 BSN SS 2 0 5 7 3 0
1888 BSN C 76 0 367 146 54 8
1888 BSN OF 34 0 28 4 12 2
1889 BSN C 23 0 56 29 12 2
1889 BSN OF 113 0 155 24 32 4
1890 BSP 1B 4 0 18 5 3 3
1890 BSP 3B 2 0 2 3 1 0
1890 BSP C 57 0 199 60 24 2
1890 BSP OF 6 0 13 2 0 1
1890 BSP P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1890 BSP SS 27 0 43 75 27 6
1891 CN3 1B 5 0 27 0 4 1
1891 CN3 2B 6 0 7 12 0 3
1891 CN3 3B 8 0 11 18 4 2
1891 CN3 C 66 0 217 102 34 11
1891 CN3 OF 7 0 8 1 1 0
1891 CN3 P 3 0 0 5 0 0
1891 CN3 SS 1 0 4 6 0 0
1891 BS2 C 4 0 16 3 1 0
1891 BSN C 11 0 44 10 10 2
1891 BSN OF 6 0 2 0 2 0
1892 BSN 1B 2 0 19 0 3 2
1892 BSN 3B 2 0 2 3 2 0
1892 BSN C 72 0 319 98 40 11
1892 BSN OF 2 0 0 0 2 0
1892 BSN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1893 NY1 C 17 0 55 22 9 1
1893 NY1 OF 1 0 0 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 12
Catcher 584
First Base 25
Second Base 54
Third Base 96
Shortstop 90
Left Field 2
Center Field 8
Right Field 742