Mel Nelson, baseball player, 1960-1969

Mel Nelson

Born: 5/30/1936 in San Diego, CA, USA

Died: 11/26/2021 in Highland, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1960-09-27 | Final Game: 1969-06-02

Bats: R | Throws: L | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: Melvin Frederick Nelson

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Biography

Mel Nelson was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1936, who played in Major League Baseball from 1960 until his retirement in 1969. Over the course of his career, Nelson appeared in various roles on the mound, contributing to his teams with a mix of starting and relief appearances. He finished his career with a record of 4-10, an earned run average (ERA) of 4.4, and recorded 98 strikeouts, along with 5 saves. Nelson's playing career unfolded during a transformative period in baseball history, marked by the emergence of new talent and the evolving strategies of the game. Though he may not have achieved superstardom, his contributions to his teams reflected the hard work and determination characteristic of pitchers of his era. Nelson's ability to manage games and deliver critical performances in high-pressure situations underscored the importance of depth in a pitching staff, especially during a time when the game was rapidly changing and evolving.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
4 10 93 11 1 0 5 173.7 184 85 19 69 98 4.40 0

Career ERA 4.40 vs. league average 3.44 across their career seasons — 28.2% 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
1960 STL NL 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 8.0 7 3 2 7 3.38 — -
1963 LAA AL 2 3 36 3 0 0 1 52.7 55 31 32 41 5.30 3.46 (-53%) -1500.9
1965 MIN AL 0 4 28 3 0 0 3 54.7 57 25 23 31 4.12 3.50 (-18%) -1272.6
1967 MIN AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.3 3 2 0 0 54.00 — 0.0
1968 STL NL 2 1 18 4 1 0 1 52.7 49 17 9 16 2.91 2.98 (+3%) -
1969 STL NL 0 1 8 0 0 0 0 5.3 13 7 3 3 11.81 — -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
96 34 2 5 0 0 0 3 0 1 13 0.147 0.171 0.147 0.318 0.0

Career AVG .147 vs. league average .245 across their career seasons — 40.1% below league average.

Career OBP .171 vs. league average .311 across their career seasons — 44.9% below league average.

Career SLG .147 vs. league average .366 across their career seasons — 59.8% below league average.

Career OPS 0.318 vs. league average 0.677 across their career seasons — 53.0% below 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
1960 STL NL 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.500 — — — — 0.0
1963 LAA AL 39 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.091 — — — — 0.0
1965 MIN AL 28 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0.111 — — — — 0.0
1967 MIN AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1968 STL NL 18 12 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 4 0.167 — — — — 0.0
1969 STL NL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1968 WS SLN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 1 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1968 WS SLN 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 1 0.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 93 11 7 33 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1960 SLN P 2 1 0 1 0 0
1963 LAA P 36 3 1 15 0 0
1965 MIN P 28 3 2 8 0 0
1967 MIN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1968 SLN P 18 4 3 9 0 0
1969 SLN P 8 0 1 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 93