John Shelby

Born: 2/23/1958 in Lexington, KY, USA

MLB Debut: 1981-09-15 | Final Game: 1991-08-11

Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 175 lbs

Full name: John T. Shelby

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Biography

John Shelby was a professional baseball player born in 1958, who enjoyed a career spanning from 1981 until 1991. Primarily serving as a position player, Shelby played in a total of 1,036 games during his time in Major League Baseball. He was known for his speed on the base paths, finishing his career with 98 stolen bases, which demonstrated his ability to impact the game beyond just his offensive production. Throughout his career, Shelby recorded 739 hits, including 70 home runs and 313 runs batted in. His batting average settled at .239, reflecting the challenges faced by many hitters during the era he played in, which saw a mix of power hitting and emerging pitching talents. He made a name for himself as a versatile player capable of contributing both offensively and defensively, and his presence on the field was marked by an energetic playing style that resonated with fans. Shelby's career, which unfolded during a period of significant change in baseball, remains a testament to the skills and determination required to succeed in the sport at the highest level.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1036	3090	389	739	128	24	70	313	98	182	671	0.239	0.281	0.364	0.645	-6055.4

Career AVG .239 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 7.3% below league average.

Career OBP .281 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 13.2% below league average.

Career SLG .364 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 6.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.645 vs. league average 0.711 across their career seasons — 9.3% 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
1981	BAL	AL	7	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	BAL	AL	26	35	8	11	3	0	1	2	0	0	5	0.314	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	BAL	AL	126	325	52	84	15	2	5	27	15	18	64	0.258	.260 (-1%)	.324 (-8%)	.389 (-7%)	.714 (-8%)	-510.3
1984	BAL	AL	128	383	44	80	12	5	6	30	12	20	71	0.209	.259 (-20%)	.322 (-23%)	.384 (-19%)	.707 (-21%)	-1606.0
1985	BAL	AL	69	205	28	58	6	2	7	27	5	7	44	0.283	.257 (+10%)	.323 (-5%)	.390 (+11%)	.714 (+4%)	79.6
1986	BAL	AL	135	404	54	92	14	4	11	49	18	18	75	0.228	.257 (-12%)	.325 (-19%)	.395 (-8%)	.720 (-13%)	-1179.2
1987	BAL	AL	21	32	4	6	0	0	1	3	0	1	13	0.188	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	LAD	NL	120	476	61	132	26	0	21	69	16	31	97	0.277	.262 (+5%)	.331 (-4%)	.415 (+12%)	.746 (+5%)	0.0
1988	LAD	NL	140	494	65	130	23	6	10	64	16	44	128	0.263	.254 (+4%)	.317 (+1%)	.377 (+5%)	.695 (+3%)	181.6
1989	LAD	NL	108	345	28	63	11	1	1	12	10	25	92	0.183	.254 (-28%)	.319 (-26%)	.375 (-39%)	.694 (-33%)	-2091.6
1990	LAD	NL	25	24	2	6	1	0	0	2	1	0	7	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	DET	AL	78	222	22	55	9	3	4	20	3	10	51	0.248	.257 (-4%)	.324 (-14%)	.385 (-4%)	.710 (-9%)	0.0
1991	DET	AL	53	143	19	22	8	1	3	8	0	8	23	0.154	.255 (-40%)	.323 (-37%)	.384 (-25%)	.708 (-31%)	-796.6

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
20	60	5	14	1	0	0	5	8	26	0.233

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1988	NLCS	LAN	7	24	3	4	0	3	5	12	0.167
1988	WS	LAN	5	18	0	4	1	1	2	7	0.222
1983	ALCS	BAL	3	9	1	2	0	0	1	3	0.222
1983	WS	BAL	5	9	1	4	0	1	0	4	0.444

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
2B	1	0	0	1	0	0
OF	948	722	1949	55	36	15

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1981	BAL	OF	4	0	1	0	0	0
1982	BAL	OF	24	5	20	1	0	1
1983	BAL	OF	115	59	200	9	4	3
1984	BAL	OF	124	84	261	9	2	1
1985	BAL	2B	1	0	0	1	0	0
1985	BAL	OF	59	43	148	3	3	0
1986	BAL	OF	121	90	222	5	5	2
1987	BAL	OF	19	8	25	0	0	0
1987	LAN	OF	117	117	269	9	8	3
1988	LAN	OF	140	138	329	7	6	1
1989	LAN	OF	98	86	220	3	2	1
1990	LAN	OF	12	1	8	0	0	0
1990	DET	OF	68	56	138	5	4	3
1991	DET	OF	47	35	108	4	2	0

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
Second Base	1
Left Field	115
Center Field	780
Right Field	85
Designated Hitter	18

Salary History

Year	Team	League	Salary
1991	DET	AL	$525,000
1990	LAN	NL	$500,000
1989	LAN	NL	$550,000
1988	LAN	NL	$465,000
1987	BAL	AL	$300,000
1986	BAL	AL	$240,000
1985	BAL	AL	$130,000
Total Career Earnings			$2,710,000