Joe Kelley
Outfielder · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1891-1908)
Joe Kelley was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1891 to 1908 for 6 teams, including the Boston Braves, a span of 18 seasons. In 1,853 career games, he hit .317 with 2,220 hits, 65 home runs, and 1,194 RBI. Joe Kelley was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 32,092.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 190 lb
- Died
- 8/14/1943 in Baltimore, MD, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1891-07-27
- Last Game
- 1908-10-03
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1971 (BBWAA)
Full name: Joseph James Kelley
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,853 | 7,006 | 1,421 | 2,220 | 358 | 194 | 65 | 1,194 | 443 | 911 | 430 | .317 | .402 | .451 | .853 | 32,092 |
Career AVG .317 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — +18.8% above league average.
Career OBP .402 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — +22.0% above league average.
Career SLG .451 vs. league average .352 across their career seasons — +28.3% above league average.
Career OPS .853 vs. league average .681 across their career seasons — +25.3% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891 | BSN | NL | 12 | 45 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .244 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1892 | PIT | NL | 56 | 205 | 26 | 49 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 | 8 | 17 | 21 | .239 | .244 (-2%) | .316 (-6%) | .327 (+4%) | .644 (-1%) | -91.1 |
| 1892 | BLN | NL | 10 | 33 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | .212 | — | — | — | — | -91.1 |
| 1893 | BLN | NL | 125 | 502 | 120 | 153 | 27 | 16 | 9 | 76 | 33 | 77 | 44 | .305 | .279 (+9%) | .356 (+13%) | .379 (+26%) | .735 (+19%) | 2029.6 |
| 1894 | BLN | NL | 129 | 507 | 165 | 199 | 48 | 20 | 6 | 111 | 46 | 107 | 36 | .393 | .309 (+27%) | .379 (+33%) | .435 (+38%) | .814 (+36%) | 4491.1 |
| 1895 | BLN | NL | 131 | 518 | 148 | 189 | 26 | 19 | 10 | 134 | 54 | 77 | 29 | .365 | .296 (+23%) | .361 (+26%) | .399 (+37%) | .761 (+32%) | 3735.9 |
| 1896 | BLN | NL | 131 | 519 | 148 | 189 | 31 | 19 | 8 | 100 | 87 | 91 | 19 | .364 | .290 (+25%) | .354 (+33%) | .387 (+40%) | .741 (+37%) | 4362.6 |
| 1897 | BLN | NL | 131 | 505 | 113 | 183 | 31 | 9 | 5 | 118 | 44 | 70 | 19 | .362 | .291 (+24%) | .354 (+26%) | .387 (+26%) | .741 (+26%) | 3042.4 |
| 1898 | BLN | NL | 124 | 464 | 71 | 149 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 110 | 24 | 56 | 24 | .321 | .270 (+19%) | .333 (+19%) | .347 (+26%) | .680 (+23%) | 2065.7 |
| 1899 | BRO | NL | 143 | 538 | 108 | 175 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 93 | 31 | 70 | 23 | .325 | .282 (+15%) | .343 (+19%) | .366 (+23%) | .710 (+21%) | 2491.8 |
| 1900 | BRO | NL | 121 | 454 | 90 | 145 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 91 | 26 | 53 | 18 | .319 | .279 (+14%) | .338 (+17%) | .366 (+32%) | .705 (+25%) | 2243.7 |
| 1901 | BRO | NL | 120 | 492 | 77 | 151 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 65 | 18 | 40 | 26 | .307 | .271 (+13%) | .326 (+11%) | .359 (+18%) | .686 (+15%) | 1352.3 |
| 1902 | BLA | AL | 60 | 222 | 50 | 69 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 34 | 12 | 34 | 16 | .311 | .266 (+16%) | .321 (+26%) | .343 (+35%) | .665 (+31%) | 1198.2 |
| 1902 | CIN | NL | 40 | 156 | 24 | 50 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 17 | .321 | .266 (+20%) | .321 (+18%) | .343 (+23%) | .665 (+21%) | 1198.2 |
| 1903 | CIN | NL | 105 | 383 | 85 | 121 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 18 | 51 | 24 | .316 | .261 (+21%) | .316 (+27%) | .345 (+21%) | .662 (+24%) | 1871.0 |
| 1904 | CIN | NL | 123 | 449 | 75 | 126 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 63 | 15 | 49 | 25 | .281 | .246 (+14%) | .300 (+19%) | .321 (+20%) | .622 (+20%) | 1654.8 |
| 1905 | CIN | NL | 90 | 321 | 43 | 89 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 37 | 8 | 27 | 23 | .277 | .248 (+12%) | .307 (+13%) | .322 (+7%) | .629 (+10%) | 611.8 |
| 1906 | CIN | NL | 129 | 465 | 43 | 106 | 19 | 11 | 1 | 53 | 9 | 44 | 27 | .228 | .247 (-8%) | .307 (-2%) | .315 (+2%) | .622 (avg) | -27.3 |
| 1908 | BSN | NL | 73 | 228 | 25 | 59 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 5 | 27 | 25 | .259 | .240 (+8%) | .298 (+15%) | .306 (+10%) | .605 (+12%) | 530.7 |
| Career · 19 seasons | 1,853 | 7,006 | 1,421 | 2,220 | 358 | 194 | 65 | 1,194 | 443 | 911 | 430 | .317 | — | — | — | — | 32,670 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1127 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 571 | 2047 | 374 | 649 | 12 | 343 | .317 |
| Away | 556 | 2129 | 317 | 595 | 15 | 225 | .279 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908-10-03 | BSN | BRO | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908-09-23 | BSN | STL | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1908-09-23 | BSN | STL | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908-09-21 | BSN | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908-09-16 | BSN | CHC | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908-09-12 | BSN | PHI | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908-09-12 | BSN | PHI | L | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1908-09-11 | BSN | PHI | L | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1908-09-07 | BSN | BRO | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908-09-05 | BSN | BRO | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 291 | 129 | 2554 | 198 | 51 | 136 |
| 2B | 22 | 0 | 61 | 59 | 6 | 11 |
| 3B | 48 | 0 | 62 | 88 | 15 | 4 |
| OF | 1465 | 259 | 2864 | 212 | 144 | 44 |
| SS | 18 | 1 | 21 | 44 | 10 | 6 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891 | BSN | OF | 12 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1892 | PIT | OF | 56 | 0 | 101 | 13 | 10 | 4 |
| 1892 | BLN | OF | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1893 | BLN | OF | 125 | 0 | 307 | 22 | 21 | 4 |
| 1894 | BLN | OF | 129 | 0 | 276 | 16 | 15 | 3 |
| 1895 | BLN | OF | 131 | 0 | 260 | 20 | 16 | 5 |
| 1896 | BLN | OF | 131 | 0 | 280 | 20 | 13 | 3 |
| 1897 | BLN | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1897 | BLN | OF | 130 | 0 | 240 | 15 | 11 | 3 |
| 1897 | BLN | SS | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1898 | BLN | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1898 | BLN | OF | 122 | 0 | 235 | 18 | 8 | 4 |
| 1899 | BRO | OF | 143 | 0 | 307 | 26 | 8 | 7 |
| 1900 | BRO | 1B | 32 | 0 | 259 | 12 | 6 | 13 |
| 1900 | BRO | 3B | 13 | 0 | 17 | 25 | 4 | 3 |
| 1900 | BRO | OF | 77 | 0 | 174 | 12 | 8 | 2 |
| 1901 | BRO | 1B | 115 | 0 | 984 | 82 | 27 | 63 |
| 1901 | BRO | 3B | 5 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 1902 | BLA | 1B | 5 | 0 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 1902 | BLA | 3B | 8 | 0 | 15 | 14 | 3 | 1 |
| 1902 | BLA | OF | 48 | 0 | 101 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| 1902 | CIN | 2B | 10 | 0 | 35 | 31 | 2 | 7 |
| 1902 | CIN | 3B | 9 | 0 | 12 | 20 | 3 | 0 |
| 1902 | CIN | OF | 20 | 0 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1902 | CIN | SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1903 | CIN | 1B | 6 | 0 | 68 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| 1903 | CIN | 2B | 11 | 0 | 25 | 26 | 4 | 4 |
| 1903 | CIN | 3B | 8 | 0 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 1903 | CIN | OF | 67 | 0 | 117 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 1903 | CIN | SS | 12 | 0 | 17 | 30 | 9 | 5 |
| 1904 | CIN | 1B | 117 | 116 | 1049 | 76 | 14 | 48 |
| 1904 | CIN | 2B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1904 | CIN | OF | 6 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1905 | CIN | 1B | 2 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1905 | CIN | OF | 85 | 84 | 137 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| 1906 | CIN | 1B | 3 | 3 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1906 | CIN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1906 | CIN | OF | 122 | 122 | 184 | 13 | 7 | 5 |
| 1906 | CIN | SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908 | BSN | 1B | 11 | 9 | 118 | 15 | 3 | 2 |
| 1908 | BSN | OF | 51 | 48 | 71 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 292 |
| Second Base | 22 |
| Third Base | 48 |
| Shortstop | 18 |
| Left Field | 1132 |
| Center Field | 329 |
| Right Field | 9 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Joe Kelley (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Joe Kelley
Joe Kelley: the record in brief
Joe Kelley played a first major league game on July 27, 1891 and a last one on October 3, 1908. The team column moves through the Boston Beaneaters (1891), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1892), the Baltimore Orioles (1892 to 1902), the Brooklyn Superbas (1899 to 1901), the Cincinnati Reds (1902 to 1906), and the Boston Doves (1908). Kelley, born on December 9, 1871, in Cambridge, MA, USA, is listed as an outfielder and batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. Kelley's death is recorded on August 14, 1943, in Baltimore, MD, USA. Joe Kelley was the playing name; the full given name is Joseph James.
Kelley's career batting table shows 1,853 games, 7,006 at bats and 2,220 hits, a .317 average, adding 65 homers, 1,194 RBI, and 443 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .402 and the slugging percentage .451, for an OPS of .853. Kelley's .317 average ran 18.8% above the .267 that the league posted over the same seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Kelley
- What years did Joe Kelley play?
- Joe Kelley played in Major League Baseball from 1891 to 1908.
- Was Joe Kelley a pitcher?
- No. Joe Kelley was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Joe Kelley hit?
- Joe Kelley hit 65 career home runs with 2220 hits.
- Is Joe Kelley in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Joe Kelley was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
- What was Joe Kelley's career batting average?
- Joe Kelley batted .317 over his career, with 2,220 hits in 7,006 at bats.
- How many RBI did Joe Kelley have?
- Joe Kelley drove in 1,194 runs in his career.