What years did Nelson King play?

Nelson King played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1957.

Was Nelson King a pitcher?

Yes. Nelson King pitched in the major leagues, recording 7 wins and 72 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Nelson King hit?

Nelson King hit 0 career home runs.

What teams did Nelson King play for?

Nelson King played for one team, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1954–1957).

What were Nelson King's career stats?

In 95 games, Nelson King went 7-5 with a 3.58 ERA, 72 strikeouts, 173.1 innings pitched, and 6 saves.

What position did Nelson King play?

Nelson King played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Nelson King and how much did he weigh?

Nelson King was listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 185 pounds.

What was Nelson King's career ERA?

Nelson King finished with a 3.58 career ERA, going 7-5 with 72 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Nelson King have?

Nelson King recorded 72 career strikeouts.

Is Nelson King in the Hall of Fame?

No. Nelson King has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Nelson King

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954-1957)

Nelson King was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1957 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 4 seasons. Across 95 career appearances, he went 7-5 with a 3.58 ERA and 72 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 288.4.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 23, 2026

W–L 7–5

ERA 3.58

WHIP 1.40

SO 72

Pitcher PIV 288.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'6" / 185 lb
Born: 3/15/1928 in Shenandoah, PA, USA
Died: 8/11/2010 in Mount Lebanon, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1954-04-15
Last Game: 1957-09-15

Full name: Nelson Joseph King

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Nelson King — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
7	5	95	4	0	0	6	173.1	193	69	17	50	72	3.58	288.4

Career ERA 3.58 vs. league average 3.92 across their career seasons — 8.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Nelson King — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1954	PIT	NL	0	0	4	0	0	7.0	10	4	1	3	5.14	—	0.0
1955	PIT	NL	1	3	17	4	0	54.1	60	18	14	21	2.98	4.00 (+25%)	1431.3
1956	PIT	NL	4	1	38	0	5	60.0	54	21	19	25	3.15	3.96 (+21%)	-457.3
1957	PIT	NL	2	1	36	0	1	52.0	69	26	16	23	4.50	3.83 (-17%)	-685.6
Career · 4 seasons			7	5	95	4	6	173.1	193	69	50	72	3.58	—	288

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.

Career Batting Statistics

Nelson King — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
95	23	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	9	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Nelson King — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	RBI	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1954	PIT	NL	4	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1955	PIT	NL	17	12	0	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1956	PIT	NL	38	6	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1957	PIT	NL	36	5	1	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 4 seasons			95	23	1	9	.000	—	—	—	—	0

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 (190 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Nelson King — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	46	14	1	0	0	1	.000
Away	49	10	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Nelson King — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	46	86.2	99	29	23	28	3.01
Away	49	86.2	93	40	27	43	4.15

Last 10 Games — Batting

Nelson King — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB
1957-09-15	PIT	STL	L	0
1957-09-08	PIT	PHI	L	0
1957-09-03	PIT	NY1	L	1
1957-09-01	PIT	PHI	L	0
1957-08-31	PIT	PHI	L	0
1957-08-30	PIT	PHI	L	0
1957-08-25	PIT	CHC	L	0
1957-08-23	PIT	CIN	L	0
1957-08-18	PIT	BRO	W	1
1957-08-16	PIT	BRO	L	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Nelson King — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1957-09-15	PIT	STL	—	0.1	3	2	2	0	0	1
1957-09-08	PIT	PHI	—	0.2	2	1	1	1	0	0
1957-09-03	PIT	NY1	—	3.2	4	2	2	1	1	1
1957-09-01	PIT	PHI	—	2.0	6	2	2	0	0	0
1957-08-31	PIT	PHI	—	2.0	6	2	2	0	1	0
1957-08-30	PIT	PHI	—	0.2	0	0	0	1	0	0
1957-08-25	PIT	CHC	—	1.0	2	1	1	0	0	0
1957-08-23	PIT	CIN	—	1.0	2	0	0	1	2	0
1957-08-18	PIT	BRO	—	1.2	2	1	1	2	1	0
1957-08-16	PIT	BRO	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Nelson King — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	95	4	19	20	0	2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Nelson King — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	DP
1954	PIT	P	4	0	0	3	1
1955	PIT	P	17	4	7	6	1
1956	PIT	P	38	0	6	5	0
1957	PIT	P	36	0	6	6	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Nelson King — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	95

Nelson King: the record in brief

The profile opens with Nelson King's first major league game on April 15, 1954; the last one listed came on September 15, 1957. King spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the Pittsburgh Pirates. King, a pitcher by primary position, batted and threw right-handed. King is listed at 6 feet, 6 inches and 185 pounds. King was born on March 15, 1928, in Shenandoah, PA, USA. King's death is recorded on August 11, 2010, in Mount Lebanon, PA, USA. The bio lists the given name Nelson Joseph.

King went 7-5 with a 3.58 ERA in 95 games, 4 of them starts. Also on King's record: 72 strikeouts. That 3.58 ERA compares with a 3.92 league average across the same seasons, 8.7% better. In 1955, one of the busiest seasons, King posted a 2.98 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.00. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 288.4 for King's career.

Frequently Asked Questions about Nelson King

What years did Nelson King play?: Nelson King played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1957.
Was Nelson King a pitcher?: Yes. Nelson King pitched in the major leagues, recording 7 wins and 72 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Nelson King hit?: Nelson King hit 0 career home runs.
What teams did Nelson King play for?: Nelson King played for one team, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1954–1957).
What were Nelson King's career stats?: In 95 games, Nelson King went 7-5 with a 3.58 ERA, 72 strikeouts, 173.1 innings pitched, and 6 saves.
What position did Nelson King play?: Nelson King played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Nelson King and how much did he weigh?: Nelson King was listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 185 pounds.
What was Nelson King's career ERA?: Nelson King finished with a 3.58 career ERA, going 7-5 with 72 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Nelson King have?: Nelson King recorded 72 career strikeouts.
Is Nelson King in the Hall of Fame?: No. Nelson King has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.