Candy Nelson

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1872-1890)

AVG .253
HR 3
RBI 208
H 833
OPS .630
PIV 2,570
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'6" / 145 lb
Born
3/14/1849 in Portland, ME, USA
Died
9/4/1910 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1872-06-11
Last Game
1890-08-25

Full name: John W. Nelson

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
817 3,294 648 833 93 27 3 208 68 352 45 .253 .330 .300 .630 2,570

Career AVG .253 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .330 vs. league average .301 across their career seasons — +9.6% above league average.

Career SLG .300 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 11.7% below league average.

Career OPS .630 vs. league average .641 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1872 TRO 4 20 2 7 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 .350 — — — — 0.0
1872 BR1 18 76 12 19 5 1 0 9 1 2 3 .250 .285 (-12%) .296 (-9%) .347 (-2%) .644 (-5%) 0.0
1873 NY2 36 168 28 55 4 1 0 22 2 1 2 .327 .290 (+13%) .304 (+9%) .357 (+2%) .661 (+5%) 141.7
1874 NY2 65 297 55 73 7 5 0 31 6 9 5 .246 .273 (-10%) .282 (-5%) .333 (-9%) .615 (-7%) -270.7
1875 NY2 70 276 28 55 7 1 0 23 4 9 0 .199 .253 (-22%) .260 (-14%) .309 (-25%) .570 (-20%) -636.0
1878 IN1 NL 19 84 12 11 1 0 0 5 0 5 11 .131 .259 (-50%) .278 (-35%) .319 (-55%) .597 (-46%) -486.9
1879 TRN NL 28 106 17 28 7 1 0 10 0 8 4 .264 .255 (+3%) .270 (+17%) .328 (+6%) .599 (+11%) 197.5
1881 WOR NL 24 103 13 29 1 0 1 15 0 5 6 .282 .260 (+8%) .290 (+9%) .338 (-5%) .628 (+1%) 46.8
1883 NY4 AA 97 417 75 127 19 6 0 0 0 31 0 .305 .257 (+18%) .285 (+23%) .345 (+10%) .631 (+16%) 1269.9
1884 NY4 AA 111 432 114 110 15 3 1 0 0 74 0 .255 .243 (+5%) .278 (+34%) .327 (-5%) .606 (+13%) 1621.4
1885 NY4 AA 107 420 98 107 12 4 1 30 0 61 0 .255 .244 (+4%) .287 (+23%) .325 (-5%) .613 (+8%) 982.3
1886 NY4 AA 109 413 89 93 7 2 0 23 14 64 0 .225 .246 (-9%) .302 (+10%) .331 (-24%) .634 (-8%) -157.1
1887 NY4 AA 68 257 61 63 5 1 0 24 29 48 11 .245 .270 (-9%) .331 (+15%) .373 (-27%) .705 (-7%) -17.9
1887 NY1 NL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — -17.9
1890 BR4 AA 60 223 44 56 3 2 0 12 12 35 0 .251 .260 (-4%) .336 (+8%) .351 (-20%) .687 (-6%) -56.9
Career · 15 seasons 817 3,294 648 833 93 27 3 208 68 352 45 .253 — — — — 2,616

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .100

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1884 WS NY4 3 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 2 0 0 0
2B 137 58 303 320 113 29
3B 35 3 53 70 36 1
C 1 0 2 1 0 0
OF 100 9 175 16 24 8
SS 560 15 668 1680 346 134

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1872 TRO OF 3 3 7 0 0 0
1872 TRO SS 1 1 1 2 2 0
1872 BR1 2B 8 7 13 23 7 3
1872 BR1 3B 4 3 5 7 4 0
1872 BR1 OF 8 6 19 0 6 0
1873 NY2 1B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1873 NY2 2B 27 0 58 53 17 4
1873 NY2 3B 6 0 7 13 10 0
1873 NY2 C 1 0 2 1 0 0
1873 NY2 OF 6 0 4 0 1 0
1874 NY2 2B 51 51 115 105 47 8
1874 NY2 OF 1 0 1 1 1 0
1874 NY2 SS 14 14 17 37 16 3
1875 NY2 2B 49 0 109 139 42 14
1875 NY2 3B 23 0 41 50 22 1
1875 NY2 OF 1 0 2 0 0 0
1875 NY2 SS 2 0 1 0 0 0
1878 IN1 SS 19 0 19 50 13 1
1879 TRN OF 4 0 5 1 0 0
1879 TRN SS 24 0 37 89 25 8
1881 WOR SS 24 0 20 94 13 6
1883 NY4 SS 97 0 98 232 47 18
1884 NY4 2B 1 0 7 0 0 0
1884 NY4 SS 110 0 113 292 56 16
1885 NY4 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1885 NY4 SS 107 0 153 370 63 33
1886 NY4 OF 36 0 56 3 6 2
1886 NY4 SS 73 0 103 216 54 17
1887 NY4 2B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1887 NY4 OF 37 0 74 11 10 6
1887 NY4 SS 32 0 46 100 17 12
1887 NY1 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1890 BR4 OF 4 0 7 0 0 0
1890 BR4 SS 57 0 60 198 40 20

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Catcher 1
First Base 1
Second Base 136
Third Base 34
Shortstop 560
Left Field 5
Center Field 41
Right Field 54

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Candy Nelson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Danny Murtaugh
    .254 avg, 8 HR
  2. 92
    Dave Chalk
    .252 avg, 15 HR
  3. 92
    Ralph Young
    .247 avg, 4 HR
  4. 92
    Billy Clingman
    .245 avg, 8 HR
  5. 88
    Larry Kopf
    .249 avg, 5 HR
  6. 85
    Tim Flannery
    .255 avg, 9 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Candy Nelson

What years did Candy Nelson play?
Candy Nelson played in Major League Baseball from 1872 to 1890.
Was Candy Nelson a pitcher?
No. Candy Nelson was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Candy Nelson hit?
Candy Nelson hit 3 career home runs with 833 hits.