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.

What was Candy Nelson's career batting average?

Candy Nelson batted .253 over his career, with 833 hits in 3,294 at bats.

How many RBI did Candy Nelson have?

Candy Nelson drove in 208 runs in his career.

Is Candy Nelson in the Hall of Fame?

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

Candy Nelson

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

Candy Nelson was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1872 to 1890 for 9 teams, including the Troy Haymakers, a span of 19 seasons. In 817 career games, he hit .253 with 833 hits, 3 home runs, and 208 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,570.

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 October 12, 2026

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

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Career Batting Statistics

Candy Nelson — 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.

Candy Nelson Stats, Bio & Career Records
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

Candy Nelson — 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

Candy Nelson — 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

Candy Nelson — 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

Candy Nelson — 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.

Candy Nelson Stats, Bio & Career Records
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.

Candy Nelson: the record in brief

The profile opens with Candy Nelson's first major league game on June 11, 1872; the last one listed came on August 25, 1890. The team column moves through the Troy Haymakers (1872), the Brooklyn Eckfords (1872), the New York Mutuals (1873 through 1875), the Indianapolis Blues (1878), the Troy Trojans (1879), the Worcester Ruby Legs (1881), the New York Metropolitans (1883 to 1887), and the New York Giants (1887), with further stops in the season rows. Nelson played primarily as a shortstop and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Born on March 14, 1849, in Portland, ME, USA, Nelson was listed at 145 pounds on a 5-foot-6 frame. Nelson's death is recorded on September 4, 1910, in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Nelson's full given name, per the bio, is John W. Nelson.

Nelson finished with 833 hits from 3,294 at bats in 817 games, which works out to .253, along with 3 homers, 208 runs batted in, and 68 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .330 and .300 give Nelson a career OPS of .630.

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.
What was Candy Nelson's career batting average?: Candy Nelson batted .253 over his career, with 833 hits in 3,294 at bats.
How many RBI did Candy Nelson have?: Candy Nelson drove in 208 runs in his career.
Is Candy Nelson in the Hall of Fame?: No. Candy Nelson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.