Dave Nelson

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1968-1977)

AVG .244
HR 20
RBI 211
H 630
OPS .618
PIV -3,719
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 160 lb
Born
6/20/1944 in Fort Sill, OK, USA
Died
4/23/2018 in Milwaukee, WI, USA
MLB Debut
1968-04-11
Last Game
1977-09-27
Awards
All-Star

Full name: David Earl Nelson

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
813 2,578 340 630 77 19 20 211 187 220 392 .244 .305 .312 .618 -3,719

Career AVG .244 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .305 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .312 vs. league average .371 across their career seasons — 15.8% below league average.

Career OPS .618 vs. league average .691 across their career seasons — 10.6% below 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
1968 CLE AL 88 189 26 44 4 5 0 19 23 17 35 .233 .236 (-2%) .298 (-1%) .340 (-10%) .638 (-6%) -170.9
1969 CLE AL 52 123 11 25 0 0 0 6 4 9 26 .203 .248 (-18%) .320 (-19%) .369 (-45%) .689 (-33%) -609.9
1970 WS2 AL 47 107 5 17 1 0 0 4 2 7 24 .159 .253 (-37%) .325 (-36%) .385 (-56%) .711 (-47%) -807.9
1971 WS2 AL 85 329 47 92 11 3 5 33 17 23 29 .280 .249 (+12%) .316 (+3%) .365 (+3%) .682 (+3%) 169.0
1972 TEX AL 145 499 68 113 16 3 2 28 51 67 81 .226 .243 (-7%) .310 (+4%) .353 (-20%) .664 (-9%) -422.2
1973 TEX AL 142 576 71 165 24 4 7 48 43 34 78 .286 .256 (+11%) .325 (avg) .378 (avg) .703 (avg) -82.8
1974 TEX AL 121 474 71 112 13 1 3 42 25 34 72 .236 .256 (-8%) .324 (-10%) .369 (-22%) .693 (-17%) -1188.5
1975 TEX AL 28 80 9 17 1 0 2 10 6 8 10 .212 .257 (-17%) .327 (-12%) .374 (-20%) .701 (-16%) -194.3
1976 KCA AL 78 153 24 36 4 2 1 17 15 14 26 .235 .255 (-8%) .320 (-7%) .360 (-15%) .681 (-11%) -258.7
1977 KCA AL 27 48 8 9 3 1 0 4 1 7 11 .188 — — — — -152.8
Career · 10 seasons 813 2,578 340 630 77 19 20 211 187 220 392 .244 — — — — -3,719

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
2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1976 ALCS KCA 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (813 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home4131291175310898.240
Away400128716532012113.249

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1977-09-27 KCROAKL 401100000
1977-09-26 KCROAKL 000000000
1977-09-25 KCRLAAW 200000011
1977-09-24 KCRLAAW 300000021
1977-09-15 KCROAKW 000000000
1977-07-05 KCRTEXW 000000000
1977-07-03 KCRCLEL 200000000
1977-06-29 KCRLAAL 100000001
1977-06-28 KCRLAAW 010000000
1977-06-26 KCROAKL 300000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 0 9 2 0 3
2B 466 411 1016 1151 53 278
3B 203 193 170 371 33 40
OF 17 16 25 0 3 0
SS 14 1 9 13 1 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1968 CLE 2B 59 53 115 114 3 26
1968 CLE SS 14 1 9 13 1 1
1969 CLE 2B 33 30 78 94 6 28
1969 CLE OF 2 0 1 0 0 0
1970 WS2 2B 33 21 64 79 2 19
1971 WS2 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1971 WS2 3B 84 80 63 149 14 15
1972 TEX 3B 119 113 107 222 19 25
1972 TEX OF 15 16 24 0 3 0
1973 TEX 2B 140 137 327 364 11 98
1974 TEX 2B 120 119 295 337 20 74
1975 TEX 2B 23 20 56 60 5 16
1976 KCA 1B 3 0 9 2 0 3
1976 KCA 2B 46 26 70 88 4 14
1977 KCA 2B 11 5 11 14 2 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 2
Second Base 467
Third Base 202
Shortstop 14
Left Field 8
Center Field 10
Right Field 1
Designated Hitter 32

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1973 Most Valuable Player AL 33th 2.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Bill McKechnie HOF
    .251 avg, 8 HR
  2. 97
    Dick Egan
    .249 avg, 4 HR
  3. 97
    Sonny Jackson
    .251 avg, 7 HR
  4. 94
    Wayne Tolleson
    .241 avg, 9 HR
  5. 94
    Bill McClellan
    .242 avg, 6 HR
  6. 93
    Eddie Grant
    .249 avg, 5 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Dave Nelson

What years did Dave Nelson play?
Dave Nelson played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1977.
Was Dave Nelson a pitcher?
No. Dave Nelson was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Dave Nelson hit?
Dave Nelson hit 20 career home runs with 630 hits.