What years did Joe Nelson play?

Joe Nelson played in Major League Baseball from 2001 to 2010.

Was Joe Nelson a pitcher?

Yes. Joe Nelson pitched in the major leagues, recording 7 wins and 154 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Joe Nelson hit?

Joe Nelson hit 0 career home runs.

What teams did Joe Nelson play for?

Joe Nelson played for 5 teams: the Atlanta Braves (2001), the Boston Red Sox (2004, 2010), the Kansas City Royals (2006), the Florida Marlins (2008), and the Tampa Bay Rays (2009).

What were Joe Nelson's career stats?

In 157 games, Joe Nelson went 7-2 with a 4.38 ERA, 154 strikeouts, 152.0 innings pitched, and 13 saves.

What was Joe Nelson's salary?

Joe Nelson's last recorded salary was $1,300,000, in 2009. His highest recorded salary was $1,300,000, in 2009, and his lowest was $394,000, in 2007. The Salary History table lists each season from 2007 to 2009.

What position did Joe Nelson play?

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

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

Joe Nelson was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds.

What was Joe Nelson's career ERA?

Joe Nelson finished with a 4.38 career ERA, going 7-2 with 154 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Joe Nelson have?

Joe Nelson recorded 154 career strikeouts.

Is Joe Nelson in the Hall of Fame?

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

Joe Nelson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2001-2010)

Joe Nelson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2001 to 2010 for 5 teams, including the Atlanta Braves, a span of 10 seasons. Across 157 career appearances, he went 7-2 with a 4.38 ERA and 154 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 100.3.

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 24, 2026

W–L 7–2

ERA 4.38

WHIP 1.45

SO 154

Pitcher PIV 100.3

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 185 lb
Born: 10/25/1974 in Alameda, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 2001-06-13
Last Game: 2010-06-09

Full name: Joseph George Nelson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Joe Nelson — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
7	2	157	0	0	0	13	152.0	136	74	20	84	154	4.38	100.3

Career ERA 4.38 vs. league average 4.36 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Nelson — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
2001	ATL	NL	0	0	2	0	2.0	7	8	2	0	36.00	—	0.0
2004	BOS	AL	0	0	3	0	2.2	4	5	3	5	16.88	—	0.0
2006	KCA	AL	1	1	43	9	44.2	37	22	24	44	4.43	4.53 (+2%)	243.3
2008	FLO	NL	3	1	59	1	54.0	42	12	22	60	2.00	4.32 (+54%)	1197.1
2009	TBA	AL	3	0	42	3	40.1	32	18	27	36	4.02	4.32 (+7%)	-1340.1
2010	BOS	AL	0	0	8	0	8.1	14	9	6	9	9.72	—	0.0
Career · 6 seasons			7	2	157	13	152.0	136	74	84	154	4.38	—	100

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

Joe Nelson — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
157	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .421 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .753 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Nelson — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
2001	ATL	NL	2	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2004	BOS	AL	3	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2006	KCA	AL	43	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2008	FLO	NL	59	1	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2009	TBA	AL	42	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2010	BOS	AL	8	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 6 seasons			157	1	1	.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 (314 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Nelson — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	79	1	1	0	0	0	.000
Away	78	0	0	0	0	0	—

Pitching — Home / Away

Joe Nelson — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	79	79.1	69	38	38	79	4.31
Away	78	72.2	67	36	46	75	4.46

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Joe Nelson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
2010-06-09	BOS	CLE	—	1.0	5	4	4	3	1	1
2010-06-05	BOS	BAL	—	0.1	2	2	2	2	1	0
2010-06-01	BOS	OAK	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0
2010-05-30	BOS	KCR	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0
2010-05-28	BOS	KCR	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0
2010-05-27	BOS	KCR	—	1.1	2	1	1	0	0	0
2010-05-26	BOS	TBR	—	1.0	1	1	1	1	1	1
2010-05-21	BOS	PHI	—	2.0	3	1	1	0	1	0
2009-07-31	TBR	KCR	—	1.0	0	1	0	0	1	0
2009-07-27	TBR	NYY	—	1.2	1	1	1	3	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Nelson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	157	0	6	14	1	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Nelson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
2001	ATL	P	2	0	0	0	0
2004	BOS	P	3	0	0	0	0
2006	KCA	P	43	3	5	0	1
2008	FLO	P	59	2	6	0	0
2009	TBA	P	42	1	3	1	0
2010	BOS	P	8	0	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Nelson — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	157

Salary History

Joe Nelson's recorded salaries total $1,694,000 over 2 seasons, 2007 to 2009. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Nelson's career ran from 2001 to 2010. No salary is recorded for 5 of his seasons between 1985 and 2016.

Joe Nelson — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2009	TBA	AL	$1,300,000
2007	KCA	AL	$394,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$1,694,000

College History

Joe Nelson — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
University of San Francisco	San Francisco	CA	1996

Joe Nelson: the record in brief

Joe Nelson's major league career runs from a debut on June 13, 2001 to a final game on June 9, 2010. The team column moves through the Atlanta Braves (2001), the Boston Red Sox (2004 through 2010), the Kansas City Royals (2006), the Florida Marlins (2008), and the Tampa Bay Rays (2009). Nelson, born on October 25, 1974, in Alameda, CA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 6 feet, 2 inches and 185 pounds. The given name on file is Joseph George Nelson.

Nelson went 7-2 with a 4.38 ERA in 157 games, 0 of them starts. The same table counts 154 strikeouts and 13 saves. Nelson's 4.38 ERA was close to the 4.36 league figure for those seasons. 2008 was Nelson's sharpest full season, a 2.00 ERA against the league's 4.32. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 100.3 for Nelson's career.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Nelson

What years did Joe Nelson play?: Joe Nelson played in Major League Baseball from 2001 to 2010.
Was Joe Nelson a pitcher?: Yes. Joe Nelson pitched in the major leagues, recording 7 wins and 154 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joe Nelson hit?: Joe Nelson hit 0 career home runs.
What teams did Joe Nelson play for?: Joe Nelson played for 5 teams: the Atlanta Braves (2001), the Boston Red Sox (2004, 2010), the Kansas City Royals (2006), the Florida Marlins (2008), and the Tampa Bay Rays (2009).
What were Joe Nelson's career stats?: In 157 games, Joe Nelson went 7-2 with a 4.38 ERA, 154 strikeouts, 152.0 innings pitched, and 13 saves.
How much did Joe Nelson earn in his career?: Joe Nelson's recorded salaries total $1,694,000 over 2 seasons, 2007 to 2009. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Nelson's career ran from 2001 to 2010. No salary is recorded for 5 of his seasons between 1985 and 2016.
What was Joe Nelson's salary?: Joe Nelson's last recorded salary was $1,300,000, in 2009. His highest recorded salary was $1,300,000, in 2009, and his lowest was $394,000, in 2007. The Salary History table lists each season from 2007 to 2009.
What position did Joe Nelson play?: Joe Nelson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Joe Nelson and how much did he weigh?: Joe Nelson was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds.
What was Joe Nelson's career ERA?: Joe Nelson finished with a 4.38 career ERA, going 7-2 with 154 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Joe Nelson have?: Joe Nelson recorded 154 career strikeouts.
Is Joe Nelson in the Hall of Fame?: No. Joe Nelson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.