Mel Nelson
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1960-1969)
Mel Nelson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1969 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Minnesota Twins, a span of 10 seasons. Across 93 career appearances, he went 4-10 with a 4.40 ERA and 98 strikeouts.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 185 lb
- Died
- 11/26/2021 in Highland, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1960-09-27
- Last Game
- 1969-06-02
Full name: Melvin Frederick Nelson
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | SLN | NL | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3.38 | — | 0.0 |
| 1963 | LAA | AL | 2 | 3 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 52.2 | 55 | 31 | 32 | 41 | 5.30 | 3.46 (-53%) | -1484.8 |
| 1965 | MIN | AL | 0 | 4 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 54.2 | 57 | 25 | 23 | 31 | 4.12 | 3.50 (-18%) | -1258.5 |
| 1967 | MIN | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 54.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1968 | SLN | NL | 2 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 52.2 | 49 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 2.91 | 2.98 (+3%) | -64.0 |
| 1969 | SLN | NL | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 11.81 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 6 seasons | 4 | 10 | 93 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 173.2 | 184 | 85 | 69 | 98 | 4.40 | — | -2,807 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .147 | .171 | .147 | .318 | 0 |
Career AVG .147 vs. league average .245 across their career seasons — 40.1% below league average.
Career OBP .171 vs. league average .311 across their career seasons — 44.9% below league average.
Career SLG .147 vs. league average .366 across their career seasons — 59.8% below league average.
Career OPS .318 vs. league average .677 across their career seasons — 53.0% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | SLN | NL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1963 | LAA | AL | 39 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .091 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1965 | MIN | AL | 28 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .111 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1967 | MIN | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1968 | SLN | NL | 18 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1969 | SLN | NL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 6 seasons | 96 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .147 | — | — | — | — | 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 (189 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 47 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .167 |
| Away | 49 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .133 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 45 | 97.0 | 105 | 43 | 37 | 52 | 3.99 |
| Away | 48 | 76.2 | 79 | 42 | 32 | 46 | 4.93 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-06-02 | STL | ATL | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-05-24 | STL | LAD | — | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-05-10 | STL | SDP | — | 0.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-05-07 | STL | SFG | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-05-04 | STL | PHI | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1969-05-02 | STL | PHI | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1969-04-20 | STL | NYN | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-04-08 | STL | PIT | L | 0.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1968-09-28 | STL | HOU | — | 1.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968-09-20 | STL | LAD | — | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 93 |
Mel Nelson: the record in brief
The profile opens with Mel Nelson's first major league game on September 27, 1960; the last one listed came on June 2, 1969. Club by club, the record runs the St. Louis Cardinals (1960 through 1969), the Los Angeles Angels (1963), and the Minnesota Twins (1965 to 1967). Born on May 30, 1936, in San Diego, CA, USA, Nelson is listed as a pitcher and threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Size on record: 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds. Nelson died on November 26, 2021, in Highland, CA, USA. The given name on file is Melvin Frederick Nelson.
Nelson went 4-10 with a 4.40 ERA in 93 games, 11 of them starts. The same table counts 98 strikeouts. Against a 3.44 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.40 mark was 28.2% worse. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.91 in 1968, when the league's was 2.98.
Pitching in the playoffs, Nelson went 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 1 games. Those appearances came in 1968.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mel Nelson
- What years did Mel Nelson play?
- Mel Nelson played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1969.
- Was Mel Nelson a pitcher?
- Yes. Mel Nelson pitched in the major leagues, recording 4 wins and 98 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Mel Nelson hit?
- Mel Nelson hit 0 career home runs with 5 hits.
- What was Mel Nelson's career batting average?
- Mel Nelson batted .147 over his career, with 5 hits in 34 at bats.
- How many RBI did Mel Nelson have?
- Mel Nelson drove in 3 runs in his career.
- What was Mel Nelson's career ERA?
- Mel Nelson finished with a 4.40 career ERA, going 4-10 with 98 strikeouts.