Rocky Nelson

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1949-1961)

Rocky Nelson was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1961 for 5 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 13 seasons. In 620 career games, he hit .249 with 347 hits, 31 home runs, and 173 RBI.

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

AVG .249
HR 31
RBI 173
H 347
OPS .696
PIV -617
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'10" / 175 lb
Born
11/18/1924 in Portsmouth, OH, USA
Died
10/31/2006 in Portsmouth, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1949-04-27
Last Game
1961-09-29

Full name: Glenn Richard Nelson

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Rocky Nelson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
620 1,394 186 347 61 14 31 173 7 130 94 .249 .317 .379 .696 -617

Career AVG .249 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .317 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .379 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .696 vs. league average .722 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rocky 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
1949 SLN NL 82 244 28 54 8 4 4 32 1 11 12 .221 .262 (-16%) .343 (-25%) .384 (-12%) .727 (-18%) -814.9
1950 SLN NL 76 235 27 58 10 4 1 20 4 26 9 .247 .265 (-7%) .346 (-6%) .401 (-16%) .747 (-12%) -459.0
1951 SLN NL 9 18 3 4 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 .222 — — — — 0.0
1951 PIT NL 71 195 29 52 7 4 1 14 1 10 7 .267 .260 (+2%) .336 (-10%) .385 (-7%) .721 (-8%) 0.0
1951 CHA AL 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1952 BRO NL 37 39 6 10 1 0 0 3 0 7 4 .256 — — — — 0.0
1954 CLE AL 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1956 BRO NL 31 96 7 20 2 0 4 15 0 4 10 .208 .258 (-19%) .331 (-29%) .397 (-11%) .728 (-19%) -337.1
1956 SLN NL 38 56 6 13 5 0 3 8 0 6 6 .232 .258 (-10%) .331 (-7%) .397 (+21%) .728 (+8%) -337.1
1959 PIT NL 98 175 31 51 11 0 6 32 0 23 19 .291 .256 (+14%) .323 (+17%) .392 (+17%) .715 (+17%) 613.6
1960 PIT NL 93 200 34 60 11 1 7 35 1 24 15 .300 .255 (+18%) .323 (+18%) .387 (+21%) .711 (+20%) 779.5
1961 PIT NL 75 127 15 25 5 1 5 13 0 17 11 .197 .258 (-24%) .328 (-8%) .399 (-7%) .727 (-8%) -145.1
Career · 12 seasons 620 1,394 186 347 61 14 31 173 7 130 94 .249 — — — — -700

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

Rocky Nelson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
8 12 2 3 0 0 1 2 2 3 .250

Playoff Batting by Year

Rocky Nelson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1960 WS PIT 4 9 2 3 0 0 1 2 1 1 .333
1952 WS BRO 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (620 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Rocky Nelson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home30772110420718104.287
Away313673831411369.210

Last 10 Games — Batting

Rocky Nelson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1961-09-29 PITCINL 100000000
1961-09-28 PITSFGL 100000000
1961-09-26 PITLADL 100000000
1961-09-17 PITSTLL 100000000
1961-09-14 PITLADL 100000001
1961-09-06 PITCHCL 100000001
1961-09-02 PITSTLW 000000010
1961-09-01 PITSTLL 100000000
1961-08-29 PITCINL 100000001
1961-08-28 PITCHCL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rocky Nelson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 386 131 2760 197 15 299
OF 23 9 35 1 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rocky Nelson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1949 SLN 1B 70 0 564 24 0 48
1950 SLN 1B 70 0 596 51 5 66
1951 SLN 1B 4 0 29 1 0 5
1951 SLN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1951 PIT 1B 32 0 275 24 3 32
1951 PIT OF 12 0 22 1 0 0
1952 BRO 1B 5 0 16 0 0 2
1954 CLE 1B 2 0 6 0 0 1
1956 BRO 1B 25 24 189 20 2 20
1956 SLN 1B 14 0 54 7 0 6
1956 SLN OF 8 8 11 0 0 0
1959 PIT 1B 56 34 337 18 2 45
1959 PIT OF 2 1 2 0 1 0
1960 PIT 1B 73 50 463 37 2 48
1961 PIT 1B 35 23 231 15 1 26

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rocky Nelson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 385
Left Field 22
Right Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Rick Schu
    .246 avg, 41 HR
  2. 91
    Andres Blanco
    .256 avg, 18 HR
  3. 90
    Jesus Guzman
    .247 avg, 25 HR
  4. 88
    Kevin Orie
    .249 avg, 22 HR
  5. 87
    Conor Gillaspie
    .251 avg, 33 HR
  6. 87
    Blake DeWitt
    .257 avg, 21 HR

Rocky Nelson: the record in brief

April 27, 1949 and September 29, 1961 bracket Rocky Nelson's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the St. Louis Cardinals (1949 through 1956), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951 through 1961), the Chicago White Sox (1951), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1952 through 1956), and the Cleveland Indians (1954). At 5'10" and 175 pounds, Nelson is listed as a first baseman. The bio says Nelson threw and hit left-handed. The recorded birth is November 18, 1924, in Portsmouth, OH, USA. Nelson's death is recorded on October 31, 2006, in Portsmouth, OH, USA. On the record, Rocky Nelson was born Glenn Richard Nelson.

Nelson's career batting table shows 620 games, 1,394 at bats and 347 hits, a .249 average, adding 31 home runs and 173 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .317 clip and slugging .379, Nelson finished with a .696 OPS. Nelson hit .249 while the league hit .259 over the same span, a figure close to average. 1960 produced Nelson's most hits, 60 of them for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rocky Nelson

What years did Rocky Nelson play?
Rocky Nelson played in Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1961.
Was Rocky Nelson a pitcher?
No. Rocky Nelson was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Rocky Nelson hit?
Rocky Nelson hit 31 career home runs with 347 hits.
What teams did Rocky Nelson play for?
Rocky Nelson played for 5 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1949–1951, 1956), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951, 1959–1961), the Chicago White Sox (1951), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1952, 1956), and the Cleveland Indians (1954).
What were Rocky Nelson's career stats?
In 620 games, Rocky Nelson had 347 hits, 31 home runs, 173 RBI, 186 runs, and 7 stolen bases, with a .249 batting average.
What position did Rocky Nelson play?
Rocky Nelson played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rocky Nelson and how much did he weigh?
Rocky Nelson was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Rocky Nelson hit each season?
Rocky Nelson's home runs by season: 4 in 1949, 1 in 1950, 1 in 1951, 0 in 1952, 0 in 1954, 7 in 1956, 6 in 1959, 7 in 1960, and 5 in 1961. His most in one season was 7, in 1956 and 1960.
What was Rocky Nelson's career batting average?
Rocky Nelson batted .249 over his career, with 347 hits in 1,394 at bats.
How many RBI did Rocky Nelson have?
Rocky Nelson drove in 173 runs in his career.
Is Rocky Nelson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Rocky Nelson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.