What years did Joe Nolan play?

Joe Nolan played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1985.

Was Joe Nolan a pitcher?

No. Joe Nolan was a position player (Catcher).

How many home runs did Joe Nolan hit?

Joe Nolan hit 27 career home runs with 382 hits.

Joe Nolan

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1972-1985)

AVG .263

HR 27

RBI 178

H 382

OPS .714

PIV 808

Position: Catcher
Bats / Throws: L / R
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 175 lb
Born: 5/12/1951 in St. Louis, MO, USA
MLB Debut: 1972-09-21
Last Game: 1985-06-25

Full name: Joseph William Nolan

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Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
621	1,454	156	382	66	10	27	178	7	164	183	.263	.336	.378	.714	808

Career AVG .263 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .336 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .378 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .714 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — near 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
1972	NYN	NL	4	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	ATL	NL	4	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	ATL	NL	62	82	13	23	3	0	3	9	1	13	12	.280	.264 (+6%)	.329 (+14%)	.401 (+6%)	.730 (+10%)	180.0
1978	ATL	NL	95	213	22	49	7	3	4	22	3	34	28	.230	.257 (-11%)	.323 (+5%)	.378 (-8%)	.702 (-2%)	7.0
1979	ATL	NL	89	230	28	57	9	3	4	21	1	27	28	.248	.265 (-7%)	.329 (+1%)	.397 (-8%)	.727 (-4%)	-102.7
1980	ATL	NL	17	22	2	6	1	0	0	2	0	2	4	.273	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	CIN	NL	53	154	14	48	7	0	3	24	0	13	8	.312	.264 (+18%)	.326 (+8%)	.387 (+7%)	.714 (+8%)	0.0
1981	CIN	NL	81	236	25	73	18	1	1	26	1	24	19	.309	.255 (+21%)	.320 (+16%)	.368 (+10%)	.688 (+13%)	563.6
1982	BAL	AL	77	219	24	51	7	1	6	35	1	16	35	.233	.261 (-11%)	.324 (-14%)	.388 (-8%)	.712 (-11%)	-448.6
1983	BAL	AL	73	184	25	51	11	1	5	24	0	16	31	.277	.260 (+6%)	.324 (+5%)	.389 (+10%)	.714 (+8%)	270.4
1984	BAL	AL	35	62	2	18	1	1	1	9	0	12	10	.290	.259 (+12%)	.322 (+24%)	.384 (+1%)	.707 (+11%)	164.0
1985	BAL	AL	31	38	1	5	2	0	0	6	0	5	5	.132	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 12 seasons			621	1,454	156	382	66	10	27	178	7	164	183	.263	—	—	—	—	634

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
3	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1983	ALCS	BAL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000
1983	WS	BAL	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (621 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	310	697	82	178	15	95	.255
Away	311	757	74	204	12	83	.269

Last 10 Games — Batting

Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	BB	SO
1985-06-25	BAL	NYY	L	1	0	0
1985-06-24	BAL	NYY	L	1	0	0
1985-06-23	BAL	MIL	W	1	0	0
1985-06-21	BAL	MIL	L	1	0	1
1985-06-18	BAL	NYY	L	1	0	0
1985-06-12	BAL	DET	L	1	0	0
1985-06-09	BAL	BOS	L	1	0	0
1985-06-08	BAL	BOS	L	0	1	0
1985-06-07	BAL	BOS	L	1	0	0
1985-06-05	BAL	LAA	W	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
C	444	356	1940	148	34	20

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1972	NYN	C	3	2	12	3	1	0
1975	ATL	C	1	0	2	0	0	0
1977	ATL	C	19	13	80	7	0	2
1978	ATL	C	61	53	295	24	7	3
1979	ATL	C	74	58	328	27	6	2
1980	ATL	C	6	3	20	3	0	1
1980	CIN	C	51	42	251	23	5	6
1981	CIN	C	81	62	393	18	2	2
1982	BAL	C	72	62	292	22	7	2
1983	BAL	C	65	52	223	16	5	2
1984	BAL	C	6	5	22	3	1	0
1985	BAL	C	5	4	22	2	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position	Games
Catcher	443
Designated Hitter	15

Salary History

Year	Team	League	Salary
1985	BAL	AL	$341,667
Total Career Earnings			$341,667

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Nolan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Nolan

What years did Joe Nolan play?: Joe Nolan played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1985.
Was Joe Nolan a pitcher?: No. Joe Nolan was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Joe Nolan hit?: Joe Nolan hit 27 career home runs with 382 hits.