What years did Mel Parnell play?

Mel Parnell played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1956.

Was Mel Parnell a pitcher?

Yes. Mel Parnell pitched in the major leagues, recording 123 wins and 732 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Mel Parnell hit?

Mel Parnell hit 1 career home runs with 132 hits.

Mel Parnell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1947-1956)

W–L 123–75

ERA 3.50

WHIP 1.41

SO 732

Pitcher PIV 11763.1

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 180 lb
Born: 6/13/1922 in New Orleans, LA, USA
Died: 3/20/2012 in New Orleans, LA, USA
MLB Debut: 1947-04-20
Last Game: 1956-09-29
Awards: 2× All-Star

Full name: Melvin Lloyd Parnell

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
123	75	289	232	113	20	10	1752.7	1,715	682	104	758	732	3.50	11763.1

Career ERA 3.50 vs. league average 4.03 across their career seasons — 13.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1947	BOS	AL	2	3	15	5	1	0	0	50.7	60	36	27	23	6.39	3.97 (-61%)	344.5
1948	BOS	AL	15	8	35	27	16	1	0	212.0	205	74	90	77	3.14	4.10 (+23%)	1644.6
1949	BOS	AL	25	7	39	33	27	4	2	295.3	258	91	134	122	2.77	4.12 (+33%)	5255.1
1950	BOS	AL	18	10	40	31	21	2	3	249.0	244	100	106	93	3.61	4.36 (+17%)	1789.0
1951	BOS	AL	18	11	36	29	11	3	2	221.0	229	80	77	77	3.26	4.04 (+19%)	3271.6
1952	BOS	AL	12	12	33	29	15	3	2	214.0	207	86	89	107	3.62	3.70 (+2%)	1145.1
1953	BOS	AL	21	8	38	34	12	5	0	241.0	217	82	116	136	3.06	4.14 (+26%)	2357.5
1954	BOS	AL	3	7	19	15	4	1	0	92.3	104	38	35	38	3.70	3.90 (+5%)	393.4
1955	BOS	AL	2	3	13	9	0	0	1	46.0	62	40	25	18	7.83	4.00 (-96%)	-3075.0
1956	BOS	AL	7	6	21	20	6	1	0	131.3	129	55	59	41	3.77	3.96 (+5%)	-1362.6
Career · 10 seasons			123	75	289	232	113	20	10	1,752.2	1,715	682	758	732	3.50	—	11,763

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
293	668	52	132	17	2	1	50	2	29	94	.198	.233	.234	.467	-2,892

Career AVG .198 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 24.3% below league average.

Career OBP .233 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 30.7% below league average.

Career SLG .234 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 39.7% below league average.

Career OPS .467 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 35.5% 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
1947	BOS	AL	15	18	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	.056	—	—	—	—	0.0
1948	BOS	AL	35	80	6	13	1	0	0	8	0	1	11	.163	.263 (-38%)	.340 (-49%)	.379 (-54%)	.719 (-52%)	-665.1
1949	BOS	AL	39	114	9	29	3	0	0	13	0	3	10	.254	.262 (-3%)	.343 (-20%)	.384 (-27%)	.727 (-24%)	-452.4
1950	BOS	AL	40	98	7	19	5	0	0	7	0	5	13	.194	.265 (-27%)	.346 (-31%)	.401 (-39%)	.747 (-35%)	-580.3
1951	BOS	AL	37	81	12	25	1	1	0	5	0	7	10	.309	.260 (+18%)	.336 (+8%)	.385 (-10%)	.721 (-2%)	-10.8
1952	BOS	AL	35	84	4	8	0	1	1	4	0	6	12	.095	.252 (-62%)	.326 (-52%)	.369 (-58%)	.696 (-55%)	-735.9
1953	BOS	AL	38	94	7	21	4	0	0	9	1	4	16	.223	.264 (-15%)	.335 (-24%)	.397 (-33%)	.733 (-29%)	-447.7
1954	BOS	AL	19	34	1	3	1	0	0	0	1	1	4	.088	—	—	—	—	0.0
1955	BOS	AL	14	19	1	6	1	0	0	3	0	0	3	.316	—	—	—	—	0.0
1956	BOS	AL	21	46	4	7	1	0	0	0	0	2	11	.152	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 10 seasons			293	668	52	132	17	2	1	50	2	29	94	.198	—	—	—	—	-2,892

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 (582 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	146	340	31	66	0	22	.194
Away	147	328	21	66	1	28	.201

Pitching — Home / Away

Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	142	923.0	896	348	364	378	3.39
Away	147	830.0	819	331	394	353	3.59

Last 10 Games — Batting

Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	BB	SO
1956-09-29	BOS	NYY	W	1	1	1	0
1956-09-16	BOS	DET	L	1	0	0	0
1956-09-14	BOS	CLE	L	1	0	0	1
1956-09-07	BOS	BAL	W	3	0	0	0
1956-09-03	BOS	MIN	W	1	0	0	0
1956-08-28	BOS	DET	L	1	0	0	0
1956-08-23	BOS	CLE	W	3	0	0	0
1956-08-19	BOS	MIN	L	2	0	0	2
1956-08-14	BOS	NYY	L	1	0	0	1
1956-08-08	BOS	BAL	W	3	0	0	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1956-09-29	BOS	NYY	—	6.0	7	3	3	2	1	0
1956-09-16	BOS	DET	L	2.2	7	4	4	1	0	0
1956-09-14	BOS	CLE	L	5.1	6	6	6	7	3	1
1956-09-07	BOS	BAL	—	8.0	7	5	5	4	1	0
1956-09-03	BOS	MIN	—	0.0	2	4	3	2	0	0
1956-08-28	BOS	DET	L	6.0	9	5	4	2	2	1
1956-08-23	BOS	CLE	W	9.0	3	1	1	1	2	1
1956-08-19	BOS	MIN	—	3.1	8	5	4	3	1	0
1956-08-14	BOS	NYY	L	3.0	6	5	5	0	2	2
1956-08-08	BOS	BAL	W	9.0	8	2	0	6	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	289	44	69	327	12	27

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1947	BOS	P	15	0	0	7	1	0
1948	BOS	P	35	0	9	48	1	3
1949	BOS	P	39	0	8	53	0	5
1950	BOS	P	40	0	7	67	1	6
1951	BOS	P	36	0	8	42	3	2
1952	BOS	P	33	0	15	38	0	4
1953	BOS	P	38	0	10	27	2	4
1954	BOS	P	19	15	3	17	1	1
1955	BOS	P	13	9	2	9	1	0
1956	BOS	P	21	20	7	19	2	2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position	Games
Pitcher	289

Awards & Honors

Year	Award	Notes
1949	Baseball Magazine All-Star	P3
1949	Baseball Magazine All-Star	P4
1949	TSN All-Star	P

Award Voting History

Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1953	Most Valuable Player	AL	14th	27.0	336	0
1951	Most Valuable Player	AL	24th	7.0	336	0
1950	Most Valuable Player	AL	21th	7.0	336	0
1949	Most Valuable Player	AL	4th	151.0	336	1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Mel Parnell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mel Parnell

What years did Mel Parnell play?: Mel Parnell played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1956.
Was Mel Parnell a pitcher?: Yes. Mel Parnell pitched in the major leagues, recording 123 wins and 732 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Mel Parnell hit?: Mel Parnell hit 1 career home runs with 132 hits.