John Shelby

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1981-1991)

AVG .239
HR 70
RBI 313
H 739
OPS .645
PIV -4,945
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 175 lb
Born
2/23/1958 in Lexington, KY, USA
MLB Debut
1981-09-15
Last Game
1991-08-11

Full name: John T. Shelby

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,036 3,090 389 739 128 24 70 313 98 182 671 .239 .281 .364 .645 -4,945

Career AVG .239 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 7.3% below league average.

Career OBP .281 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 13.2% below league average.

Career SLG .364 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 6.0% below league average.

Career OPS .645 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 9.3% 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
1981 BAL AL 7 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 BAL AL 26 35 8 11 3 0 1 2 0 0 5 .314 — — — — 0.0
1983 BAL AL 126 325 52 84 15 2 5 27 15 18 64 .258 .260 (-1%) .324 (-8%) .389 (-7%) .714 (-8%) -413.8
1984 BAL AL 128 383 44 80 12 5 6 30 12 20 71 .209 .259 (-20%) .322 (-23%) .384 (-19%) .707 (-21%) -1298.2
1985 BAL AL 69 205 28 58 6 2 7 27 5 7 44 .283 .257 (+10%) .323 (-5%) .390 (+11%) .714 (+4%) 79.6
1986 BAL AL 135 404 54 92 14 4 11 49 18 18 75 .228 .257 (-12%) .325 (-19%) .395 (-8%) .720 (-13%) -943.3
1987 BAL AL 21 32 4 6 0 0 1 3 0 1 13 .188 — — — — 0.0
1987 LAN NL 120 476 61 132 26 0 21 69 16 31 97 .277 .262 (+5%) .331 (-4%) .415 (+12%) .746 (+5%) 0.0
1988 LAN NL 140 494 65 130 23 6 10 64 16 44 128 .263 .254 (+4%) .317 (+1%) .377 (+5%) .695 (+3%) 181.6
1989 LAN NL 108 345 28 63 11 1 1 12 10 25 92 .183 .254 (-28%) .319 (-26%) .375 (-39%) .694 (-33%) -1743.0
1990 LAN NL 25 24 2 6 1 0 0 2 1 0 7 .250 — — — — 0.0
1990 DET AL 78 222 22 55 9 3 4 20 3 10 51 .248 .257 (-4%) .324 (-14%) .385 (-4%) .710 (-9%) 0.0
1991 DET AL 53 143 19 22 8 1 3 8 0 8 23 .154 .255 (-40%) .323 (-37%) .384 (-25%) .708 (-31%) -725.5
Career · 13 seasons 1,036 3,090 389 739 128 24 70 313 98 182 671 .239 — — — — -4,863

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
20 60 5 14 1 0 0 5 8 26 .233

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1988 NLCS LAN 7 24 3 4 0 0 0 3 5 12 .167
1988 WS LAN 5 18 0 4 1 0 0 1 2 7 .222
1983 ALCS BAL 3 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .222
1983 WS BAL 5 9 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 4 .444

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1036 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home517149117634530145.231
Away519159921339440168.246

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1991-08-11 DETNYYL 100000000
1991-08-11 DETNYYL 400000000
1991-08-10 DETNYYW 300000000
1991-08-02 DETNYYW 200000001
1991-08-01 DETLAAW 000000000
1991-07-31 DETLAAW 100000000
1991-07-30 DETMINL 400000001
1991-07-29 DETMINL 300000002
1991-07-24 DETMINW 401000100
1991-07-19 DETKCRW 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
OF 948 722 1949 55 36 15

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1981 BAL OF 4 0 1 0 0 0
1982 BAL OF 24 5 20 1 0 1
1983 BAL OF 115 59 200 9 4 3
1984 BAL OF 124 84 261 9 2 1
1985 BAL 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1985 BAL OF 59 43 148 3 3 0
1986 BAL OF 121 90 222 5 5 2
1987 BAL OF 19 8 25 0 0 0
1987 LAN OF 117 117 269 9 8 3
1988 LAN OF 140 138 329 7 6 1
1989 LAN OF 98 86 220 3 2 1
1990 LAN OF 12 1 8 0 0 0
1990 DET OF 68 56 138 5 4 3
1991 DET OF 47 35 108 4 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Second Base 1
Left Field 115
Center Field 780
Right Field 85
Designated Hitter 18

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1991 DET AL $525,000
1990 LAN NL $500,000
1989 LAN NL $550,000
1988 LAN NL $465,000
1987 BAL AL $300,000
1986 BAL AL $240,000
1985 BAL AL $130,000
Total Career Earnings $2,710,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Columbia State Community College Columbia TN 1977

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

John Shelby (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Marvell Wynne
    .247 avg, 40 HR
  2. 97
    Juan Lagares
    .250 avg, 31 HR
  3. 97
    Jake Marisnick
    .228 avg, 65 HR
  4. 96
    Peter Bourjos
    .237 avg, 43 HR
  5. 95
    Leonys Martin
    .244 avg, 58 HR
  6. 91
    George Wright
    .245 avg, 42 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about John Shelby

What years did John Shelby play?
John Shelby played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1991.
Was John Shelby a pitcher?
No. John Shelby was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did John Shelby hit?
John Shelby hit 70 career home runs with 739 hits.