John Nelson Kerins (July 15, 1858 – September 8, 1919) was an American Major League Baseball player who appeared mainly at first base but also at catcher and in the outfield.

He played for the Indianapolis Hoosiers (1884), Louisville Colonels (1885-1889), Baltimore Orioles (1889) and St. Louis Browns (1890).

His appointment as an AA umpire was made official in April 1891, after Kerins had retired as a player.

[4] By 1895, Kerins was working as a bartender at a Louisville bar partly owned by major league outfielder Tom Brown.

[6] Late in life, Kerins worked as a houseman at the Tyler Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.