Don Buford

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1963-1972)

Don Buford was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1972 for the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles, a span of 10 seasons. In 1,286 career games, he hit .264 with 1,203 hits, 93 home runs, and 418 RBI. Don Buford was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 10,146.

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 .264
HR 93
RBI 418
H 1,203
OPS .741
PIV 10,146
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
5'7" / 160 lb
Born
2/2/1937 in Linden, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1963-09-14
Last Game
1972-10-03
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Don Alvin Buford

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Don Buford — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,286 4,553 718 1,203 157 44 93 418 200 672 575 .264 .362 .379 .741 10,146

Career AVG .264 vs. league average .247 across their career seasons — +7.1% above league average.

Career OBP .362 vs. league average .313 across their career seasons — +15.7% above league average.

Career SLG .379 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .741 vs. league average .680 across their career seasons — +9.0% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Buford 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
1963 CHA AL 12 42 9 12 1 2 0 5 1 5 7 .286 — — — — 0.0
1964 CHA AL 135 442 62 116 14 6 4 30 12 46 62 .262 .250 (+5%) .312 (+8%) .377 (-8%) .690 (-1%) 56.7
1965 CHA AL 155 586 93 166 22 5 10 47 17 67 76 .283 .245 (+15%) .310 (+15%) .371 (+5%) .682 (+9%) 1261.9
1966 CHA AL 163 607 85 148 26 7 8 52 51 69 71 .244 .248 (-2%) .309 (+4%) .376 (-7%) .685 (-2%) -67.4
1967 CHA AL 156 535 61 129 10 9 4 32 34 65 51 .241 .242 (-1%) .306 (+5%) .357 (-12%) .663 (-4%) -182.7
1968 BAL AL 130 426 65 120 13 4 15 46 27 57 46 .282 .236 (+19%) .298 (+23%) .340 (+28%) .638 (+26%) 2090.4
1969 BAL AL 144 554 99 161 31 3 11 64 19 96 62 .291 .248 (+17%) .320 (+24%) .369 (+13%) .689 (+18%) 2333.9
1970 BAL AL 144 504 99 137 15 2 17 66 16 109 55 .272 .253 (+7%) .325 (+25%) .385 (+7%) .711 (+15%) 2074.5
1971 BAL AL 122 449 99 130 19 4 19 54 15 89 62 .290 .249 (+16%) .316 (+30%) .365 (+30%) .682 (+30%) 2969.5
1972 BAL AL 125 408 46 84 6 2 5 22 8 69 83 .206 .243 (-16%) .310 (+5%) .353 (-25%) .664 (-11%) -390.6
Career · 10 seasons 1,286 4,553 718 1,203 157 44 93 418 200 672 575 .264 — — — — 10,146

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

Don Buford — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
22 86 13 22 3 1 5 11 15 10 .256

Playoff Batting by Year

Don Buford — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1971 ALCS BAL 2 7 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 .429
1971 WS BAL 6 23 3 6 1 0 2 4 3 3 .261
1970 ALCS BAL 2 7 2 3 0 0 1 3 2 0 .429
1970 WS BAL 4 15 3 4 0 0 1 1 3 2 .267
1969 ALCS BAL 3 14 3 4 1 0 0 1 3 0 .286
1969 WS BAL 5 20 1 2 1 0 1 2 2 4 .100

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1286 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Don Buford — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home631214433356241200.262
Away655240938564152218.266

Last 10 Games — Batting

Don Buford — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1972-10-03 BALCLEL 100000000
1972-09-29 BALBOSL 400000012
1972-09-27 BALCLEL 401000010
1972-09-26 BALCLEL 101000000
1972-09-23 BALMILL 501000002
1972-09-20 BALBOSL 100000001
1972-09-16 BALNYYW 411100011
1972-09-15 BALNYYW 310000010
1972-09-13 BALDETL 411000002
1972-09-12 BALDETL 100000011

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Don Buford — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 392 331 848 868 54 225
3B 352 266 252 696 50 57
OF 555 540 983 37 12 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Don Buford — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1963 CHA 2B 2 2 3 1 1 0
1963 CHA 3B 9 8 10 11 1 1
1964 CHA 2B 92 85 196 198 13 60
1964 CHA 3B 37 22 30 63 3 5
1965 CHA 2B 139 128 326 357 13 93
1965 CHA 3B 41 15 13 59 1 9
1966 CHA 2B 37 31 88 81 8 18
1966 CHA 3B 133 121 98 301 26 24
1966 CHA OF 11 6 13 1 0 0
1967 CHA 2B 51 39 102 99 8 30
1967 CHA 3B 121 94 95 250 19 16
1967 CHA OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1968 BAL 2B 58 37 109 107 8 22
1968 BAL 3B 2 1 0 0 0 0
1968 BAL OF 65 66 130 4 0 0
1969 BAL 2B 10 8 22 21 2 2
1969 BAL 3B 6 3 5 10 0 2
1969 BAL OF 128 128 228 7 4 1
1970 BAL 2B 3 1 2 4 1 0
1970 BAL 3B 3 2 1 2 0 0
1970 BAL OF 130 125 221 13 3 3
1971 BAL OF 115 113 217 6 3 0
1972 BAL OF 105 101 173 6 2 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Don Buford Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 393
Third Base 354
Left Field 513
Center Field 42
Right Field 5

College History

Don Buford — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Southern California Los Angeles CA 1958, 1959

Award Voting History

Don Buford — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1971 Most Valuable Player AL 27th 2.0 336 0
1970 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 12.0 336 0
1968 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 11.0 280 0
1965 Most Valuable Player AL 25th 3.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Don Buford (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bill Doran
    .266 avg, 84 HR
  2. 81
    Billy Werber
    .271 avg, 78 HR
  3. 80
    Lyn Lary
    .269 avg, 38 HR
  4. 67
    Snuffy Stirnweiss
    .268 avg, 29 HR
  5. 67
    Wes Parker
    .267 avg, 64 HR
  6. 67
    Bobby Avila
    .281 avg, 80 HR

Don Buford: the record in brief

Don Buford's major league career runs from a debut on September 14, 1963 to a final game on October 3, 1972. The team column moves through the Chicago White Sox (1963 to 1967) and the Baltimore Orioles (1968 through 1972). Buford is listed as an outfielder at 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds. Buford batted from both sides and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Buford was born on February 2, 1937, in Linden, TX, USA. Don Buford was the playing name; the full given name is Don Alvin.

Buford's career batting table shows 1,286 games, 4,553 at bats and 1,203 hits, a .264 average, along with 93 homers, 418 runs batted in, and 200 stolen bases. Buford got on base at a .362 rate and slugged .379 (.741 OPS). Measured against the leagues Buford played in, the .264 career average compares with a .247 league average over the same seasons, 7.1% above the league. The OPS comparison is .741 to a league .680, 9.0% above average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Don Buford

What years did Don Buford play?
Don Buford played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1972.
Was Don Buford a pitcher?
No. Don Buford was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Don Buford hit?
Don Buford hit 93 career home runs with 1203 hits.
What was Don Buford's career batting average?
Don Buford batted .264 over his career, with 1,203 hits in 4,553 at bats.
How many RBI did Don Buford have?
Don Buford drove in 418 runs in his career.
Is Don Buford in the Hall of Fame?
No. Don Buford has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.