Don Demeter
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1956-1967)
Don Demeter was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1967 for 6 teams, including the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,109 career games, he hit .265 with 912 hits, 163 home runs, and 563 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 5,080.
- 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
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 190 lb
- Died
- 11/29/2021 in Oklahoma City, OK, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1956-09-18
- Last Game
- 1967-08-28
Full name: Donald Lee Demeter
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,109 | 3,443 | 467 | 912 | 147 | 17 | 163 | 563 | 22 | 180 | 658 | .265 | .307 | .459 | .766 | 5,080 |
Career AVG .265 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — +5.1% above league average.
Career OBP .307 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .459 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +20.1% above league average.
Career OPS .766 vs. league average .701 across their career seasons — +9.4% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | BRO | NL | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1958 | LAN | NL | 43 | 106 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 32 | .189 | .257 (-27%) | .324 (-31%) | .394 (-11%) | .719 (-20%) | -361.1 |
| 1959 | LAN | NL | 139 | 371 | 55 | 95 | 11 | 1 | 18 | 70 | 5 | 16 | 87 | .256 | .256 (avg) | .323 (-9%) | .392 (+11%) | .715 (+2%) | 11.7 |
| 1960 | LAN | NL | 64 | 168 | 23 | 46 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 29 | 0 | 8 | 34 | .274 | .255 (+7%) | .323 (-6%) | .387 (+26%) | .711 (+12%) | 251.9 |
| 1961 | LAN | NL | 15 | 29 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .172 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1961 | PHI | NL | 106 | 382 | 54 | 98 | 18 | 4 | 20 | 68 | 2 | 19 | 74 | .257 | .258 (-1%) | .328 (-8%) | .399 (+21%) | .727 (+8%) | 0.0 |
| 1962 | PHI | NL | 153 | 550 | 85 | 169 | 24 | 3 | 29 | 107 | 2 | 41 | 93 | .307 | .257 (+19%) | .326 (+10%) | .393 (+32%) | .719 (+22%) | 2340.6 |
| 1963 | PHI | NL | 154 | 515 | 63 | 133 | 20 | 2 | 22 | 83 | 1 | 31 | 93 | .258 | .246 (+5%) | .308 (-1%) | .371 (+16%) | .680 (+9%) | 743.6 |
| 1964 | DET | AL | 134 | 441 | 57 | 113 | 22 | 1 | 22 | 80 | 4 | 17 | 85 | .256 | .250 (+2%) | .312 (-7%) | .377 (+22%) | .690 (+9%) | 526.5 |
| 1965 | DET | AL | 122 | 389 | 50 | 108 | 16 | 4 | 16 | 58 | 4 | 23 | 65 | .278 | .245 (+13%) | .310 (+5%) | .371 (+24%) | .682 (+15%) | 1006.4 |
| 1966 | DET | AL | 32 | 99 | 12 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 19 | .212 | .248 (-15%) | .309 (-24%) | .376 (+10%) | .685 (-5%) | -118.3 |
| 1966 | BOS | AL | 73 | 226 | 31 | 66 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 42 | .292 | .248 (+18%) | .309 (-1%) | .376 (+27%) | .685 (+14%) | -118.3 |
| 1967 | BOS | AL | 20 | 43 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | .279 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1967 | CLE | AL | 51 | 121 | 15 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 16 | .207 | .242 (-15%) | .306 (-17%) | .357 (+2%) | .663 (-7%) | 0.0 |
| Career · 14 seasons | 1,109 | 3,443 | 467 | 912 | 147 | 17 | 163 | 563 | 22 | 180 | 658 | .265 | — | — | — | — | 4,283 | ||
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 (1107 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 561 | 1708 | 227 | 454 | 79 | 285 | .266 |
| Away | 546 | 1729 | 240 | 457 | 84 | 278 | .264 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-08-28 | CLE | KC1 | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967-08-27 | CLE | MIN | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967-08-26 | CLE | MIN | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967-08-25 | CLE | MIN | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967-08-24 | CLE | LAA | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967-08-22 | CLE | LAA | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967-08-21 | CLE | LAA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1967-08-20 | CLE | DET | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1967-08-18 | CLE | DET | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967-08-17 | CLE | TEX | W | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 112 | 94 | 781 | 61 | 14 | 67 |
| 3B | 150 | 132 | 121 | 241 | 25 | 22 |
| OF | 802 | 610 | 1424 | 35 | 14 | 12 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | BRO | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | LAN | OF | 39 | 27 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959 | LAN | OF | 124 | 81 | 223 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 1960 | LAN | OF | 62 | 37 | 92 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1961 | LAN | OF | 14 | 6 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1961 | PHI | 1B | 22 | 18 | 148 | 15 | 2 | 22 |
| 1961 | PHI | OF | 79 | 74 | 173 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| 1962 | PHI | 1B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1962 | PHI | 3B | 105 | 95 | 91 | 177 | 18 | 18 |
| 1962 | PHI | OF | 63 | 50 | 107 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963 | PHI | 1B | 26 | 21 | 181 | 19 | 7 | 11 |
| 1963 | PHI | 3B | 43 | 36 | 28 | 61 | 7 | 3 |
| 1963 | PHI | OF | 119 | 72 | 166 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1964 | DET | 1B | 23 | 23 | 202 | 12 | 2 | 12 |
| 1964 | DET | OF | 88 | 81 | 164 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1965 | DET | 1B | 34 | 29 | 219 | 10 | 2 | 19 |
| 1965 | DET | OF | 82 | 68 | 158 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1966 | DET | 1B | 4 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1966 | DET | OF | 27 | 22 | 65 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1966 | BOS | 1B | 2 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1966 | BOS | OF | 57 | 54 | 109 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1967 | BOS | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | BOS | OF | 12 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1967 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1967 | CLE | OF | 35 | 29 | 63 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 112 |
| Third Base | 151 |
| Left Field | 142 |
| Center Field | 591 |
| Right Field | 97 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 21th | 3.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1962 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 12.0 | 280 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Don Demeter (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Don Demeter: the record in brief
September 18, 1956 and August 28, 1967 bracket Don Demeter's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. By club, Demeter's seasons break down as the Brooklyn Dodgers (1956), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958 through 1961), the Philadelphia Phillies (1961 to 1963), the Detroit Tigers (1964 to 1966), the Boston Red Sox (1966 to 1967), and the Cleveland Indians (1967). Demeter played primarily as an outfielder and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on June 25, 1935, in Oklahoma City, OK, USA and a listed size of 6 feet, 4 inches and 190 pounds. Demeter died on November 29, 2021, in Oklahoma City, OK, USA. The bio lists the given name Donald Lee.
Demeter finished with 912 hits from 3,443 at bats in 1,109 games, which works out to .265; the totals also include 163 home runs, 563 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .307 and .459 give Demeter a career OPS of .766.
Frequently Asked Questions about Don Demeter
- What years did Don Demeter play?
- Don Demeter played in Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1967.
- Was Don Demeter a pitcher?
- No. Don Demeter was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Don Demeter hit?
- Don Demeter hit 163 career home runs with 912 hits.
- What teams did Don Demeter play for?
- Don Demeter played for 5 teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers (1956, 1958–1961), the Philadelphia Phillies (1961–1963), the Detroit Tigers (1964–1966), the Boston Red Sox (1966–1967), and the Cleveland Indians (1967).
- What were Don Demeter's career stats?
- In 1,109 games, Don Demeter had 912 hits, 163 home runs, 563 RBI, 467 runs, and 22 stolen bases, with a .265 batting average.
- What position did Don Demeter play?
- Don Demeter played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Don Demeter and how much did he weigh?
- Don Demeter was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 190 pounds.
- How many home runs did Don Demeter hit each season?
- Don Demeter's home runs by season: 1 in 1956, 5 in 1958, 18 in 1959, 9 in 1960, 21 in 1961, 29 in 1962, 22 in 1963, 22 in 1964, 16 in 1965, 14 in 1966, and 6 in 1967. His most in one season was 29, in 1962.
- What was Don Demeter's career batting average?
- Don Demeter batted .265 over his career, with 912 hits in 3,443 at bats.
- How many RBI did Don Demeter have?
- Don Demeter drove in 563 runs in his career.
- Is Don Demeter in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Don Demeter has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.