John Donaldson

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1966-1974)

John Donaldson was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1974 for the Kansas City Athletics, the Athletics, and the Seattle Pilots, a span of 9 seasons. In 405 career games, he hit .238 with 292 hits, 4 home runs, and 86 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

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 .238
HR 4
RBI 86
H 292
OPS .608
PIV -850
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 160 lb
Born
5/5/1943 in Charlotte, NC, USA
MLB Debut
1966-08-26
Last Game
1974-10-02

Full name: John David Donaldson

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

John Donaldson — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
32.0 26.0 5.0 6.0 1.0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 .231 .259 .269 .528

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

John Donaldson — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1920 5.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .666
1921 20.0 17.0 3.0 5.0 1.0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 .294 .333 .353 .686
1924 3.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
1931 4.0 4.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
Listed seasons · 4 32 26 5 6 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .231 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

John Donaldson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
405 1,225 96 292 35 11 4 86 19 132 133 .238 .313 .295 .608 -850

Career AVG .238 vs. league average .248 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .313 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .295 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — 19.7% below league average.

Career OPS .608 vs. league average .682 across their career seasons — 10.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Donaldson — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1966 KC1 AL 15 30 4 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 4 .133 — — — — 0.0
1967 KC1 AL 105 377 27 104 16 5 0 28 6 37 39 .276 .242 (+14%) .306 (+12%) .357 (-4%) .663 (+4%) 326.7
1968 OAK AL 127 363 37 80 9 2 2 27 5 45 44 .220 .236 (-7%) .298 (+3%) .340 (-20%) .638 (-9%) -363.4
1969 OAK AL 12 13 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 .077 — — — — 0.0
1969 SE1 AL 95 338 22 79 8 3 1 19 6 36 36 .234 .248 (-6%) .320 (-4%) .369 (-23%) .689 (-14%) 0.0
1970 OAK AL 41 89 4 22 2 1 1 11 1 9 6 .247 .253 (-3%) .325 (-3%) .385 (-15%) .711 (-10%) -125.2
1974 OAK AL 10 15 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .133 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 405 1,225 96 292 35 11 4 86 19 132 133 .238 — — — — -162

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 (405 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Donaldson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home20360846144141.237
Away20261750148345.240

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Donaldson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1974-10-02 OAKLAAL 100000000
1974-05-08 OAKBALW 300000000
1974-05-07 OAKBALL 300000000
1974-05-06 OAKBALL 300000000
1974-05-05 OAKCLEL 000000000
1974-05-04 OAKCLEL 100000000
1974-04-27 OAKBALW 000000000
1974-04-26 OAKBALL 101000000
1974-04-15 OAKCHWW 211000000
1974-04-14 OAKTEXL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Donaldson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 327 303 647 813 36 159
3B 11 6 9 11 0 2
SS 9 5 8 16 0 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Donaldson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1966 KC1 2B 9 7 22 12 0 2
1967 KC1 2B 101 100 210 230 8 40
1967 KC1 SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1968 OAK 2B 98 87 169 263 13 48
1968 OAK 3B 5 4 9 7 0 1
1968 OAK SS 1 0 0 1 0 0
1969 OAK 2B 1 1 2 4 1 1
1969 SE1 2B 90 89 209 242 12 56
1969 SE1 3B 2 2 0 1 0 0
1969 SE1 SS 1 0 1 0 0 0
1970 OAK 2B 21 16 24 48 1 7
1970 OAK 3B 1 0 0 3 0 1
1970 OAK SS 6 5 7 15 0 1
1974 OAK 2B 7 3 11 14 1 5
1974 OAK 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Donaldson — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Second Base 327
Third Base 11
Shortstop 9

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Terry Harmon
    .233 avg, 4 HR
  2. 96
    Neil Berry
    .244 avg, 0 HR
  3. 93
    Johnny Mitchell
    .245 avg, 2 HR
  4. 90
    Fred Marsh
    .239 avg, 10 HR
  5. 83
    Mahlon Duckett
    .235 avg, 1 HR
  6. 82
    Dick Culler
    .244 avg, 2 HR

John Donaldson: the record in brief

The profile opens with John Donaldson's first major league game on August 26, 1966; the last one listed came on October 2, 1974. The team column moves through the Kansas City Athletics (1966 to 1967), the Oakland Athletics (1968 through 1974), and the Seattle Pilots (1969). The bio lists Donaldson as a second baseman who hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Donaldson is listed at 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds. Donaldson was born on May 5, 1943, in Charlotte, NC, USA. The bio lists the given name John David.

Donaldson finished with 292 hits from 1,225 at bats in 405 games, which works out to .238, plus 4 homers and 86 RBI. Reaching base at a .313 clip and slugging .295, Donaldson finished with a .608 OPS. Against a .248 league average for those years, Donaldson's .238 average was near the norm. In OPS terms, Donaldson's .608 stands 10.9% below the league's .682. 1967 produced Donaldson's most hits, 104 of them for the Kansas City Athletics. 1967 brought the most runs batted in, 28.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Donaldson

What years did John Donaldson play?
John Donaldson played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1974.
Was John Donaldson a pitcher?
No. John Donaldson was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did John Donaldson hit?
John Donaldson hit 4 career home runs with 292 hits.
What teams did John Donaldson play for?
John Donaldson played for 2 teams: the Oakland Athletics (1966–1970, 1974) and the Seattle Pilots (1969).
What were John Donaldson's career stats?
In 405 games, John Donaldson had 292 hits, 4 home runs, 86 RBI, 96 runs, and 19 stolen bases, with a .238 batting average.
What position did John Donaldson play?
John Donaldson played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was John Donaldson and how much did he weigh?
John Donaldson was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 160 pounds.
How many home runs did John Donaldson hit each season?
John Donaldson's home runs by season: 0 in 1966, 0 in 1967, 2 in 1968, 1 in 1969, 1 in 1970, and 0 in 1974. His most in one season was 2, in 1968.
What was John Donaldson's career batting average?
John Donaldson batted .238 over his career, with 292 hits in 1,225 at bats.
How many RBI did John Donaldson have?
John Donaldson drove in 86 runs in his career.
Is John Donaldson in the Hall of Fame?
No. John Donaldson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.