Don Pavletich
Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1957-1971)
Don Pavletich was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1957 to 1971 for the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago White Sox, and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 15 seasons. In 536 career games, he hit .254 with 349 hits, 46 home runs, and 193 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,279.
- 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
- Catcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 190 lb
- Died
- 3/5/2020 in Brookfield, WI, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1957-04-20
- Last Game
- 1971-09-01
Full name: Donald Stephen Pavletich
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 536 | 1,373 | 163 | 349 | 73 | 8 | 46 | 193 | 5 | 148 | 237 | .254 | .328 | .420 | .747 | 2,279 |
Career AVG .254 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .328 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .420 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — +12.3% above league average.
Career OPS .747 vs. league average .689 across their career seasons — +8.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | CIN | NL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1959 | CIN | NL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1962 | CIN | NL | 34 | 63 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 18 | .222 | .257 (-14%) | .326 (-5%) | .393 (-19%) | .719 (-13%) | -114.8 |
| 1963 | CIN | NL | 71 | 183 | 18 | 38 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 17 | 12 | .208 | .246 (-16%) | .308 (-11%) | .371 (-6%) | .680 (-8%) | -251.9 |
| 1964 | CIN | NL | 34 | 91 | 12 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 17 | .242 | .250 (-3%) | .312 (avg) | .377 (+19%) | .690 (+11%) | 146.9 |
| 1965 | CIN | NL | 68 | 191 | 25 | 61 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 32 | 1 | 23 | 27 | .319 | .245 (+30%) | .310 (+27%) | .371 (+38%) | .682 (+33%) | 1104.1 |
| 1966 | CIN | NL | 83 | 235 | 29 | 69 | 13 | 2 | 12 | 38 | 1 | 18 | 37 | .294 | .248 (+18%) | .309 (+11%) | .376 (+38%) | .685 (+26%) | 992.6 |
| 1967 | CIN | NL | 74 | 231 | 25 | 55 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 34 | 2 | 21 | 38 | .238 | .242 (-2%) | .306 (+1%) | .357 (+13%) | .663 (+7%) | 253.4 |
| 1968 | CIN | NL | 46 | 98 | 11 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 23 | .286 | .236 (+21%) | .298 (+18%) | .340 (+17%) | .638 (+17%) | 282.0 |
| 1969 | CHA | AL | 78 | 188 | 26 | 46 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 33 | 0 | 28 | 45 | .245 | .248 (-1%) | .320 (+6%) | .369 (+9%) | .689 (+8%) | 263.3 |
| 1970 | BOS | AL | 32 | 65 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 15 | .138 | .253 (-45%) | .325 (-23%) | .385 (-52%) | .711 (-39%) | -396.4 |
| 1971 | BOS | AL | 14 | 27 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | .259 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 536 | 1,373 | 163 | 349 | 73 | 8 | 46 | 193 | 5 | 148 | 237 | .254 | — | — | — | — | 2,279 | ||
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 (536 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 276 | 691 | 92 | 189 | 25 | 117 | .274 |
| Away | 260 | 682 | 71 | 160 | 21 | 76 | .235 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-09-01 | BOS | BAL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-08-08 | BOS | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1971-06-26 | BOS | BAL | W | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-06-13 | BOS | KCR | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-06-06 | BOS | LAA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-05-23 | BOS | BAL | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1971-05-09 | BOS | MIL | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-05-02 | BOS | MIN | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1971-04-30 | BOS | MIN | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-04-28 | BOS | MIL | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 159 | 110 | 963 | 54 | 5 | 89 |
| 3B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C | 291 | 236 | 1593 | 123 | 30 | 20 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | CIN | 1B | 25 | 17 | 162 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| 1962 | CIN | C | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | CIN | 1B | 57 | 42 | 317 | 16 | 3 | 20 |
| 1963 | CIN | C | 13 | 10 | 92 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1964 | CIN | 1B | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1964 | CIN | C | 27 | 21 | 161 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 1965 | CIN | 1B | 9 | 5 | 56 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 1965 | CIN | C | 54 | 48 | 335 | 16 | 5 | 5 |
| 1966 | CIN | 1B | 10 | 8 | 56 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 1966 | CIN | C | 55 | 46 | 323 | 30 | 9 | 2 |
| 1967 | CIN | 1B | 6 | 4 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 1967 | CIN | 3B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1967 | CIN | C | 66 | 57 | 383 | 31 | 6 | 5 |
| 1968 | CIN | 1B | 22 | 16 | 164 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| 1968 | CIN | C | 5 | 5 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1969 | CHA | 1B | 13 | 10 | 90 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| 1969 | CHA | C | 51 | 36 | 195 | 26 | 6 | 3 |
| 1970 | BOS | 1B | 16 | 7 | 80 | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| 1970 | BOS | C | 10 | 9 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1971 | BOS | C | 8 | 4 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 290 |
| First Base | 160 |
| Third Base | 1 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Don Pavletich (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Don Pavletich: the record in brief
Don Pavletich's major league career runs from a debut on April 20, 1957 to a final game on September 1, 1971. By club, Pavletich's seasons break down as the Cincinnati Redlegs (1957 to 1959), the Cincinnati Reds (1962 to 1968), the Chicago White Sox (1969), and the Boston Red Sox (1970 to 1971). Pavletich, born on July 13, 1938, in Milwaukee, WI, USA, is listed as a catcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio gives 190 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Pavletich died on March 5, 2020, in Brookfield, WI, USA. Pavletich's full given name, per the bio, is Donald Stephen Pavletich.
In 536 games and 1,373 at bats, Pavletich batted .254 with 349 hits; the totals also include 46 home runs and 193 RBI. Pavletich got on base at a .328 rate and slugged .420 (.747 OPS). Against a .249 league average for those years, Pavletich's .254 average was near the norm. By OPS the gap is 8.5% above league average (.747 against .689).
Frequently Asked Questions about Don Pavletich
- What years did Don Pavletich play?
- Don Pavletich played in Major League Baseball from 1957 to 1971.
- Was Don Pavletich a pitcher?
- No. Don Pavletich was a position player (Catcher).
- How many home runs did Don Pavletich hit?
- Don Pavletich hit 46 career home runs with 349 hits.
- What was Don Pavletich's career batting average?
- Don Pavletich batted .254 over his career, with 349 hits in 1,373 at bats.
- How many RBI did Don Pavletich have?
- Don Pavletich drove in 193 runs in his career.
- Is Don Pavletich in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Don Pavletich has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.