Billy O'Dell was born on Wednesday, February 10, 1932, in Whitmire, South Carolina. O'Dell was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 20, 1954, with the Baltimore Orioles. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Billy O'Dell baseball stats page.
"I had a pretty good lineup to face in that game (1958 All-Star Game) when I came in to pitch. I had to face guys like Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, among others. I really didn't think that much about who I was facing." - Billy O'Dell in Baseball Digest (July 1986)
Billy O'DellBilly 'Digger' O'Dell Autograph on a 1966 Topps Baseball Card (#237 | Checklist) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Billy O'DellBilly O'Dell Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
1954 | 22 | Orioles | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2.76 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 | 67 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
1956 | 24 | Orioles | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1.13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
1957 | 25 | Orioles | 35 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 10 | .286 | 2.69 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 140.1 | 560 | 107 | 42 | 48 | 12 | 39 | 2 | 97 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - |
1958 | 26 | Orioles | 41 | 25 | 12 | 14 | 11 | .560 | 2.97 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 221.1 | 913 | 201 | 73 | 83 | 13 | 51 | 6 | 137 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - |
1959 | 27 | Orioles | 38 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 12 | .455 | 2.93 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 199.1 | 826 | 163 | 65 | 74 | 18 | 67 | 7 | 88 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - |
1960 | 28 | Giants | 43 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 13 | .381 | 3.20 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 202.2 | 873 | 198 | 72 | 80 | 16 | 72 | 8 | 145 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - |
1961 | 29 | Giants | 46 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 5 | .583 | 3.59 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 130.1 | 554 | 132 | 52 | 63 | 10 | 33 | 6 | 110 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - |
1962 | 30 | Giants | 43 | 39 | 1 | 19 | 14 | .576 | 3.53 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 280.2 | 1,178 | 282 | 110 | 126 | 18 | 66 | 1 | 195 | 4 | 7 | 0 | - |
1963 | 31 | Giants | 36 | 33 | 1 | 14 | 10 | .583 | 3.16 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 222.1 | 951 | 218 | 78 | 90 | 14 | 70 | 12 | 116 | 6 | 7 | 0 | - |
1964 | 32 | Giants | 36 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 7 | .533 | 5.40 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 85.0 | 371 | 82 | 51 | 55 | 10 | 35 | 6 | 54 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - |
1965 | 33 | Braves | 62 | 1 | 42 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 2.18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 111.1 | 448 | 87 | 27 | 35 | 10 | 30 | 8 | 78 | 6 | 2 | 0 | - |
1966 | 34 | Braves | 24 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2.40 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 41.1 | 183 | 44 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - |
1966 | 34 | Pirates | 37 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2.78 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 71.1 | 304 | 74 | 22 | 24 | 3 | 23 | 1 | 47 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - |
1967 | 35 | Pirates | 27 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5.82 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 86.2 | 381 | 88 | 56 | 58 | 10 | 41 | 7 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
13 Years | 479 | 199 | 137 | 105 | 100 | .512 | 3.29 | 63 | 13 | 48 | 1,817.0 | 7,643 | 1,697 | 665 | 758 | 137 | 556 | 66 | 1,133 | 30 | 42 | 5 | - |
Billy O'DellBilly O'Dell Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1954 | 22 | Orioles | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1956 | 24 | Orioles | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1957 | 25 | Orioles | 37 | 34 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .147 | .171 | .147 |
1958 | 26 | Orioles | 42 | 72 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .111 | .179 | .181 |
1959 | 27 | Orioles | 43 | 60 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .083 | .141 | .133 |
1960 | 28 | Giants | 49 | 56 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .107 | .254 | .107 |
1961 | 29 | Giants | 49 | 39 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .103 | .122 | .103 |
1962 | 30 | Giants | 49 | 90 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 29 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .133 | .188 | .133 |
1963 | 31 | Giants | 47 | 78 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .205 | .244 | .244 |
1964 | 32 | Giants | 50 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .043 | .000 |
1965 | 33 | Braves | 62 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .174 | .208 | .217 |
1966 | 34 | Braves | 26 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .250 |
1966 | 34 | Pirates | 37 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .063 | .118 | .063 |
1967 | 35 | Pirates | 28 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .115 | .179 | .115 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
13 Years | 530 | 528 | 43 | 66 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 38 | 0 | 171 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .125 | .183 | .148 |
Billy O'DellBilly O'Dell Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1954 Orioles | P | 7 | 2 | 49 | 5 | 0.7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.76 |
1956 Orioles | P | 4 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1957 Orioles | P | 35 | 15 | 421 | 21 | 0.6 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .905 | 1.22 |
1958 Orioles | P | 41 | 25 | 664 | 44 | 1.1 | 44 | 12 | 32 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.79 |
1959 Orioles | P | 38 | 24 | 598 | 54 | 1.4 | 51 | 7 | 44 | 3 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .944 | 2.30 |
1960 Giants | P | 43 | 24 | 608 | 39 | 0.9 | 38 | 9 | 29 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .974 | 1.69 |
1961 Giants | P | 46 | 14 | 391 | 25 | 0.5 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.73 |
1962 Giants | P | 43 | 39 | 842 | 59 | 1.4 | 54 | 15 | 39 | 5 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .915 | 1.73 |
1963 Giants | P | 36 | 33 | 667 | 33 | 0.9 | 32 | 5 | 27 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .970 | 1.30 |
1964 Giants | P | 36 | 8 | 255 | 16 | 0.4 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .938 | 1.59 |
1965 Braves | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1965 Braves | P | 62 | 1 | 334 | 25 | 0.4 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.02 |
1966 Braves | P | 24 | 0 | 124 | 6 | 0.3 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.31 |
1966 Pirates | P | 37 | 2 | 214 | 11 | 0.3 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.39 |
1967 Pirates | P | 27 | 11 | 260 | 15 | 0.6 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.56 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 479 | 199 | 5,451 | 353 | 0.7 | 340 | 88 | 252 | 13 | 11 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 1.68 | |
1B Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
13 Years | 480 | 199 | 5,451 | 353 | 0.7 | 340 | 88 | 252 | 13 | 11 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 1.68 |
Billy O'DellBilly O'Dell Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1954 Orioles | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.20 | 3.31 | 2.76 |
1956 Orioles | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.00 | 6.75 | 6.75 |
1957 Orioles | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.3 | 34.0 | 2.49 | 6.22 | 2.50 |
1958 Orioles | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 72.0 | 2.7 | 72.0 | 2.69 | 5.57 | 2.07 |
1959 Orioles | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 5 | n/a | 60.0 | 3.3 | 30.0 | 1.31 | 3.97 | 3.03 |
1960 Giants | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 6 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.9 | 0.0 | 2.01 | 6.44 | 3.20 |
1961 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 3 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.9 | 19.5 | 3.33 | 7.60 | 2.28 |
1962 Giants | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 6 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.1 | 15.0 | 2.95 | 6.25 | 2.12 |
1963 Giants | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1 | 10 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.4 | 26.0 | 1.66 | 4.70 | 2.83 |
1964 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 14 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.1 | 0.0 | 1.54 | 5.72 | 3.71 |
1965 Braves | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.1 | 11.5 | 2.60 | 6.31 | 2.43 |
1966 Braves | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.7 | 8.0 | 1.11 | 4.35 | 3.92 |
1966 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.2 | 16.0 | 2.04 | 5.93 | 2.90 |
1967 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.83 | 3.53 | 4.26 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
13 Years | 5 | 5 | .500 | 1 | 50 | n/a | 264.0 | 3.1 | 27.8 | 2.04 | 5.61 | 2.75 |
Billy O'DellBilly O'Dell Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1954 Baltimore Orioles | 24 | Undetermined | - | - |
1956 Baltimore Orioles | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1957 Baltimore Orioles | 38 | Undetermined | - | - |
1958 Baltimore Orioles | 41 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1959 Baltimore Orioles | 41 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1960 San Francisco Giants | 31 | Undetermined | - | - |
1961 San Francisco Giants | 31 | Undetermined | - | - |
1962 San Francisco Giants | 31 | Undetermined | - | Stats |
1963 San Francisco Giants | 31 | Undetermined | - | - |
1964 San Francisco Giants | 31 | Undetermined | - | - |
1965 Milwaukee Braves | 33 | Undetermined | - | - |
1966 Atlanta Braves | 33 | Undetermined | - | - |
1966 Pittsburgh Pirates | 31 | Undetermined | - | - |
1967 Pittsburgh Pirates | 31 | Undetermined | - | - |
Billy O'Dell Stats by Baseball Almanac |
William Oliver O'Dell was a Major Leagues Baseball player who pitched for the Baltimore Orioles (1954, 1956-1959), San Francisco Giants (1960-1964), Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1965-1966), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1966-1967). Billy, or Digger, as he was commonly known, was scouted by Art Ehlers, signed for $12,500, and became the first Bonus Baby in the Baltimore Orioles organization.
Did you know that Billy O'Dell literally stepped from the field at Clemson Agricultural College (where he pitched from 1952 through 1954), to the field in Memorial Stadium (making his big league debut on June 20, 1954), never once playing a game in the minor leagues?
Billy O'Dell Photograph | Atlanta Braves Press Photo | Baseball Almanac Collection
Billy O'Dell, on April 15, 1966, recorded the last two outs in a game, earned a save, and took the mound wearing #33 - the first ATLANTA Braves player to ever use the number in a regular season contest.