Don Dillard was born on Friday, January 8, 1937, in Greenville, South Carolina. Dillard was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 24, 1959, with the Cleveland Indians. 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 Don Dillard baseball stats page.
"In the past eight years I'd been hurt some way and each time wound up in the hospital, as as baseball players go I hadn't packed any pajamas. Last year, Elma [wife] said she was going to pack me some pajamas so she wouldn't have to look for some when I got hurt. I got through the entire season without injury of any kind, that was the first time in nine full seasons. And, I finished the best ever with a .288 mark, 14 home runs and 63 runs batted in for Toronto." - Dillard, Don. The Index-Journal. 11 March 1965. Page 6.
Don Dillard![]() Don Dillard Autograph on a 1959 Topps Baseball Card (#123 | Checklist) |
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Don DillardDon Dillard 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 |
| - | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
Don DillardDon Dillard 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 |
| 1959 | 22 | Indians | 10 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 | .400 | .400 |
| 1960 | 23 | Indians | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .143 | .250 | .143 |
| 1961 | 24 | Indians | 74 | 147 | 27 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .272 | .340 | .449 |
| 1962 | 25 | Indians | 95 | 174 | 22 | 40 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .230 | .276 | .356 |
| 1963 | 26 | Braves | 67 | 119 | 9 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .235 | .270 | .378 |
| 1965 | 28 | Braves | 20 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .158 | .158 | .316 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 6 Years | 272 | 476 | 59 | 116 | 16 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 47 | 32 | 2 | 85 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | .244 | .292 | .387 | ||
Don DillardDon Dillard Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1960 Indians | RF | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1961 Indians | CF | 24 | 16 | 471 | 44 | 1.8 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.52 |
| 1961 Indians | LF | 14 | 7 | 273 | 21 | 1.5 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.08 |
| 1961 Indians | RF | 1 | 1 | 27 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 6.00 |
| 1962 Indians | CF | 20 | 17 | 414 | 32 | 1.6 | 32 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.09 |
| 1962 Indians | LF | 29 | 12 | 429 | 24 | 0.8 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 1.38 |
| 1962 Indians | RF | 4 | 0 | 30 | 5 | 1.3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.50 |
| 1963 Braves | CF | 5 | 3 | 108 | 11 | 2.2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.75 |
| 1963 Braves | LF | 24 | 18 | 486 | 32 | 1.3 | 30 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .938 | 1.67 |
| 1963 Braves | RF | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1965 Braves | LF | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| LF Totals | 68 | 37 | 1,191 | 77 | 1.1 | 73 | 68 | 5 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .948 | 1.65 | |
| CF Totals | 49 | 36 | 993 | 87 | 1.8 | 87 | 86 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.37 | |
| RF Totals | 7 | 2 | 78 | 11 | 1.6 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.81 | |
| 5 Years | 124 | 75 | 2,262 | 175 | 1.4 | 171 | 165 | 6 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.04 | |
Don DillardDon Dillard 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 |
| 1959 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 10 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | - | - | - |
| 1960 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.3 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
| 1961 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 40 | 3 | n/a | 21.0 | 5.3 | 8.6 | - | - | - |
| 1962 Indians | 0 | 1 | .000 | 52 | 2 | n/a | 34.8 | 7.0 | 12.4 | - | - | - |
| 1963 Braves | 0 | 2 | .000 | 38 | 1 | n/a | 119.0 | 5.7 | 9.9 | - | - | - |
| 1965 Braves | 0 | 0 | .000 | 19 | 0 | n/a | 19.0 | 3.2 | 6.3 | - | - | - |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 6 Years | 0 | 3 | .000 | 164 | 6 | n/a | 34.0 | 5.6 | 10.1 | - | - | - |
Don DillardDon Dillard Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1959 Cleveland Indians | 38 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1960 Cleveland Indians | 38 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1961 Cleveland Indians | 36 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1962 Cleveland Indians | 36 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1963 Milwaukee Braves | 42 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1965 Milwaukee Braves | 42 | Undetermined | - | - |
| Don Dillard Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

David Donald Dillard was a Major League Baseball player with the Cleveland Indians (1959-1962) and Milwaukee Braves (1963, 1965). Did you know that Don, his nickname, was once knocked out (cold) during a regular season game (July 20, 1963)?

Don Dillard Photo | The Idaho Statesman | 21 July 1963
(Jim) Gilliam's nickname on the Dodgers was "The Devil"; he was a good-natured guy with a wicked underslide. In 1963 Don Dillard of the Braves slid into second base trying to break up a double play, and Maury Wills hit him right between the eyes with the throw, knocking him out. Everybody gathered around Dillard, afraid he was dead, except Gilliam, who retrieved the ball and tagged Dillard, lying flat on the ground, to make sure he was out. According to John Roseboro in Glory Days with the Dodgers, "'That's the first time I tagged out a dead man,' chuckled The Devil."
Source: The New Bill James Historical Abstract. James, Bill. Author. Free Press Publishing. 13 June 2003. Page 500-501.
The following day (21 July 1963), a UPI Press Release wrote, "Outfielder Don Dillard, who was knocked unconscious by a ball thrown by Los Angeles' Maury Wills in Saturday's Braves-Dodgers game, was reported in satisfactory condition Saturday night but won't be able to play for at least a week.
A spokesman for the Braves said Dillard, who was hit by a ball thrown toward second base by Wills as Dillard ran to that base, suffered a cut above the right eye that required six or seven stitches to close. X-rays revealed no fracture.
The Braves said Dillard will be hospitalized "at least a couple of days."

Don Dillard Rookie Stars Card | 1960 Topps Baseball Card (#122 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Early Wynn (HOF Class of 1972) surrendered three-hundred thirty-eight home runs to one-hundred sixty-eight batters in thirteen different ballparks. The last hitter to successfully hit a game-tying home run off Wynn in the bottom of the ninth inning was Don Dillard, on May 2, 1961 — it was Dillard's first career homer!
Al Schroll had one of his best days in the majors on September 27, 1961, when he was had thrown eight frames of no-hit ball versus the Indians in Metropolitan Stadium. In the bottom of the ninth, three outs away from history, Don Dillard pinch hit for Joe Schaffernoth to lead off the inning, and hit a clean single to center field, ending the no-hitter.
In 1961, Don Dillard was summoned from the bench to pinch hit in forty games. He had thirty-five at-bats, walked four times (intentionally once), struck out only five times, drove in seven runs, scored nine runs, and collected fifteen hits. Dillard's .429 batting average is the highest by a pinch hitter (25 AB Minimum) in Cleveland Indians history!