Danny Cater
PositionFirst baseman / Outfielder
BatsRight
ThrowsRight
Birth dateFebruary 25, 1940 (age 86)
Birth placeAustin, Texas, U.S.
DebutleagueMLB
DebutdateApril 14
Debutyear1964
DebutteamPhiladelphia Phillies
FinalleagueMLB
FinaldateJune 11
Finalyear1975
FinalteamSt. Louis Cardinals
StatleagueMLB
Stat1labelBatting average
Stat1value.276
Stat2labelHome runs
Stat2value66
Stat3labelRuns batted in
Stat3value519
Teams

Danny Anderson Cater (born February 25, 1940) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 18, on June 8, 1958.[1] Cater played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Phillies (1964), Chicago White Sox (1965–1966), Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1966–1969), New York Yankees (1970–1971), Boston Red Sox (1972–1974), and St. Louis Cardinals (1975).[2]

Career

Cater played twelve seasons in the big leagues, mostly as a regular. For the eight-year period from to , he averaged over 500 plate appearances per season. Cater was a good hitter who was tough to strike out; however, he was slow afoot, making him more likely to ground into double plays, finishing in the top ten in the league in that category six times in those eight years, including second in both in and .[citation needed]

Cater finished second for the American League batting title in 1968 with a batting average of .290.[2] That year is called "The Year of the Pitcher", and Carl Yastrzemski won the batting crown with a .301 batting average, the lowest mark ever to win a major league batting championship. Cater also led all American League first basemen with a .995 fielding percentage, that season.[2] In 1972, the Yankees traded Cater and Mario Guerrero to the Boston Red Sox for Sparky Lyle.[3][4]

Cater‘s career highlights included:

Cater's career totals include 1,289 games played, 1,229 hits, 66 home runs, 519 runs batted in, and a .276 batting average.[2]

Post-playing career

After retiring from baseball, Cater worked at the headquarters office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in Austin, Texas. He now[when?] lives in Plano, Texas.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Danny Cater". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  2. ^ "Danny Cater Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Durso, Joseph (1972-03-23). "Yanks Trade Cater for Lyle, Star Red Sox Relief Pitcher". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  4. ^ "Player in ‘70s trade when Yankees fleeced Red Sox dies". nj. 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2023-11-17.