Danny Cater

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Danny Cater autograph on a 1974 Topps baseball card - 1974 Series, #543
Danny Cater autograph on a 1974 Topps baseball card - 1974 Series, #543

Danny Anderson Cater (born February 25, 1940 in Austin, Texas) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder. He was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 18 on June 8, 1958. He played for the Phillies (1964), Chicago White Sox (1965-1966), Kansas City Athletics (1966-1967), Oakland Athletics (1968-1969), New York Yankees (1970-1971), Boston Red Sox (1972-1974), and St. Louis Cardinals (1975).

Cater played 12 seasons in the major leagues, usually as a regular. For the eight-year period from 1965 to 1972, he averaged over 500 plate appearances per season. He was a good hitter who was tough to strike out, but unfortunately had a knack for grounding into double plays.

In the field, first base was his best position, as he had an excellent fielding percentage of .994. He was good in the outfield (.980), and somewhat below-average at third base (.934).

Cater may be best known for three things:

  1. He finished second for the American League batting title in 1968 with a batting average of .290. It was "The Year of the Pitcher," and Carl Yastrzemski won the title with an average of .301, the lowest ever for a batting champion.
  1. Red Sox fans were not happy that their team traded Sparky Lyle to the Yankees in order to get Cater.
  1. He had great mathematical abilities. (See "Quote" below.)

Career highlights include:

Cater's career totals include 1,289 games played, 1,229 hits, 66 home runs, 519 RBI, and a lifetime batting average of .276.

[edit] Quotes

  • "Cater, by the way, has the reputation of being able to figure out his batting average to four decimal places on his way down to first base." -- Jim Bouton in Ball Four (June 30, 1969)

[edit] External links