Donald Lee Demeter (June 25, 1935 – November 29, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, third baseman, and first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) over all or parts of 11 seasons for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians. He batted and threw right-handed and was listed as tall and .
Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Demeter attended Capitol Hill High School, where he was one of 11 players signed by MLB teams. After a few years of minor league ball, he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956. After spending 1957 in the minor leagues, he played 43 games for the Dodgers (now in Los Angeles) in 1958, then became the regular center fielder for much of the 1959 season, helping the team defeat the Chicago White Sox in the 1959 World Series. A broken wrist limited him in 1960, and he was traded to the Phillies shortly after the start of the 1961 season. With Philadelphia, Demeter never failed to hit 20 home runs in a season, hitting a career-high 29 in 1962, a season in which he became the first Phillie in seven years to record 100 runs batted in (RBI) and finished ninth in the National League (NL) in hitting. September 1962 was the start of 266 consecutive errorless games for Demeter in the outfield, a Major League record that would stand for almost 30 years, until Darren Lewis broke the mark in 1994. In 1962 and 1963, he finished 12th and 21st in NL Most Valuable Player Award voting.
Before the 1964 season, Demeter was traded to the Tigers as part of a deal that sent future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning to Philadelphia. He batted .256 with 22 home runs his first year with the Tigers, then hit 16 home runs his next year, batting .278. In 1966, he lost playing time to Mickey Stanley and Jim Northrup, appearing in only 32 games before getting traded to the Boston Red Sox on June 14. He played center field regularly for Boston the rest of the year but lost the role to Reggie Smith in 1967 spring training. Demeter was traded midseason to the Cleveland Indians, where he batted .207. The Tigers almost reacquired him in late August, but the discovery of heart issues led to a void in his trade, and Demeter retired before the 1968 season.
Following his career, Demeter lived in Oklahoma City, where he started a swimming pool business, served as president of the Oklahoma City 89ers, and ran (unsuccessfully) for a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives as a Republican in 1976. In 2002, he started Grace Community Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, which he pastored for over 16 years. He is a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
Early life Demeter was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 25, 1935. He was the third of four children of Lewis and Aileen Demeter. His father was a painting contractor. The family lived in Oklahoma City until Demeter was about 10, when they moved to Denver. His parents divorced about a year after the move, and Demeter returned to Oklahoma City to live with his grandparents. After his mother remarried, he lived briefly in Keene, New Hampshire, before returning to Oklahoma City to live with a foster family. His foster father, George Stevens, was a Sunday school superintendent at the Exchange Avenue Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.
In fifth grade, Demeter became interested in baseball, as this was the first time his school had organized baseball teams. "It never dawned on me that I wouldn’t play in the major leagues" he later recalled. "If I’d known the odds…” In 1945, he played in the Oklahoma City Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Junior League. Players for this team received free passes to see the Oklahoma City Indians of the Class AA Texas League, and Demeter and his uncle Leland were often present at Texas League Park for the games. At one of these games, Don Hoak signed an autograph for him; the two would later be roommates while they both played for the Philadelphia Phillies. He played basketball and football as well, but baseball was his favorite sport.
Demeter attended Capitol Hill High School, where, as a center fielder, he helped the baseball team win the state championship in both his junior (1952) and senior (1953) year. In his senior year, his team won 59 games of 60. He was the only member of the Capitol Hill High School starting varsity team that was never chosen to be on the Oklahoma City All-Star prep team, yet he would be the only one to experience success in Major League Baseball (MLB). Besides playing for the school team, in the early 1950s Demeter played ball for the American Legion's Mosier's Tiremen of Oklahoma City.
After graduation, the New York Yankees signed two Capitol Hill players, while the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Demeter and eight of his teammates. This was partly due to the influence of John Pryor, the Capitol Hill coach as well as a scout for the Dodgers. However, Bert Wells was the Dodger scout who signed him. While each of his classmates received a $3,000 signing bonus, Demeter was given only $800.
Minor league career After signing with the Dodgers, Demeter was assigned to the Minor League Class D Sooner State League Shawnee Hawks. For his first season of professional baseball, he was paid a salary of $150 a month. In 104 games for the Hawks, Demeter had a .223 batting average to go with nine home runs, six triples, and 42 runs batted in (RBI).1961 Topps Baseball card #23 – Don Demeter For the 1954 season, Demeter was promoted to the Class C California League Bakersfield Indians, where he hit .267 with 26 home runs and 89 RBI. After the season, he complained, "I don't enjoy baseball. I'm not sure I should continue it", feeling that he could live a more useful life. However, his passion for the game was reinvigorated after the 1954 World Series. "When I saw Alvin Dark tithed the church from his 1954 World Series share, I realized that baseball could have a very real meaning."
In December 1954, Demeter decided to put in some extra playing time and experience by going to Venezuela and playing for Cabimas of the Venezuelan Occidental League. Over 33 games, he hit .306 with 15 RBI, more than half of which came from two grand slams.
He began the 1955 season with the Class A Pueblo Dodgers of the Western League. Demeter hit .262 with 5 home runs and 23 RBI in 39 games before being promoted to the Class AA Southern Association Mobile Bears. In 92 games at Mobile, he hit .251 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI.
Rejoining Cabimas for winter league play in 1955–56, Demeter batted .433 with seven home runs and 12 RBI in his first 60 at bats. On January 21, 1956, he tied the Venezuelan record of 16 home runs in a season, hitting two in the game. He finished the winter-ball season second in the league in batting average with a .369 mark and tied for first in home runs with 17, compiling 73 hits and 38 runs scored in 52 games.
Back in the United States, Demeter was assigned to Texas League's Fort Worth Cats for the 1956 season. He hit home runs on four consecutive days from April 24 to 27, and six in his last seven games, a new league record. On May 20, he had a five-hit day that included his 10th home run of the season in a 17–4 victory over San Antonio. Demeter finished the year with 41 home runs and 128 RBI, both second only to minor league journeyman Ken Guettler, who had 143 RBI and shattered the Texas League record for home runs with 62. Demeter also was very busy in center field for the Cats, leading the league in putouts with 442. He was selected to the Texas League All-Star Team, receiving a scroll and a $100 check. Fort Worth General Manager Spencer Harris said, "He's ahead of Duke Snider at a similar stage in Duke's development."
After the minor league season, Demeter was a September call-up by the Dodgers. He played his first major league game on September 18 against the St. Louis Cardinals, pinch-hitting in the bottom of the 3rd inning for pitcher Roger Craig. He struck out against Vinegar Bend Mizell, taking all three strikes looking. The next day against the Cardinals, Demeter recorded his first major league hit and home run, driving a 2–1 pitch from Don Liddle into the left field stands to contribute to a 17–2 victory. He finished the season with one hit in three at bats.
Left off the Dodgers' 1956 World Series roster, Demeter did join the team for an exhibition tour in Japan following the season. In the 18 game series, the Dodgers went 14–4 as he batted over .300 with five home runs, one behind Snider and Gil Hodges for the team lead. During the tour, Dodgers Vice President Buzzie Bavasi claimed that the prospect looked ready for the majors. National League (NL) president Warren Giles gave him very high praise, saying that he "should make the grade as a regular with the Dodgers next season. He played outstanding ball in Japan." On November 2, Bavasi announced that he would be one of the prospects invited to an early tryout training camp at Vero Beach, Florida the next February. Brooklyn President Walter O'Malley announced during the Japan tour his plans to move Snider over to left field to make room for Demeter in center.
Before the 1957 season, Demeter was rated as one of the top eight rookie prospects in February in a poll of 12 major league organizations. In a preseason exhibition rematch of the previous year's World Series, the Dodgers beat the Yankees 1–0 in 11 innings. In the game, Demeter hit a double, then later scored on a wild throw by Gil McDougald as he ran to third. Overall, Demeter failed to impress during spring training. Cut from major league camp by the Dodgers on March 31, he was optioned to the Class AAA St. Paul Saints of the American Association.
Demeter started the season with St. Paul very strong, hitting .350 with 35 RBI and a league-leading 12 home runs through June 5. On July 4, he helped his team overcome an 8–1 deficit by hitting three home runs to help the Saints beat the Minneapolis Millers 9–8. Two days later, he was selected to the American Association All-Star team on July 6, 1957. He was one of only four unanimous picks by the league's broadcasters and writers.
On July 14, Demeter had to leave a game after severely pulling a tendon in his left hand. He returned on August 2 to pinch hit a game-winning double in the 10th inning to beat Louisville 3–2. However, the injury severely limited his play all the way to September.
Demeter finished the season among the league leaders in several categories. He was third in the league with 28 home runs, fifth in on-base plus slugging (OPS) with a mark of .940, third in stolen bases with 13, and third in slugging percentage with a mark of .562. Demeter recorded 86 RBI and a .309 batting average in 134 games. He was not called up by the Dodgers at the end of the year partly because, by the time St. Paul was eliminated from the playoffs, Brooklyn had only five games remaining on their schedule. Demeter was selected to the All-AAA team and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show with the rest of the honorees on September 29.
Los Angeles Dodgers
1958 season At the start of the 1958 season, The Sporting News listed Demeter as the "kid with greatest potential" and the "best bet for batting title" in the Dodgers' organization. The team had relocated to Los Angeles, California, following the 1957 campaign. After serving a six-month term with the Army in San Antonio, Texas, Demeter was discharged on April 17, 1958 and left to immediately join the major league Dodgers in Los Angeles. Playing time was scarce for him, as he only appeared in six games before being optioned back to St. Paul on May 9. In 80 games with St. Paul, he hit .283 with 14 home runs and 48 RBI.