Art Ditmar, baseball player, 1954-1962

Art Ditmar

Born: 4/3/1929 in Winthrop, MA, USA

Died: 6/11/2021 in Myrtle Beach, SC, USA

MLB Debut: 1954-04-19 | Final Game: 1962-05-19

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: Arthur John Ditmar

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Biography

Art Ditmar was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1962. Born in 1929, Ditmar made his mark during a transitional period in baseball, just before the sport began to see the full impact of the modern era. Throughout his career, he played for several teams, including the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Athletics, showcasing his versatility and competitive spirit on the mound. Over the course of his career, Ditmar compiled a record of 72 wins and 77 losses, with an earned run average of 3.98. He struck out a total of 552 batters and recorded 14 saves, demonstrating his ability to both start games and come in as a reliever when needed. Known for his solid pitching mechanics and poise, Ditmar contributed to his teams' efforts during a time when the game was evolving, and his performances reflected the changing dynamics of Major League Baseball in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
72 77 287 156 41 5 14 1268.0 1237 561 138 461 552 3.98 0

Career ERA 3.98 vs. league average 3.92 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1954 PHA AL 1 4 14 5 0 0 0 39.3 50 28 36 14 6.41 3.90 (-64%) -1916.9
1955 KC1 AL 12 12 35 22 7 1 1 175.3 180 98 86 79 5.03 4.00 (-26%) -3480.6
1956 KC1 AL 12 22 44 34 14 2 1 254.3 254 125 108 126 4.42 3.96 (-12%) -2038.8
1957 NYY AL 8 3 46 11 0 0 6 127.3 128 46 35 64 3.25 3.83 (+15%) -
1958 NYY AL 9 8 38 13 4 0 4 139.7 124 53 38 52 3.42 3.86 (+12%) -
1959 NYY AL 13 9 38 25 7 1 1 202.0 156 65 52 96 2.90 3.90 (+26%) -
1960 NYY AL 15 9 34 28 8 1 0 200.0 195 68 56 65 3.06 3.82 (+20%) -
1961 NYY AL 2 3 12 8 1 0 0 54.3 59 28 14 24 4.64 4.03 (-15%) -
1961 KC1 AL 0 5 20 5 0 0 1 54.0 60 34 23 19 5.67 4.03 (-41%) -924.4
1962 KC1 AL 0 2 6 5 0 0 0 21.7 31 16 13 13 6.65 3.96 (-68%) -75.5

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
289 422 27 75 6 0 2 32 1 13 89 0.178 0.202 0.206 0.408 -2223.6

Career AVG .178 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 31.1% below league average.

Career OBP .202 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 38.4% below league average.

Career SLG .206 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 47.6% below league average.

Career OPS 0.408 vs. league average 0.721 across their career seasons — 43.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1954 PHA AL 14 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0.125 — — — — 0.0
1955 KC1 AL 35 62 3 13 0 0 0 6 0 1 9 0.210 .258 (-19%) .332 (-33%) .393 (-47%) .726 (-41%) -425.6
1956 KC1 AL 44 91 5 13 0 0 1 4 0 3 24 0.143 .258 (-45%) .331 (-49%) .397 (-56%) .728 (-53%) -833.5
1957 NYY AL 46 35 3 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 9 0.200 — — — — 0.0
1958 NYY AL 38 44 8 11 0 0 0 5 0 2 10 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1959 NYY AL 38 76 6 15 4 0 1 11 1 0 10 0.197 .256 (-23%) .323 (-40%) .392 (-26%) .715 (-32%) -448.2
1960 NYY AL 36 69 2 11 2 0 0 2 0 4 14 0.159 .255 (-38%) .323 (-37%) .387 (-51%) .711 (-45%) -516.3
1961 NYY AL 12 19 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0.053 — — — — 0.0
1961 KC1 AL 20 12 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0.167 — — — — 0.0
1962 KC1 AL 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.167 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1960 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1958 WS NYA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1957 WS NYA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 2 5 2 0 11.3 10 4 1 4 3.18

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1960 WS NYA 0 2 2 2 0 1.7 6 4 1 0 21.60
1958 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 3.7 2 0 0 2 0.00
1957 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 0 6.0 2 0 0 2 0.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 287 156 103 172 13 13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1954 PHA P 14 5 4 5 1 1
1955 KC1 P 35 22 15 29 1 3
1956 KC1 P 44 34 20 33 2 3
1957 NYA P 46 11 8 19 4 0
1958 NYA P 38 13 6 15 0 1
1959 NYA P 38 25 21 25 3 2
1960 NYA P 34 28 18 24 1 3
1961 NYA P 12 8 4 12 0 0
1961 KC1 P 20 5 5 7 1 0
1962 KC1 P 6 5 2 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 287