Don Drysdale, baseball player, 1956-1969

Don Drysdale

⭐ Hall of Fame 1984

Born: 7/23/1936 in Van Nuys, CA, USA

Died: 7/3/1993 in Montreal, QC, CAN

MLB Debut: 1956-04-17 | Final Game: 1969-08-05

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'5" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Donald Scott Drysdale

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Biography

Don Drysdale, born in 1936, was a formidable pitcher who made a significant impact on Major League Baseball during his career from 1956 to 1969. Known for his powerful fastball and fierce competitive spirit, Drysdale became a central figure in the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching rotation. Over his 14-year career, he compiled a record of 209 wins and 166 losses, achieving an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 2.95. He was particularly noted for his strikeout ability, amassing a total of 2,486 strikeouts, which underscored his dominance on the mound. A nine-time All-Star, Drysdale's excellence was recognized in 1962 when he received the prestigious Cy Young Award. His contributions to the game were further immortalized with his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Drysdale's career coincided with a transformative period in baseball, where pitching became increasingly critical in the face of evolving offensive strategies. His legacy is marked not only by his statistical achievements but also by the fierce tenacity he brought to the game, making him a beloved figure in Dodgers history and a respected member of baseball lore.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
209 166 518 465 167 49 6 3432.0 3084 1124 280 855 2486 2.95 0

Career ERA 2.95 vs. league average 3.64 across their career seasons — 19.1% better than 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
1956 BRO NL 5 5 25 12 2 0 0 99.0 95 29 31 55 2.64 3.96 (+33%) 1249.2
1957 BRO NL 17 9 34 29 9 4 0 221.0 197 66 61 148 2.69 3.83 (+30%) 4589.4
1958 LAD NL 12 13 44 29 6 1 0 211.7 214 98 72 131 4.17 3.86 (-8%) -
1959 LAD NL 17 13 44 36 15 4 2 270.7 237 104 93 242 3.46 3.90 (+11%) -
1960 LAD NL 15 14 41 36 15 5 2 269.0 214 85 72 246 2.84 3.82 (+25%) -
1961 LAD NL 13 10 40 37 10 3 0 244.0 236 100 83 182 3.69 4.03 (+8%) -
1962 LAD NL 25 9 43 41 19 2 1 314.3 272 99 78 232 2.83 3.96 (+28%) -
1963 LAD NL 19 17 42 42 17 3 0 315.3 287 92 57 251 2.63 3.46 (+24%) -
1964 LAD NL 18 16 40 40 21 5 0 321.3 242 78 68 237 2.18 3.58 (+39%) -
1965 LAD NL 23 12 44 42 20 7 1 308.3 270 95 66 210 2.77 3.50 (+21%) -
1966 LAD NL 13 16 40 40 11 3 0 273.7 279 104 45 177 3.42 3.52 (+3%) -
1967 LAD NL 13 16 38 38 9 3 0 282.0 269 86 60 196 2.74 3.30 (+17%) -
1968 LAD NL 14 12 31 31 12 8 0 239.0 201 57 56 155 2.15 2.98 (+28%) -
1969 LAD NL 5 4 12 12 1 1 0 62.7 71 31 13 24 4.45 3.61 (-23%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
547 1169 96 218 26 7 29 113 0 60 370 0.186 0.228 0.295 0.523 -4748.8

Career AVG .186 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — 25.6% below league average.

Career OBP .228 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 28.0% below league average.

Career SLG .295 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 22.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.523 vs. league average 0.696 across their career seasons — 24.8% 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
1956 BRO NL 26 26 4 5 1 0 1 1 0 1 8 0.192 — — — — 0.0
1957 BRO NL 37 73 7 9 0 0 2 6 0 7 29 0.123 .257 (-52%) .323 (-38%) .391 (-47%) .715 (-43%) -532.9
1958 LAD NL 47 66 9 15 1 1 7 12 0 3 25 0.227 .257 (-12%) .324 (-20%) .394 (+50%) .719 (+18%) 161.5
1959 LAD NL 46 91 9 15 1 1 4 12 0 4 31 0.165 .256 (-36%) .323 (-39%) .392 (-16%) .715 (-26%) -455.2
1960 LAD NL 41 83 3 13 6 2 0 4 0 6 32 0.157 .255 (-39%) .323 (-35%) .387 (-29%) .711 (-31%) -487.1
1961 LAD NL 40 83 9 16 1 0 5 12 0 6 24 0.193 .258 (-25%) .328 (-26%) .399 (-3%) .727 (-13%) -221.1
1962 LAD NL 43 111 9 22 4 1 0 14 0 5 29 0.198 .257 (-23%) .326 (-25%) .393 (-36%) .719 (-31%) -587.5
1963 LAD NL 42 96 5 16 1 1 0 5 0 9 35 0.167 .246 (-32%) .308 (-22%) .371 (-47%) .680 (-36%) -554.0
1964 LAD NL 40 110 10 19 2 0 1 8 0 4 29 0.173 .250 (-31%) .312 (-35%) .377 (-42%) .690 (-39%) -707.5
1965 LAD NL 58 130 18 39 4 1 7 19 0 5 34 0.300 .245 (+22%) .310 (+6%) .371 (+37%) .682 (+23%) 451.2
1966 LAD NL 46 106 6 20 2 0 2 8 0 3 28 0.189 .248 (-24%) .309 (-32%) .376 (-30%) .685 (-31%) -544.5
1967 LAD NL 38 93 2 12 1 0 0 6 0 5 26 0.129 .242 (-47%) .306 (-44%) .357 (-61%) .663 (-53%) -783.3
1968 LAD NL 31 79 4 14 1 0 0 3 0 0 29 0.177 .236 (-25%) .298 (-37%) .340 (-44%) .638 (-41%) -488.5
1969 LAD NL 12 22 1 3 1 0 0 3 0 2 11 0.136 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
8 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1966 WS LAN 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1965 WS LAN 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000
1963 WS LAN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.000
1959 WS LAN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
1956 WS BRO 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
3 3 7 6 0 39.7 36 13 12 36 2.95

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1966 WS LAN 0 2 2 2 0 10.0 8 5 3 6 4.50
1965 WS LAN 1 1 2 2 0 11.7 12 5 3 15 3.86
1963 WS LAN 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 3 0 1 9 0.00
1959 WS LAN 1 0 1 1 0 7.0 11 1 4 5 1.29
1956 WS BRO 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 2 2 1 1 9.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 518 465 188 686 59 55

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1956 BRO P 25 12 8 20 2 1
1957 BRO P 34 29 15 60 2 4
1958 LAN P 44 29 15 45 6 10
1959 LAN P 44 36 18 48 3 4
1960 LAN P 41 36 18 60 3 3
1961 LAN P 40 37 13 36 3 3
1962 LAN P 43 41 10 60 7 5
1963 LAN P 42 42 19 62 4 7
1964 LAN P 40 40 13 68 3 5
1965 LAN P 44 42 22 55 9 4
1966 LAN P 40 40 10 45 7 1
1967 LAN P 38 38 11 64 5 3
1968 LAN P 31 31 15 50 5 4
1969 LAN P 12 12 1 13 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 518

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1962 Cy Young Award
1962 TSN All-Star P
1962 TSN Major League Player of the Year
1962 TSN Pitcher of the Year

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1965 Most Valuable Player NL 5th 77.0 280 0
1963 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 3.0 280 0
1962 Cy Young Award ML 1st 14.0 20 14
1962 Most Valuable Player NL 5th 85.0 280 0
1957 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 8.0 336 0