Donn Clendenon Stats

Donn Clendenon was born on Monday, July 15, 1935, in Neosho, Missouri. Clendenon was 26 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 22, 1961, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Donn Clendenon baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"When we got him (Donn Clendenon), we became a different team. We never had a three-run homer type of guy. He was always humble, never cocky. We were still young kids in that era. He was a veteran that came in and made us better. When you threw him into the mix with the rest of us, we became a dangerous force. We knew we had a good team (1969 New York Mets ) with him, but we didn't know quite how good. Gil (Hodges) thought we were better than we were. He was the MVP—a very dangerous player." - New York Mets Shortstop Bud Harrelson (Dick Lammers, USA Today, 09/17/2005, 'Former slugger Donn Clendenon dead at 70', Source)

Donn Clendenon

Donn Clendenon Autograph on a 1965 Topps Baseball Card (#325 | <a href='../baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1965top01' title='1965 Topps Baseball Card Checklist'>Checklist</a>)

Donn Clendenon Autograph on a 1965 Topps Baseball Card (#325 | Checklist)

CareerCollegeAll-StarWild CardDivisionLCSWorld SeriesManagerTradesAwardsVideosCardsmlb   espn
Birth Name:   Donn Alvin Clendenon
Nickname:   None
Born On:   07-15-1935  (Cancer)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Neosho, Missouri
Year of Death Data Died On:   09-17-2005 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Cemetery:   Cremated
High School:   Booker T. Washington High School (Atlanta, GA)
College:   Morehouse College
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-03½   Player Weight Chart Weight:   210
First Game:   09-22-1961 (Age 26)
Last Game:   08-05-1972
Draft:   Not Applicable / Signing Bonus = $500

Donn Clendenon

Donn Clendenon Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Donn Clendenon

Donn Clendenon Hitting Stats

1961 26 Pirates 9 35 7 11 1 1 0 0 2 5 0 10 0 0 0 0 .314 .400 .400
1962 27 Pirates 80 222 39 67 8 5 7 1 28 26 3 58 1 1 1 3 .302 .376 .477
1963 28 Pirates 154 563 65 155 28 7 15 0 57 39 3 136 3 4 5 14 .275 .326 .430
1964 29 Pirates 133 457 53 129 23 8 12 0 64 26 2 96 3 4 2 10 .282 .321 .446
1965 30 Pirates 162 612 89 184 32 14 14 0 96 48 7 128 1 10 5 10 .301 .351 .467
1966 31 Pirates 155 571 80 171 22 10 28 0 98 52 7 142 1 3 2 14 .299 .358 .520
1967 32 Pirates 131 478 46 119 15 2 13 0 56 34 4 107 1 4 1 15 .249 .298 .370
1968 33 Pirates 158 584 63 150 20 6 17 0 87 47 4 163 5 8 1 14 .257 .309 .399
1969 34 Expos 38 129 14 31 6 1 4 0 14 6 1 32 0 1 0 6 .240 .272 .395
1969 34 Mets 72 202 31 51 5 0 12 0 37 19 4 62 2 1 2 3 .252 .321 .455
1970 35 Mets 121 396 65 114 18 3 22 0 97 39 4 91 0 7 1 15 .288 .348 .515
1971 36 Mets 88 263 29 65 10 0 11 0 37 21 3 78 0 3 1 12 .247 .302 .411
1972 37 Cardinals 61 136 13 26 4 0 4 0 9 17 4 37 0 1 0 7 .191 .279 .309
12 Years 1,362 4,648 594 1,273 192 57 159 1 682 379 46 1,140 17 47 21 123 .274 .328 .442

Donn Clendenon

Donn Clendenon Fielding Stats

1961 Pirates LF 1 1 27 4 4.0 4 4 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 4.00
1961 Pirates RF 7 7 207 13 1.9 13 12 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.70
1962 Pirates 1B 52 41 1,135 410 7.9 406 382 24 4 44 n/a n/a n/a .990 9.66
1962 Pirates LF 17 17 390 34 2.0 32 31 1 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .941 2.22
1962 Pirates RF 2 1 36 1 0.5 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.75
1963 Pirates 1B 151 146 3,972 1,583 10.5 1,568 1,450 118 15 154 n/a n/a n/a .991 10.66
1964 Pirates 1B 119 113 3,053 1,242 10.4 1,228 1,153 75 14 116 n/a n/a n/a .989 10.86
1965 Pirates 1B 158 156 4,203 1,719 10.9 1,691 1,572 119 28 161 n/a n/a n/a .984 10.86
1965 Pirates 3B 1 0 6 2 2.0 2 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
1966 Pirates 1B 152 148 3,997 1,572 10.3 1,548 1,452 96 24 182 n/a n/a n/a .985 10.46
1967 Pirates 1B 123 119 3,223 1,303 10.6 1,288 1,199 89 15 122 n/a n/a n/a .988 10.79
1968 Pirates 1B 155 152 4,165 1,732 11.2 1,715 1,587 128 17 134 n/a n/a n/a .990 11.12
1969 Expos 1B 24 21 569 237 9.9 234 214 20 3 22 n/a n/a n/a .987 11.10
1969 Expos CF 1 0 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1969 Expos LF 9 9 231 17 1.9 15 13 2 2 2 n/a n/a n/a .882 1.75
1969 Expos RF 1 1 27 2 2.0 2 2 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.00
1969 Mets 1B 58 46 1,308 450 7.8 443 418 25 7 46 n/a n/a n/a .984 9.14
1969 Mets LF 1 0 6 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1970 Mets 1B 100 96 2,480 791 7.9 784 722 62 7 72 n/a n/a n/a .991 8.54
1971 Mets 1B 72 55 1,646 550 7.6 542 505 37 8 49 n/a n/a n/a .985 8.89
1972 Cardinals 1B 36 31 837 289 8.0 285 259 26 4 34 n/a n/a n/a .986 9.19
1B Totals 1,200 1,124 30,588 11,878 9.9 11,732 10,913 819 146 1,136 n/a n/a n/a .988 10.36
LF Totals 28 27 654 55 2.0 51 48 3 4 2 n/a n/a n/a .927 2.11
RF Totals 10 9 270 16 1.6 16 15 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.60
3B Totals 1 0 6 2 2.0 2 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
CF Totals 1 0 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
12 Years 1,240 1,160 31,521 11,951 9.6 11,801 10,976 825 150 1,138 n/a n/a n/a .987 10.11

Donn Clendenon

Donn Clendenon Miscellaneous Stats

1961 Pirates 0 0 .000 1 0 n/a 0.0 3.5 17.5 - - -
1962 Pirates 16 4 .800 7 11 n/a 31.7 3.8 7.9 - - -
1963 Pirates 22 13 .629 6 1 n/a 37.5 4.1 9.9 - - -
1964 Pirates 12 8 .600 15 2 n/a 38.1 4.8 7.1 - - -
1965 Pirates 9 9 .500 5 0 n/a 43.7 4.8 6.4 - - -
1966 Pirates 8 7 .533 5 1 n/a 20.4 4.0 5.8 - - -
1967 Pirates 4 4 .500 10 1 n/a 36.8 4.5 8.5 - - -
1968 Pirates 10 3 .769 3 0 n/a 34.4 3.6 6.7 - - -
1969 Expos 0 2 .000 6 0 n/a 32.3 4.0 9.2 - - -
1969 Mets 3 2 .600 22 1 n/a 16.8 3.3 5.5 - - -
1970 Mets 4 1 .800 25 0 n/a 18.0 4.4 4.1 - - -
1971 Mets 1 2 .333 30 0 n/a 23.9 3.4 7.1 - - -
1972 Cardinals 1 2 .333 27 0 n/a 34.0 3.7 15.1 - - -
12 Years 90 57 .612 162 17 n/a 29.2 4.1 6.8 - - -

Donn Clendenon

Donn Clendenon Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1961 Pittsburgh Pirates 35 Undetermined - -
1962 Pittsburgh Pirates 17 Undetermined - -
1963 Pittsburgh Pirates 17 Undetermined - -
1964 Pittsburgh Pirates 17 $15,000.00 - -
1965 Pittsburgh Pirates 17 $25,000.00 - -
1966 Pittsburgh Pirates 17 $40,000.00 - -
1967 Pittsburgh Pirates 17 $40,000.00 - -
1968 Pittsburgh Pirates 17 $34,000.00 - -
1969 Montreal Expos 17 $50,000.00 - -
1969 New York Mets 22 "     "     - Stats
1970 New York Mets 22 $60,000.00 - -
1971 New York Mets 22 Undetermined - -
1972 St. Louis Cardinals 16 Undetermined - -

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Did you know that Donn Clendenon was the first New York Mets player to win a World Series Most Valuable Player Award? Too easy? Did you know he was the first Series MVP who was a first baseman? Not too bad for a player who didn't become a member of the Miracle Mets until the Montreal Expos traded him to New York on June 15:

Donn Clendenon | Baseball Almanac

Donn Clendenon | New York Mets Hero Decks Playing Card
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Donn Clendenon - The Amazin' Met

The Mets were in second place, nine games back of Leo Durocher's Chicago Cubs in the newly aligned National League East, when they acquired Clendenon.

Splitting time with Ed Kranepool at first base, Clendenon's numbers with the Mets, did not improve immediately over those he put up with the Expos. Slowly, however, Clendenon's batting average began to rise; as did his contributions:

On August 30, 1969, Clendenon hit a tenth-inning home run against the San Francisco Giants to give the Mets the 3–2 win.

The Mets were 2½ games back of Chicago when the Cubs came to Shea Stadium for a two-game set on September 8, 1969. The Mets swept the set to move within ½ game of first place, with Clendenon hitting a two-run home run in the Mets' 7-1 victory on the ninth.

The Mets won their next six in a row (ten total) to move 3½ games over the Cubs. On September 24, 1969, Clendenon single handedly beat the St. Louis Cardinals with a three run home run and a solo shot to help clinch the National League East.

Overall, the Miracle Mets won 39 of their last 50 games, and finished with 100 wins against 62 losses, eight games over the second-place Cubs.

Donn Clendenon - The World Series MVP

Clendenon did not appear in the 1969 National League Championship Series three-game Mets' sweep of the Atlanta Braves to reach the 1969 World Series.

In the 1969 World Series; however, Clendenon appeared in four of the five games, missing only Game 3. Clendenon went 2 for 4 in Game 1, scoring the Mets' only run in their 4–1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. He hit a fourth-inning home run in Game 2 and a second-inning home run in Game 4 to give the Mets early 1-0 leads in both games.

The Orioles were ahead 3–0 in Game 5 when Cleon Jones led off the sixth inning. Dave McNally struck Jones in the foot with a pitch; however, home plate umpire Lou DiMuro ruled that the ball had missed Jones. Mets manager Gil Hodges emerged from the dugout to argue, and showed DiMuro a shoe-polish smudge on the ball. DiMuro reversed his call, and awarded Jones first base. Clendenon, the following batter, hit a two-run home run to pull the Mets within one run. The Mets eventually won the game, 5–3, to complete their improbable World Series victory over the heavily favored Orioles.

For the series, Clendenon batted .357 with three home runs and four RBIs, and was named World Series MVP. His three home runs remain tied for most home runs in a five-game Series, with Ryan Howard equaling it in the 2008 World Series.

Pittsburgh Pirates teammate (1964-1968) Steve Blass said this about Donn Clendenon, "The one thing I remember was hearing that he could have been a pro athlete in three different sports—baseball, football or basketball. He was that gifted of an athlete. He was a prototypical first baseman. He was big with a big reach and gave you a big target." The USA Today article (link) doesn't mention it, but when Clendenon was at Morehouse College he earned twelve letters in the sports Blass mentions (as well as track) and Donn received offers from the Cleveland Browns (NFL) and the New York Knicks (NBA) - as well as the Harlem Globetrotters!

Donn Clendenon: Miracle in New York | Baseball Almanac

Donn Clendenon | Miracle In New York | Book Cover
Baseball Almanac Research Library

After Donn Clendenon retired, he recounted in great detail the Miracle Mets season in his book, Miracle In New York, a great clubhouse view of baseball. Some comments by teammates:

"Donn Clendenon was a tower of strength for me. I love the man. He made me feel very capable with his performance and leadership, and when you read his book, you'll understand why. I couldn't put the book down as it evoked wonderful memories for me of that fabulous year." - Tug McGraw

"The 1969 Mets had great pitching, defense, and timley hitting. The team was like a puzzle that was being put together by Gil Hodges, and when Gil acquired Donn Clendenon in June of 1969, he was the final piece of the puzzle that set us in motion to pursue our World Series Championship." - Tommie Agee

"The 1969 Mets were known for the great pitching of Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan, and Tug McGraw. But until Donn Clendenon showed up with his big bat, we had no chance of winning anything!" - Ron Swoboda

"The Mets really got lucky when Gil Hodges and Johnny Murphy brought Donn Clendenon to New York in June of 1969. Although they traded for Donn to help strengthen the Mets against left-handed pitchers, he really helped us in hitting against both left-handed and right-handed pitchers and with his excellen defense. Donn was a great asset to the team because he was a team leader on the field, off the field, and especially in the clubhouse." - Cleon Jones

Donn Clendenon also earned a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University in 1978, then practiced law in Dayton, Ohio. He also talked about (in Miracle In New York) growing up in Atlanta, earning that law degree and battling drug addiction.