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Don Elston

Donald Ray Elston

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 165 lb.

Born: April 6, 1929 in Campbellstown, OH
High School: Camden HS (Camden, OH)
Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent in 1947. (All Transactions)
Debut: September 17, 1953
Teams (by GP): Cubs/Dodgers 1953-1964

Final Game: October 2, 1964
Died: January 2, 1995 in Evanston, IL
Cremated
About biographical information

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Standard Pitching

More Stats

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
1948	19	CHC-min	D	9	6	.600	5.41	31						148.0	173	124	89		82								1.723	10.5		5.0			ELZ,JAN · APPY,WISL
1949	20	CHC-min	D	16	11	.593	3.07	31						202.0	178	91	69		85								1.302	7.9		3.8			JAN · WISL
1950	21	CHC-min	C	14	12	.538	3.30	34						218.0	177	104	80	11	92								1.234	7.3	0.5	3.8			SPG · WA
1951	22	CHC-min	C	7	8	.467	4.36	22						130.0	134	76	63	4	66								1.538	9.3	0.3	4.6			SXF · NORL
1952	23	CHC-min	C	18	6	.750	1.85	27						199.0	129	54	41	11	63								0.965	5.8	0.5	2.8			SXF · NORL
1953	24	CHC-min	AAA	9	17	.346	3.70	36	28		20	3		224.0	224	115	92	9	99		104	10	0	1			1.442	9.0	0.4	4.0	4.2	1.05	SPF · IL
1953	24	CHC	NL	0	1	.000	14.40	2	1	0	0	0	0	5.0	11	8	8	1	0		2	0	0	0	25	33	2.200	19.8	1.8	0.0	3.6

1954	25	CHC-min	A	17	10	.630	2.70	35	27					220.0	180	73	66	7	76								1.164	7.4	0.3	3.1			DMO · WL
1955	26	CHC-min	Opn	17	6	.739	3.06	53	22		8	2		223.2	209	84	76	19	77		146	2	0	2			1.279	8.4	0.8	3.1	5.9	1.90	LOS · PCL
1956	27	LAD-min	AAA	7	8	.467	3.75	45	10		1	0		132.0	130	65	55	14	50	8	104	5	0	5			1.364	8.9	1.0	3.4	7.1	2.08	STP · AA
1957	28	TOT	NL	6	7	.462	3.54	40	14	12	2	0	8	145.0	140	61	57	15	55	4	103	5	0	1	611	110	1.345	8.7	0.9	3.4	6.4	1.87
1957	28	BRO	NL	0	0		0.00	1	0	1	0	0	0	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4		1.000	9.0	0.0	0.0	9.0
1957	28	CHC	NL	6	7	.462	3.56	39	14	11	2	0	8	144.0	139	61	57	15	55	4	102	5	0	1	607	109	1.347	8.7	0.9	3.4	6.4	1.85
1958	29	CHC	NL	9	8	.529	2.88	69	0	39	0	0	10	97.0	75	35	31	9	39	10	84	1	1	2	400	138	1.175	7.0	0.8	3.6	7.8	2.15
1959	30	CHC	NL	10	8	.556	3.32	65	0	49	0	0	13	97.2	77	40	36	11	46	7	82	3	0	2	413	118	1.259	7.1	1.0	4.2	7.6	1.78	AS
1960	31	CHC	NL	8	9	.471	3.40	60	0	33	0	0	11	127.0	109	57	48	17	55	8	85	4	0	0	547	111	1.291	7.7	1.2	3.9	6.0	1.55
1961	32	CHC	NL	6	7	.462	5.59	58	0	32	0	0	8	93.1	108	64	58	11	45	12	59	6	0	3	421	75	1.639	10.4	1.1	4.3	5.7	1.31
1962	33	CHC	NL	4	8	.333	2.44	57	0	32	0	0	8	66.1	57	25	18	6	32	7	37	1	0	1	275	170	1.342	7.7	0.8	4.3	5.0	1.16
1963	34	CHC	NL	4	1	.800	2.83	51	0	29	0	0	4	70.0	57	26	22	6	21	3	41	2	1	1	280	125	1.114	7.3	0.8	2.7	5.3	1.95
1964	35	CHC	NL	2	5	.286	5.30	48	0	15	0	0	1	54.1	68	38	32	4	34	12	26	3	0	3	260	71	1.877	11.3	0.7	5.6	4.3	0.76
1965	36	CHC-min	AAA	4	8	.333	3.58	33	2		1	0		93.0	95	42	37	7	20	6	41	7	0	2			1.237	9.2	0.7	1.9	4.0	2.05	SLC · PCL
9 Yrs				49	54	.476	3.69	450	15	241	2	0	63	755.2	702	354	310	80	327	63	519	25	2	13	3232	106	1.362	8.4	1.0	3.9	6.2	1.59
162 Game Avg.				7	8	.476	3.69	66	2	35	0	0	9	111	103	52	45	12	48		76	4	0	2	473	106	1.362	8.4	1.0	3.9	6.2	1.59

CHC (9 yrs)				49	54	.476	3.70	449	15	240	2	0	63	754.2	701	354	310	80	327	63	518	25	2	13	3228	106	1.362	8.4	1.0	3.9	6.2	1.58
BRO (1 yr)				0	0		0.00	1	0	1	0	0	0	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4		1.000	9.0	0.0	0.0	9.0

Player Value--Pitchers

WAR Explained (v2.1): 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Starter, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	IP	G	GS	R	RA9	RA9opp	RA9def	RA9role	PPFp	RA9avg	RAA	WAA	gmLI	WAAadj	WAR	RAR	waaWL%	162WL%	Salary	Awards
1953	24	CHC	NL	5.0	2	1	8	14.40	4.84	-0.46	0.00	104.4	5.54	-5	-0.4	1.0	-0.0	-0.4	-4	.303	.498	$

1957	28	BRO	NL	1.0	1	0	0	0.00	5.36	0.24	0.00	112.0	5.72	1	0.1	.2	-0.0	0.0	1	.572	.500	$
1957	28	CHC	NL	144.0	39	14	61	3.81	4.39	-0.17	0.00	99.2	4.53	13	1.4	1.9	0.1	2.8	27	.536	.509	$
1958	29	CHC	NL	97.0	69	0	35	3.25	4.41	0.02	0.00	101.4	4.45	13	1.4	1.6	0.3	2.5	23	.520	.509	$
1959	30	CHC	NL	98.2	65	0	40	3.65	4.44	0.21	0.00	99.0	4.19	5	0.6	1.9	0.0	1.5	17	.509	.503	$	AS
1960	31	CHC	NL	128.0	60	0	57	4.01	4.30	0.00	-0.18	99.3	4.08	1	0.1	1.9	-0.2	1.1	14	.502	.501	$
1961	32	CHC	NL	93.1	58	0	64	6.17	4.61	-0.46	-0.19	103.2	5.03	-12	-1.2	1.5	-0.4	-0.8	-1	.479	.493	$
1962	33	CHC	NL	66.1	57	0	25	3.39	4.66	-0.15	-0.19	103.7	4.78	10	1.0	1.6	0.2	1.9	18	.518	.506	$
1963	34	CHC	NL	70.0	51	0	26	3.34	4.00	0.10	-0.17	109.9	4.10	5	0.6	.8	-0.2	1.1	13	.512	.504	$
1964	35	CHC	NL	54.1	48	0	38	6.29	4.11	-0.12	-0.17	104.6	4.25	-13	-1.4	.9	-0.0	-0.9	-7	.470	.491	$
9 Seasons				757.2	450	15	354	4.21	4.38	-0.07	-0.10	101.8	4.43	18	2.1	1.5	-0.2	8.8	100	.505	.501	$

CHC (9 yrs)				756.2	449	15	354	4.21	4.38	-0.07	-0.10	101.8	4.43	17	2.1	1.5	-0.2	8.8	99	.505	.501	$
BRO (1 yr)				1.0	1	0	0	0.00	5.36	0.24	0.00	112.0	5.72	1	0.1	.2	-0.0	0.0	1	.572	.500	$

Standard Batting

More Stats

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
1948	19	CHC-min	D	33	56	56		11	0	0	0						.196	.196	.196	.393		11							ELZ,JAN · APPY,WISL
1949	20	CHC-min	D	40	79	79		12	0	0	0						.152	.152	.152	.304		12							JAN · WISL
1950	21	CHC-min	C	34	80	80		23	1	1	0						.288	.288	.325	.613		26							SPG · WA
1951	22	CHC-min	C	25	50	50		9	0	0	0						.180	.180	.180	.360		9							SXF · NORL
1952	23	CHC-min	C	35	91	91		19	5	0	1						.209	.209	.297	.505		27							SXF · NORL
1953	24	CHC-min	AAA	51	98	87	8	15	1	0	0	3	0		8	14	.172	.242	.184	.426		16		0	3				SPF · IL
1953	24	CHC	NL	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	-100	0	0	0	0			/1

1954	25	CHC-min	A	38	80	80		13	2	0	0						.163	.163	.188	.350		15							DMO · WL
1955	26	CHC-min	Opn	54	82	75	5	13	1	0	0	2	1		2	9	.173	.195	.187	.381		14	1	0	5	0			LOS · PCL
1956	27	LAD-min	AAA	45	47	41	4	11	1	0	0	2	0		1	5	.268	.286	.293	.578		12	2	0	5	0			STP · AA
1957	28	TOT	NL	40	40	37	0	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	7	.108	.132	.108	.240	-34	4	0	1	2	0	0	1
1957	28	BRO	NL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0						0	0	0	0	0	0	/1
1957	28	CHC	NL	39	40	37	0	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	7	.108	.132	.108	.240	-34	4	0	1	2	0	0	1
1958	29	CHC	NL	69	15	14	1	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.357	.357	.357	.714	91	5	0	0	1	0	0	1
1959	30	CHC	NL	65	23	19	2	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	.211	.211	.211	.421	14	4	0	0	3	0	0	1	AS
1960	31	CHC	NL	60	26	24	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	.125	.125	.125	.250	-30	3	0	0	2	0	0	1
1961	32	CHC	NL	58	14	11	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	.182	.182	.182	.364	-3	2	0	0	3	0	0	1
1962	33	CHC	NL	57	8	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000	.000	-100	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1963	34	CHC	NL	51	6	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	-100	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
1964	35	CHC	NL	48	6	6	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.167	.167	.167	.333	-7	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
1965	36	CHC-min	AAA	33	27	26	1	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	6	.154	.185	.154	.339		4		0	0	0			SLC · PCL
9 Yrs				450	139	124	6	19	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	30	.153	.160	.153	.313	-15	19	0	1	12	0	0
162 Game Avg.				162	50	45	2	7	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	11	.153	.160	.153	.313	-15	7	0	0	4

CHC (9 yrs)				449	139	124	6	19	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	30	.153	.160	.153	.313	-15	19	0	1	12	0	0
BRO (1 yr)				1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0						0	0	0	0	0	0

Player Value--Batters

WAR Explained (v2.1): 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Starter, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	Rbat	Rbaser	Rdp	Rfield	Rpos	RAA	WAA	Rrep	RAR	WAR	waaWL%	162WL%	oWAR	dWAR	oRAR	Salary	Pos	Awards
1953	24	CHC	NL	2	1	-0	0	0	0	0	-0	-0.0	0	-0	0.0	.490	.500	0.0	0.0	-0	$	/1

1957	28	BRO	NL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	.500	.500	0.0	0.0	0	$	/1
1957	28	CHC	NL	39	40	-7	-0	0	0	4	-3	-0.3	1	-2	-0.3	.492	.498	-0.3	-0.0	-2	$	1
1958	29	CHC	NL	69	15	0	-0	0	0	2	2	0.2	0	2	0.2	.503	.501	0.2	-0.0	2	$	1
1959	30	CHC	NL	65	23	-3	0	0	0	3	0	0.0	1	1	0.0	.500	.500	0.0	0.0	1	$	1	AS
1960	31	CHC	NL	60	26	-4	0	0	0	3	-1	-0.2	1	-0	-0.2	.498	.499	-0.2	-0.0	-0	$	1
1961	32	CHC	NL	58	14	-2	-0	0	0	2	-1	-0.1	0	-0	-0.1	.499	.500	-0.1	-0.0	-0	$	1
1962	33	CHC	NL	57	8	-2	0	0	0	1	-1	-0.1	0	-1	-0.1	.498	.499	-0.1	0.0	-1	$	1
1963	34	CHC	NL	51	6	-2	-0	0	0	1	-1	-0.1	0	-1	-0.1	.498	.499	-0.1	0.0	-1	$	1
1964	35	CHC	NL	48	6	-1	0	0	0	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	.501	.500	0.0	0.0	0	$	1
9 Seasons				450	139	-21	-1	1	0	16	-5	-0.6	5	-0	-0.6	.499	.500	-0.6	0.1	-0	$

CHC (9 yrs)				449	139	-21	-1	1	0	16	-5	-0.6	5	-0	-0.6	.499	.500	-0.6	0.1	-0	$
BRO (1 yr)				1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	.500	.500	0.0	0.0	0	$

Standard Fielding

More Stats

Year	Tm	Lg	Age	Pos	G	GS	CG	Inn	Ch	PO	A	E	DP	Fld%	RF/9	RF/G	lgFld%	lgRF9	lgRFG	SB	CS	CS%	lgCS%	PO	Awards
1953	CHC	NL	24	P	2	1	0	5.0	1	1	0	0	0	1.000	1.80	0.50	.960	1.98	2.00
1957	TOT	NL	28	P	40	14	2	145.0	34	9	23	2	1	.941	1.99	0.80	.962	2.06	2.08	7	10	59%	39%	1
1957	BRO	NL	28	P	1	0	0	1.0	1	1	0	0	0	1.000	9.00	1.00	.960	1.80	2.10	1	0	0%	39%	0
1957	CHC	NL	28	P	39	14	2	144.0	33	8	23	2	1	.939	1.94	0.79	.962	2.06	2.08	6	10	63%	39%	1
1958	CHC	NL	29	P	69	0	0	97.0	26	7	19	0	1	1.000	2.41	0.38	.955	1.97	1.96	3	1	25%	39%	1
1959	CHC	NL	30	P	65	0	0	97.2	19	3	14	2	1	.895	1.57	0.26	.954	1.99	1.97	8	2	20%	38%	2	AS
1960	CHC	NL	31	P	60	0	0	127.0	27	10	13	4	1	.852	1.63	0.38	.962	2.09	2.08	3	4	57%	40%	0
1961	CHC	NL	32	P	58	0	0	93.1	22	4	18	0	1	1.000	2.12	0.38	.959	2.18	2.15	4	8	67%	38%	2
1962	CHC	NL	33	P	57	0	0	66.1	21	5	16	0	2	1.000	2.85	0.37	.948	2.06	2.05	4	7	64%	34%	0
1963	CHC	NL	34	P	51	0	0	70.0	13	4	9	0	1	1.000	1.67	0.25	.951	2.06	2.06	1	5	83%	42%	0
1964	CHC	NL	35	P	48	0	0	54.1	22	3	16	3	4	.864	3.15	0.40	.953	2.14	2.13	1	4	80%	39%	0
	9 Seasons			P	450	15	2	755.2	185	46	128	11	12	.941	2.07	0.39	.956	2.06	2.05	31	41	57%	38%	6
	9 Seasons			TOT	450	15	2	755.2	185	46	128	11	12	.941	2.07	0.39	.956	2.06	2.05	31	41	57%	38%	6

Note: Fielding stats are a combination of official records and RetroSheet records. Both are likely to have substantial errors and will not match perfectly.

View Complete Notes on Fielding Data

Leagues historically made no effort to balance team, league, and player fielding stats. Since 1990 or so, computers have made this feasible, but prior to that there are hundreds or thousands of discrepancies each year in games played (even whether a player played a position), putouts, assists, double plays and errors.

Pre-1948 SB & CS data for catchers is estimated from catcher assists, games started and opposition stolen bases.
From 1948 on SB, CS, Pickoff, & WP data for catchers and pitchers is taken from play-by-play accounts in the retrosheet files. There are several hundred games without pbp from 1948 to 1973 and for those we may not have any data.
CG & GS come from the retrosheet data and should be complete and pretty accurate from 1918 on.
Innings played (like SB and CS) come from the retrosheet play-by-play data and should be considered mostly complete from 1948 to 1973 and complete from then on.
Stats (PO,A,G, etc) for LF-CF-RF positions (since 1918) is taken from play-by-play or box score data as available.
Stats (PO,A,G,etc) for C,P,1B,2B,3B,SS,OF positions is taken from the official reported totals and may have been corrected at various times since their publication.
For detailed information on which games retrosheet is missing play-by-play from 1948 to 1973, please see their most wanted games list
For detailed information on the availability of data on this site by year, see our data coverage page

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank · Glossary

All-Star Games 1959-1 * 1959-2	Games Played s c a p y 1958 NL 69 (1st) 1959 NL 65 (1st) 1960 NL 60 (3rd) 1961 NL 58 (4th) 1962 NL 57 (8th)	Saves s c a p y 1957 NL 8 (8th) 1958 NL 10 (4th) 1959 NL 13 (3rd) 1960 NL 11 (5th) 1961 NL 8 (8th) Career 63 (217th)	Hit By Pitch s c a p y 1961 NL 6 (5th)
Games Finished s c a p y 1958 NL 39 (2nd) 1959 NL 49 (1st) 1960 NL 33 (6th) 1961 NL 32 (7th) 1962 NL 32 (9th) Career 241 (176th)	Def. Games as P s c a p y 1958 NL 69 (1st) 1959 NL 65 (1st) 1960 NL 60 (3rd) 1961 NL 58 (4th)	Errors Committed as P s c a p y 1960 NL 4 (5th)	Fielding % as P s c a p y 1958 NL 1.000 (1st)

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Black Ink	Pitching - 2 (742), Average HOFer ≈ 40
Gray Ink	Pitching - 20 (1074), Average HOFer ≈ 185
Hall of Fame Monitor	Pitching - 11 (928), Likely HOFer ≈ 100
Hall of Fame Standards	Pitching - 6 (1261), Average HOFer ≈ 50
JAWS	Relief Pitcher (220th), 8.2 career WAR/10.4 7yr-peak WAR/9.3 JAWS Average HOF RP (out of 5) = 37.9 career WAR/26.7 7yr-peak WAR/32.3 JAWS

Similarity Scores

Explanation of Similarity Scores

Similar Pitchers

Compare Stats to Similars

Most Similar by Ages

Hold mouse over #'s to see names

Clay Parker (990) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Claude Jonnard (982) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Luis Sanchez (982) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Ted Power (972) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Steve Karsay (965) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Doug Bair (968) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Doug Bair (976) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Doug Bair (977) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C

Transactions

December 6, 1947: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent.
December 9, 1955: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Randy Jackson to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Don Hoak, Russ Meyer and Walt Moryn.
May 23, 1957: Traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Jackie Collum and Vito Valentinetti.
April 9, 1965: Released by the Chicago Cubs.

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. We attempt to update transactions throughout the season.

Other Resources & Links

Error? Compare Search SABR's Baseball Index Other Links@google.com Baseball Library Baseball-Almanac.com DeadBallEra Obituary Retrosheet The Baseball Cube WahooSam.com WhatIfSports: Don Elston

Viewed 11,706 times through December 13, 2012.
Name and misspellings: Donald dave Don donald Ray ellston Elston elton

Player Page Tricks and Tips

Sum any set of rows by clicking anywhere (not red or blue) on the first and last rows of your selection. We will then compute the totals for the player between and including those two seasons.
Default Setting for this feature: Turn On / Turn Off
Summation of season totals only works for the initial case when the table is in year order. On a sorted table the results may get a bit goofy.

HIGHLIGHTING: Adding a range or series of player's career seasons or career game numbers (like '#1972:batting_standard', '#1970-1980-sum:batting_standard', or '#1998,1999,2001,2002,sum:pitching_standard') onto the end of a player page url causes the seasons to the highlighted and summed. After changing address bar, reload the page to see highlighting. This will work even in links e-mailed to others. Note that for tables with multiple pages the first table is the default. If you want to create a sum for a table other than the first one, select the rows and after the summation window appears click on "permanent link" link.

The play-by-play information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet.

Automatic Player Linking / Statistical Sharing Tool / Basic Player Linking / Data Coverage

See Front Page for time of last update

Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet.

Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball.

Total Zone Rating and Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith of BaseballProjection.com.

Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of 24-7 Baseball.

Player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Many thanks to him. We have only selected seasons (players who debuted before 1960) for which we believe the image has reverted into the public domain. We will quickly remove any images for which that can be shown to not be the case.Please let us know if you are aware of any such images on this site.

Play Index Loading Photos from the George Grantham Bain Collection at the Library of Congress.

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