Donald Thomas Buddin (May 5, 1934 – June 30, 2011) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. He played all or part of six seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1956, 1958–61),

Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in Tex ...

(1962) and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

(1962). Listed at , , Buddin batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. He was born in

Turbeville, South Carolina Turbeville is a town in Clarendon County, South Carolina, Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 766 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, up from 602 in 2000 United States census, 2000. Geography and Infra ...

Early life

Buddin played high school baseball in Olanta, South Carolina, where he led his team to the state championship in 1953. Buddin led The American Legion Baseball Olanta, Sc Post 85 to the State Championship game in 1951 He was a highly touted prospect, and the Boston Red Sox won a bidding war for his services. He was signed by Red Sox scout

Mace Brown Mace Stanley Brown (May 21, 1909 – March 24, 2002) was an American professional baseball player, scout and coach. He appeared in Major League Baseball, largely as a relief pitcher, over ten seasons (1935–1943; 1946) for the Pittsburgh Pirate ...

for an estimated $50,000 bonus. At the time, Red Sox owner

Tom Yawkey Thomas Austin Yawkey (born Thomas Yawkey Austin; February 21, 1903 – July 9, 1976) was an American industrialist and Major League Baseball executive. Born in Detroit, Yawkey became president of the Boston Red Sox in 1933 and was the sole owner ...

boasted that "Buddin can become one of the top ballplayers of his time". He attended nearby

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

for two years and joined the Red Sox prior to the 1956 season.

Major League career

He became the Red Sox starting shortstop from 1956 through 1961, with the exception of the 1957 season, which he spent in military service. Buddin led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

errors An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

by a shortstop in 1958 and 1959, and finished third and second in that category in 1956 and 1960. His defensive struggles led one Boston sportswriter to write that Buddin's car should bear the license plate "E-6," and the nickname "Bootin' Buddin," given by Red Sox fans. In 1959, the Red Sox bought infielder

Pumpsie Green Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green (October 27, 1933 – July 17, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox (1959–62) and New York Mets (1963). A switch-hitter who threw right-handed, he was list ...

to compete for Buddin's job. With the promotion of Green, the Red Sox became the last team to integrate their roster. Buddin's most productive season came in 1961, when he batted a career-high .263 in 109 games. He was traded that offseason to the expansion Colt .45s for fellow shortstop

Eddie Bressoud Edward Francis Bressoud (May 2, 1932 – July 13, 2023) was an American professional baseball shortstop. Bressoud played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the New York / San Francisco Giants (1956–1961), Boston Red Sox (1962� ...

. Buddin was the starting shortstop in Houston's first official

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

game on April 10, 1962 — an 11–2 victory against the visiting

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, in which he was hitless in three

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

but played errorless ball in the field and turned a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

. On June 11, he hit the first

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

in Houston franchise history against

Joe Moeller Joseph Douglas Moeller Jr. (born February 15, 1943) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1962 to 1971. Early life Moeller was born in Blue Island, Illinois to Joseph Douglas Sr. and Lois ( Rey ...

of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. But he batted only .163 in 40 games, and

Bob Lillis Robert Perry Lillis (born June 2, 1930) is an American former infielder, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lillis was an original member of the expansion Houston Colt .45s who remained with the club (renamed the Astro ...

supplanted him as the Colt .45s regular shortstop. On July 20, Buddin's contract was waived to the Tigers, where he played out his final year in the Majors as a backup to

Chico Fernández Humberto "Chico" Fernández Pérez (March 2, 1932 – June 11, 2016) was a Cubans, Cuban professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillie ...

. In a six-season MLB career, Buddin posted a .241 batting average with 551 hits and 41

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in 711 games, driving in 225 runs while

scoring SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

342 times, committing 155 errors for a .954

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

. He also played seven

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

seasons between 1952 and 1965, most prominently in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

and the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

circuits.

Death

Buddin died in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

, at the age of 77 after having a long bout with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

References

External links

SABR BioProject article by Bill Nowlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buddin, Don 1934 births 2011 deaths American military personnel of the Korean War Baseball players from Florence County, South Carolina Boston Red Sox players Deaths from cancer in South Carolina Denver Bears players Detroit Tigers players Greensboro Patriots players Houston Colt .45s players Indianapolis Indians players Knoxville Smokies players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball shortstops Patriotas de Venezuela players People from Clarendon County, South Carolina Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Roanoke Ro-Sox players Rochester Red Wings players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen