Don Wilson Padgett (December 5, 1911 – December 9, 1980) was an American 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 ...

player, a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1937–41),

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(1946),

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

(1946) and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

(1947–48). Padgett, born in Caroleen, North Carolina, batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He attended Lenoir-Rhyne College. Padgett's professional career stretched from 1935 through 1951. From 1942 to 1945 Padgett served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during World War II. In , Padgett — while serving as backup catcher to Cardinals receiver

Mickey Owen Arnold Malcolm "Mickey" Owen (April 4, 1916 – July 13, 2005) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played as a catcher for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodg ...

— batted a lofty .399 in 92

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

, 257

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s and 233

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 did not qualify for the

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 ...

batting championship. All told, in eight Major League seasons he played in 699 games and had 1,991 At Bats, 247 Runs, 573 Hits, 111 Doubles, 16 Triples, 37 Home Runs, 338 RBI, 6 Stolen Bases, 141 Walks, .288 Batting Average, .336 On-base percentage, .415 Slugging Percentage, 827 Total Bases and 10 Sacrifice Hits. Padgett died in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

, four days after his 69th birthday.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Padgett, Don 1911 births 1980 deaths Baseball players from Rutherford County, North Carolina Boston Braves players Brooklyn Dodgers players Columbus Red Birds players Houston Buffaloes players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball right fielders Minor league baseball managers Oakland Oaks (baseball) players People from Caroleen, North Carolina Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players Salisbury Pirates players United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen