Demeter graduated from Homer City High School and signed with the
Detroit Tigers in . During his seventh season in the Tiger
farm system, he was recalled in July 1959 and appeared in 11
games over the remainder of the
American League schedule, starting two games at third base. He collected two
hits, including a
double, in 18
plate appearances and
at bats. Then, prior to the 1960 season, on April 12, he was traded to the
Cleveland Indians for
first baseman Norm Cash in what turned out to be one of the most lop-sided trades in
MLB history. Demeter played only four games and went hitless in five at bats for the Indians before being returned to the minor leagues, from which he never returned. Cash won the 1961 AL
batting championship (.361), became one of the top sluggers of the 1960s (hitting 377 career home runs), appeared in 2,018 games in a Tiger uniform and made four
All-Star teams. Demeter played 19 seasons of
minor league baseball (1953–1970, 1972). He was a fixture of the
Rochester Red Wings teams of the mid- to late 1960s, hitting 272 minor league home runs over his long career. He was inducted into both the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame, in 1990, and the
International League Hall of Fame, in 2009. He also had a long tenure as a coach and manager. He served one year (in ) as a
coach with the MLB
Pittsburgh Pirates, working at first base through June 13, and then as bench coach. He also managed for nine seasons in the Pirates'
farm system, at the helm of the
Sherbrooke Pirates (1972),
Salem Pirates (1973, 1976–1977),
Charleston Charlies (1974–1975),
Shreveport Captains (1978), and
Buffalo Bisons (1979–1980) and was a roving instructor and scout for the Bucs. ==Personal life==