Fred Donald Bessent (March 13, 1931 – July 7, 1990) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 ...

. He pitched from 1955 to 1958 with the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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 ...

. He was signed by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

out of high school, and in his first professional season he pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

while going 22–7 in Class D. The following season, he moved up to the Class B

Norfolk Tars The Norfolk Tars were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1906 to 1955. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, they played in the Virginia League from 1906 to 1918 and from 1921 to 1928, in the Eastern League (1916), Eastern League from ...

and went 11–2 with a 2.04

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

."Don Bessent Minor League Statistics & History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-2. Bessent then developed a spinal condition and was unable to pitch in 1952. He underwent surgery and was subsequently drafted by the Dodgers. From 1953 to 1955, Bessent pitched for the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

of the American Association. He was called up to the majors in July 1955 and immediately pitched well. That season, he went 8–1 with a 2.70 ERA, mostly coming out of the bullpen. He also pitched 3 scoreless innings in the

1955 World Series The 1955 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1955 Major League Baseball season, 1955 season. The 52nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National Leagu ...

, and the Dodgers won their first championship. Bessent pitched just as well in 1956, going 4–3 with nine saves and a 2.50 ERA. The Dodgers won another

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 ...

pennant but lost the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

to the

, despite Bessent's win in Game 2. He pitched the final seven innings of a 13–8 slugfest after both teams' starting pitchers were knocked out in the second inning. In 1957, he dropped off sharply, posting a 5.73 ERA in 44 innings. He began to develop arm problems shortly afterwards and played his final major league game in September 1958. He retired in 1962, after several unsuccessful seasons in the minors. Bessent returned to Jacksonville and became a sales representative. He died of

alcohol poisoning Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...

in 1990. He had three daughters, who remained in Jacksonville following his death."Death of Bessent Is Special Tragedy : Baseball: Former Dodger pitcher is found in Florida parking lot, a victim of alcohol poisoning"
''latimes.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-2.

References

External links

Don Bessent
at

SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...

(Baseball BioProject) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessent, Don 1931 births 1990 deaths Accidental deaths in Florida Alcohol-related deaths in Florida Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida Brooklyn Dodgers players Deaths by poisoning Jacksonville Suns players LaGrange Troupers players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Norfolk Tars players Riverside High School (Florida) alumni Rochester Red Wings players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Spokane Indians players