Jesse Harrison Jefferson (March 3, 1949 – September 8, 2011) was an American professional baseball

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, ...

with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(1973-1975),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1975-1976),

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

(1977-1980),

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

(1980) and

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

(1981) of

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 ...

(MLB). Jefferson batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Career

Baltimore Orioles

Jefferson was drafted by the

in the

1968 Major League Baseball draft The 1968 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1968 MLB season. The draft saw the New York Mets take shortstop Tim Foli first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1968 Major League Base ...

out of Carver High School in

Midlothian, Virginia Midlothian ( ) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated area and census-designated place in Chesterfield County, Virginia, U.S. Settled as a coal town, Midlothian village experienced suburbanization effects and is now part of t ...

. He went 40–50 with a 3.71

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 ...

over six seasons in the Orioles'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

when he debuted with the club in . He pitched a ten-inning

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

in his major league debut on June 23. In the second game of a doubleheader with 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 ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

, he nearly pitched a five- hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

;

Rico Petrocelli Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli (born June 27, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a shortstop and third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, w ...

hit a solo

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 ( ...

to tie the score with two outs in the ninth inning. The Orioles responded with a

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

in the top of the tenth inning to earn Jefferson the

win Win or WIN most likely refers to: * A victory Win, Winning, WIN or Winner may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * '' Win!'', a 2016 American film Literature * ''Win'' (Coben novel), 2021 * WIN (pacifist magazine) * WIN (wrestling ma ...

. Jefferson's

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season was his only winning season, as he went 6–5 with a 4.11 ERA as a spot starter and middle inning

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. The Orioles captured the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). T ...

crown, and manager

Earl Weaver Earl Sidney Weaver (August 14, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was an American professional baseball manager, author, and television broadcaster. After playing in minor league baseball, he retired without playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). He be ...

had Jefferson slated to be his long reliever in the post season, but he did not make an appearance in the 1973 American League Championship Series with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. Jefferson moved into the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

in , making just two spot starts, both against the Red Sox.

Chicago White Sox

After going 0–2 in four games during the first months of the campaign, Jefferson was traded from the Orioles to the White Sox for

Tony Muser Anthony Joseph Muser (; born August 1, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player who currently serves as a roving instructor in the San Diego Padres organization. He played professionally in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine se ...

in one of two transactions made by Chicago at the non-waiver trade deadline on June 15, . With the Chisox, Jefferson was moved back into the starting rotation, compiling a 5–9 record with a 5.10 ERA. He split the between starts and the bullpen before he was lost to the

in the

1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1976 MLB Expansion Draft was held November 5, 1976. This expansion draft was conducted by Major League Baseball to stock the major league rosters of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, new major league expansion franchises establ ...

Toronto Blue Jays

Jefferson set many career highs with the Blue Jays in . His 33 starts and 217

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

were by far his best. Despite setting a Blue Jay franchise record with nine walks in a game against Baltimore on June 18, Jefferson's

strikeout-to-walk ratio In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on balls. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, and therefore not counted in ...

was also a career best 1.37 as he struck out 114 batters versus 83 walks. Perhaps the most memorable outing of Jefferson's career came on May 16, , against eventual 22–game winner Mike Norris and the Oakland A's. Jefferson held the A's to just four hits over 11 innings while striking out ten. Norris was equally brilliant, but the Jays managed to squeak out a run in the bottom of the 11th to earn Jefferson the win. After that performance, Jefferson lost his next five decisions. He made his final appearance for Toronto on September 1, facing five batters and retiring just one while giving up three

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

, allowing an inherited runner to score and committing an error. He was placed on waivers with a 4–13 record and a 5.47 ERA. He was selected off waivers by the

on September 11, and made just one appearance for the club, beating the

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 ...

. Following the season, he signed as a free agent with the

. He started the season in the Angels' starting rotation, but after going 0–4 with a 4.68 ERA in his first five starts, was moved into the bullpen. He pitched far better in relief, going 2–0 with a 1.04 ERA in 21 appearances. He spent

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with the Orioles, but did not make the club.

Death

In 2011, Jefferson died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Jesse 1949 births 2011 deaths African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Asheville Orioles players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Virginia Bravos de León players California Angels players Deaths from cancer in Virginia Chicago White Sox players Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Deaths from prostate cancer in the United States Edmonton Trappers players Florida Instructional League Orioles players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Miami Marlins (FSL) players People from Midlothian, Virginia Pittsburgh Pirates players Rochester Red Wings players Stockton Ports players Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tomateros de Culiacán players Toronto Blue Jays players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen