Fred Besana

From BR Bullpen

Frederick Cyril Besana

Bats Right, Throws Left
Weight 200 lb.
School California State University, Sacramento
Debut April 18, 1956
Final Game May 13, 1956
Born April 5, 1931 in Lincoln, CA USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Fred Besana Spent most of his career pitching in the minors starting out in 1950 with the class D Sweetwater Swatters and finishing up the year with the class C Albuquerque Dukes winding up with a combined 18-12 record with a .483 ERA.

Fred was out of baseball in the 1951 through 1953 years and there are no available records for him during this period of time. He reappeared in 1954 in the PCL with the Oakland Oaks where his record was 0-4 in 7 games. He was back with the Oaks the next season and went 6-10 but with a 3.75 ERA.

The Baltimore Orioles picked up Besana from the Oakland Oaks for a short time in 1956. He won his only decision in seven games. The following year, he returned to the Pacific Coast League and pitched for the Vancouver Mounties. Fred spent most of the late 1950's with several different AAA clubs.

He recalled the disappointment of not getting a chance to pitch to his hero, Ted Williams, when he was on the mound in Fenway Park. The "Thumper" was due up but injured his heel and had to leave the contest.

The record shows that Besana played in pro baseball for eight seasons from 1950 through 1961. The 6'4" lefthander's minor league record shows he appeared in 254 games, winning 58 and losing 67, pitching 1,051 innings, giving up 1,021 base hits and 675 base on balls for a .476 ERA.

Fred went on to graduate from Sacramento State College earning a Master's degree in physical education. He was a P.E. teacher and also taught real estate classes. Besana coached the baseball team at American River College in Sacramento for 22 years before retiring in 1990.