Photo of Don Bessent


Don Bessent

Fred Donald Bessent (The Weasel)

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 175 lb.

Born: March 13, 1931 in Jacksonville, FL
High School: Jacksonville HS (Jacksonville, FL)
Signed
by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1950. (All Transactions)
Debut: July 17, 1955
Team: Dodgers 1955-1958

Final Game: September 27, 1958
Died: July 7, 1990 in Jacksonville, FL
Buried: Oaklawn Cemetery, Jacksonville, FL
    About biographical information

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Standard Pitching

Year Age Tm Lg W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
1955 24 BRO NL 8 1 .889 2.70 24 2 8 1 0 3 63.1 51 19 19 7 21 2 29 0 0 1 255 152 1.137 7.2 1.0 3.0 4.1 1.38 RoY-3
1956 25 BRO NL 4 3 .571 2.50 38 0 21 0 0 9 79.1 63 23 22 5 31 6 52 0 0 4 324 161 1.185 7.1 0.6 3.5 5.9 1.68
1957 26 BRO NL 1 3 .250 5.73 27 0 16 0 0 0 44.0 58 28 28 5 19 3 24 0 0 1 204 72 1.750 11.9 1.0 3.9 4.9 1.26
1958 27 LAD NL 1 0 1.000 3.33 19 0 0 0 0 0 24.1 24 14 9 3 17 0 13 1 0 0 107 127 1.685 8.9 1.1 6.3 4.8 0.76
4 Yrs 14 7 .667 3.33 108 2 45 1 0 12 211.0 196 84 78 20 88 11 118 1 0 6 890 123 1.346 8.4 0.9 3.8 5.0 1.34
162 Game Avg. 9 4 .667 3.33 67 1 28 1 0 7 130 121 52 48 12 54 7 73 1 0 4 550 123 1.346 8.4 0.9 3.8 5.0 1.34

Player Value--Pitchers

WAR Explained (v2.1): 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Starter, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl
Year Age Tm Lg IP G GS R RA9 RA9opp RA9def RA9role PPFp RA9avg RAA WAA gmLI WAAadj WAR RAR waaWL% 162WL% Salary Awards
1955 24 BRO NL 63.1 24 2 19 2.70 4.51 0.42 0.00 100.6 4.12 11 1.2 1.4 0.1 1.9 17 .550 .507 $ RoY-3
1956 25 BRO NL 79.1 38 0 23 2.61 4.22 0.54 0.00 106.6 3.93 13 1.5 1.7 0.4 2.6 20 .539 .509 $
1957 26 BRO NL 44.0 27 0 28 5.73 4.49 0.28 0.00 106.5 4.48 -6 -0.6 .7 0.0 -0.1 -1 .478 .496 $
1958 27 LAD NL 24.1 19 0 14 5.18 4.76 -0.16 0.00 105.2 5.17 -0 -0.0 1.1 -0.0 0.2 3 .500 .500 $
4 Seasons 211.0 108 2 84 3.58 4.43 0.37 0.00 104.6 4.24 19 2.1 1.3 0.5 4.6 38 .519 .503 $

Postseason Pitching

Year Age Tm Lg Series Rslt Opp W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
1955 24 BRO NL WS W NYY 0 0 0.00 3 0 0 0 0 0 3.1 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 12 1.200 8.1 0.0 2.7 2.7 1.00
1956 25 BRO NL WS L NYY 1 0 1.000 1.80 2 0 1 0 0 0 10.0 8 2 2 0 3 1 5 0 0 1 41 1.100 7.2 0.0 2.7 4.5 1.67
2 Yrs (2 Series) 1 0 1.000 1.35 5 0 1 0 0 0 13.1 11 2 2 0 4 1 6 0 0 1 53 1.125 7.4 0.0 2.7 4.1 1.50
2 WS 1 0 1.000 1.35 5 0 1 0 0 0 13.1 11 2 2 0 4 1 6 0 0 1 53 1.125 7.4 0.0 2.7 4.1 1.50

Batting Against -- Pitching*

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE
1955 24 BRO NL 24 255 232 19 51 11 1 7 2 1 21 29 .220 .283 .366 .650 .223 85 7 0 1 1 2 1
1956 25 BRO NL 38 324 285 23 63 13 5 5 2 2 31 52 .221 .295 .354 .649 .251 101 7 0 5 3 6 3
1957 26 BRO NL 27 204 177 28 58 9 3 5 1 2 19 24 .328 .387 .497 .884 .351 88 2 0 5 3 3 1
1958 27 LAD NL 19 107 89 14 24 4 2 3 1 1 17 13 .270 .393 .461 .853 .288 41 7 1 0 0 0 2
4 Yrs 108 890 783 84 196 37 11 20 6 6 88 118 .250 .324 .402 .727 .270 315 23 1 11 7 11 7
162 Game Avg. 67 550 484 52 121 23 7 12 4 4 54 73 .250 .324 .402 .727 .270 195 14 1 7 4 7 4
MLB Averages .258 .328 .392 .720 .275

Win Probability

Year Age Tm Lg PtchR PitchW Plays WPA WPA+ WPA- aLI WPA/LI Clutch RE24 REW boLI RE24/boLI LevHi LevMd LevLo
1955 24 BRO NL 10.9 1.1 257 1.8 5.1 -3.3 1.00 0.9 0.9 13.4 1.4 1.00 9.8 7 8 7
1956 25 BRO NL 13.7 1.4 332 1.9 7.7 -5.8 1.24 0.7 0.8 16.8 1.7 1.24 10.2 18 9 10
1957 26 BRO NL -5.6 -0.6 208 -0.3 3.1 -3.3 .89 -1.0 0.7 -8.5 -0.8 0.89 -9.1 4 4 19
1958 27 LAD NL 0.5 0.0 109 -0.2 1.4 -1.7 .69 -0.3 0.0 -1.9 -0.2 0.69 -3.3 5 6 8
4 Yrs 19.4 2.0 906 3.2 17.3 -14.1 1.03 0.3 2.8 19.8 2.1 1.03 7.7 34 27 44

Starting Pitching*

Year Age Tm Lg G GS Wgs Lgs ND Wchp Ltuf Wtm Ltm tmW-L% Wlst Lsv CG SHO QS QS% GmScA Best Wrst BQR BQS sDR lDR RS/GS RS/IP IP/GS Pit/GS <80 80-99 100-119 ≥120 Max
1955 24 BRO NL 24 2 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 1.000 0 0 1 0 1 50% 58.0 72 44 7 2 1 1 6.8 6.8 8.5
1 Yr 24 2 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 1.000 0 0 1 0 1 50% 58 72 44 7 2 1 1 6.8 6.8 8.5
MLB Averages .500 50% 51 118 2 4.4 4.4 6.4

Reliever Pitching*

Year Age Tm Lg G GR GF Wgr Lgr SVOpp SV BSv SV% SVSit Hold IR IS IS% 1stIP aLI LevHi LevMd LevLo Ahd Tie Bhd Runr Empt >3o <3o IPmult 0DR Out/GR Pit/GR
1955 24 BRO NL 24 22 8 6 1 4 3 1 75% 4 0 23 7 30% 7 1.001 7 8 7 8 3 11 13 9 11 5 11 2 6.3
1956 25 BRO NL 38 38 21 4 3 10 9 1 90% 10 0 40 9 23% 7 1.239 18 9 10 10 9 19 24 14 26 10 27 7 6.3
1957 26 BRO NL 27 27 16 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 9 6 67% 8 .890 4 4 19 1 4 22 7 20 14 4 17 3 4.9
1958 27 LAD NL 19 19 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 22 9 41% 4 .695 5 6 8 2 2 15 12 7 11 7 11 1 3.8
4 Yrs 108 106 45 12 7 14 12 2 86% 16 1 94 31 33% 1.025 34 27 44 21 18 67 56 50 62 26 66 13 5.5

Ratio Pitching*

Year Age Tm Lg PA Ptn% HR% SO% BB% XBH% X/H% GB/FB GO/AO IP% LD% HR/FB IF/FB DPopp DPs DP%
1955 24 BRO NL 255 61% 2.8% 11.4% 8.2% 7.5% 37% 0.98 77% 44 7 16%
1956 25 BRO NL 324 64% 1.5% 16.1% 9.6% 7.1% 37% 0.96 71% 51 7 14%
1957 26 BRO NL 204 67% 2.5% 11.8% 9.3% 8.3% 29% 0.66 74% 40 2 5%
1958 27 LAD NL 107 79% 2.8% 12.2% 15.9% 8.4% 38% 1.27 68% 26 7 27%
4 Yrs 890 65% 2.3% 13.3% 9.9% 7.6% 35% 0.92 73% 161 23 14%
MLB Averages 52% 2.5% 12.7% 9.4% 6.7% 28% 0.98 77% 11%

Baserunning & Situational Stats*

Hits Home Runs Advances Baserunning
Year Age Tm Lg PA H Inf Bnt All GS GSo vRH vLH Hm Rd <2,3B Scr SO % ROE WP PB SBO SB CS SB% SB2 CS2 SB3 CS3 SBH CSH PO PCS BT PAu
1955 24 BRO NL 255 51 7 0 5 5 2 4 3 11 4 0 36% 1 1 0 98 2 1 67% 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0
1956 25 BRO NL 324 63 5 0 10 3 2 3 2 16 7 3 44% 3 4 0 123 2 2 50% 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
1957 26 BRO NL 204 58 5 0 5 5 0 3 2 10 9 0 90% 1 1 1 92 1 2 33% 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
1958 27 LAD NL 107 24 3 0 6 3 0 1 2 13 4 1 31% 2 0 0 41 1 1 50% 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
4 Yrs 890 196 20 0 26 16 4 11 9 50 24 4 48% 7 6 1 354 6 6 50% 4 5 1 0 1 1 0 0 17 0
MLB Averages 51% 56%

Cumulative Pitching

Year Age W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB ERA+
1955 24 8 1 .889 2.70 24 2 8 1 0 3 63.1 51 19 19 7 21 2 29 0 0 1 255 152 1.137 7.2 1.0 3.0 4.1 1.38 152
1956 25 12 4 .750 2.59 62 2 29 1 0 12 142.2 114 42 41 12 52 8 81 0 0 5 579 157 1.164 7.2 0.8 3.3 5.1 1.56 157
1957 26 13 7 .650 3.33 89 2 45 1 0 12 186.2 172 70 69 17 71 11 105 0 0 6 783 123 1.302 8.3 0.8 3.4 5.1 1.48 123
1958 27 14 7 .667 3.33 108 2 45 1 0 12 211.0 196 84 78 20 88 11 118 1 0 6 890 123 1.346 8.4 0.9 3.8 5.0 1.34 123

Neutralized Pitching

Change to: Default / 750 Runs / 1968 Dodgers / 2000 Rockies or

All seasons are converted to 162-game seasons &
average team scoring of 716 total runs (4.42 R/G)
How this works
Year Age W L W-L% ERA IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WHIP H/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB HR/9 Gact
1955 24 5 2 .714 2.81 64.0 53 22 20 7 22 29 0 1.172 7.5 3.1 4.1 1.32 1.0 24
1956 25 6 2 .750 2.44 81.0 65 24 22 5 32 53 0 1.198 7.2 3.6 5.9 1.66 0.6 38
1957 26 2 3 .400 5.60 45.0 59 31 28 5 19 25 0 1.733 11.8 3.8 5.0 1.32 1.0 27
1958 27 1 1 .500 3.38 24.0 24 10 9 3 17 13 1 1.708 9.0 6.4 4.9 0.76 1.1 19
4 Yrs 14 8 .636 3.32 214.0 201 87 79 20 90 120 1 1.360 8.5 5.0 1.33 0.8 108

* Many Detailed Statistics are based on play-by-play accounts accumulated by RetroSheet. These totals may be incomplete (3.6% of all plays from 1918 to 1973 are missing or have incomplete accounts, click link for year and team summary) for some players prior to 1974 and even complete seasons may not match the official totals due to errors in both the official totals and the play-by-play accounts. Pre-1954 seasons have a substantial numbers of games missing play-by-play accounts and should be viewed as essentially incomplete.

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank · Glossary

Saves s c a p y
1956 NL  9 (4th)

Games Finished s c a p y
1956 NL  21 (8th)

Adj. Pitching Runs s c a p y
1956 NL  14 (10th)

Adj. Pitching Wins s c a p y
1956 NL  1.4 (10th)

Base-Out Runs Saved (RE24)s c a p y
1956 NL  16.78 (8th)

Win Probability Added (WPA)s c a p y
1955 NL  1.8 (9th)
1956 NL  1.9 (7th)

Base-Out Wins Saved (REW)s c a p y
1956 NL  1.7 (10th)

             

Statistics like WPA, REW and RE24 are computed from play-by-play data which is only complete from 1974 to the present. From 1948-1973, the data is incomplete, though for most seasons only less than 20 games per season total are missing. Please see our page on data coverage for a full view of the data used to create these leaderboards.

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Gray InkPitching - 3 (2136), Average HOFer ≈ 185
Hall of Fame MonitorPitching - 7 (1145), Likely HOFer ≈ 100

Other Resources & Links

Error?     Compare     Search SABR's Baseball Index     Other Links@google.com     Baseball Library     Baseball-Almanac.com     Retrosheet     The Baseball Cube     The Baseball Page     WhatIfSports: Don Bessent    

Viewed 7,169 times through May 31, 2012.
Name and misspellings: Fred The dave Don Donald Weasel Bessent

Player Page Tricks and Tips

Sum any set of rows by clicking anywhere (not red or blue) on the first and last rows of your selection. We will then compute the totals for the player between and including those two seasons.
Default Setting for this feature: Turn On / Turn Off
Summation of season totals only works for the initial case when the table is in year order. On a sorted table the results may get a bit goofy.

HIGHLIGHTING: Adding a range or series of player's career seasons or career game numbers (like '#1972:batting_standard', '#1970-1980-sum:batting_standard', or '#1998,1999,2001,2002,sum:pitching_standard') onto the end of a player page url causes the seasons to the highlighted and summed. After changing address bar, reload the page to see highlighting. This will work even in links e-mailed to others. Note that for tables with multiple pages the first table is the default. If you want to create a sum for a table other than the first one, select the rows and after the summation window appears click on "permanent link" link.

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