Freddy Ray Beene (born November 24, 1942) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
player. Beene was a
right-handed
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
who played in the
Major Leagues between to . He was listed at tall and .
Beene attended
Brazosport High School
Brazosport High School is a public high school located at the intersection of Brazosport Boulevard and West 2nd Street in Freeport, Texas, United States. It handles grades nine through twelve and is part of the Brazosport Independent School Distr ...
in
Freeport, Texas
Freeport is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, located on the Gulf of Mexico. According to the 2020 census, the city population was 10,696, down from 12,049 in 2010.
History
Freeport was founded as a European-American settlement ...
then played college baseball at
Sam Houston State University. In performance in the small college World Series convinced Orioles scout
Dee Phillips
Damon Roswell "Dee" Phillips (June 8, 1919 – November 4, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, manager and scout. A shortstop and third baseman born in Corsicana, Texas, Phillips threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) ...
to sign him for $6,000 in 1964. Beene played with Baltimore's minor league system until 1968 and made his major league debut in September 18 of that year. He played in eight games over three seasons with the Orioles who traded him along with
Enzo Hernández
Enzo Octavio Hernández (12 February 1949 – 13 January 2013) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1971 through 1978 for the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. Hernández was born in Valle de Guanape, Venezuela. Listed ...
,
Tom Phoebus
Thomas Harold Stephen Phoebus (April 7, 1942 – September 5, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynas ...
and
Al Severinsen
Albert Henry Severinsen (November 9, 1944 – January 27, 2015) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in with the Baltimore Orioles and in and with the San Diego Padres. He batted and threw right-handed. Severinsen had a 3–7 record, ...
to the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
for
Pat Dobson
Patrick Edward Dobson, Jr. (February 12, 1942 – November 22, 2006) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers (1967–69), San Diego Padres (1970), Baltimore Orioles (1971–72), Atla ...
and
Tom Dukes
Thomas Earl Dukes (born August 31, 1942) is an American retired professional baseball player. The native of Knoxville, Tennessee, was a right-handed relief pitcher who appeared in 161 games over six seasons (1967–1972) for the Houston Astros, ...
on December 1, 1970. Beene was returned to the Orioles months later on May 16, 1971. In 1972, he was traded to the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
for a player to be named later, which turned out to be
Dale Spier
Dale or dales may refer to:
Locations
* Dale (landform), an open valley
* Dale (place name element)
Geography
;Australia
*The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean
;Canada
*Dale, Ontario
;Ethiopia
*Dale (woreda), district
;Norway
*Da ...
. Beene pitched very well for the Yankees, having
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 ...
s under 2.50. He was dealt along with
Fritz Peterson
Fred Ingels Peterson (born February 8, 1942) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player who played for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Texas Rangers from 1966 to 1976. Peterson was a southpaw starting pitcher who enjoy ...
,
Steve Kline and
Tom Buskey
Thomas William Buskey (February 20, 1947 – June 7, 1998) was an American Major League Baseball middle relief pitcher. Listed at 6' 3", 200 lb., he batted and threw right handed.
Career
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Buskey attended Harris ...
from the Yankees to the Indians for
Chris Chambliss
Carroll Christopher Chambliss (born December 26, 1948) is an American professional baseball player and coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball from to for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He served ...
,
Dick Tidrow
Richard William Tidrow (May 14, 1947 – July 10, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and the senior vice president of player personnel and senior advisor to the general manager for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Basebal ...
and
Cecil Upshaw
Cecil Lee Upshaw Jr. (October 22, 1942 – February 7, 1995) was an Americans, American professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher, who had a nine- year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1966–1969, 1971–1975), for the Atlanta Bra ...
on April 26, 1974.
Beene appeared in 112 MLB
games played, all but six as a
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
. In 288
innings, he allowed 274
hits and 111
bases on balls, with 156
strikeouts
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
. Primarily a middle reliever, Beene notched eight career
saves, and compiled a career
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 ...
of 3.63.
After his playing career, Beene spent 20 seasons (1981–2000) as a
scout for the
Milwaukee Brewers. One of the players he talked the Brewers into drafting was
Jim Morris
James Samuel Morris Jr. (born January 19, 1964) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for two seasons with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Although brief, Morris' career is noted for making hi ...
in 1983, who would make his major league debut 16 years later.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beene, Fred
1942 births
Living people
Baseball players from Texas
Baltimore Orioles players
Cleveland Indians players
Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players
Elmira Pioneers players
Fox Cities Foxes players
Hawaii Islanders players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Milwaukee Brewers scouts
New York Yankees players
Oklahoma City 89ers players
People from Angleton, Texas
Rochester Red Wings players
Sam Houston State Bearkats baseball players
Toledo Mud Hens players