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

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 ...

with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(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) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

(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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1980) and

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

(1981) of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(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 (MLB) 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 Leagu ...

out of Carver High School in Midlothian, Virginia. 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, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, 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 players can move on to a higher ...

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

, he nearly pitched a five-

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

;

Rico Petrocelli Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli (born June 27, 1943) is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he both threw and batted right-hand ...

hit a solo

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

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. 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 and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

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 enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. The Orioles captured the American League East crown, and manager Earl Weaver 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 The 1973 American League Championship Series took place between October 6 and 11, 1973. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Baltimore Orioles, three games to two. Games 1 and 2 were played in Memorial Stadium in Baltimore; Games 3–5 w ...

with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. 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 t ...

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 currently a roving instructor in the San Diego Padres organization. He is a former Major League Baseball player, and later served in several coaching positions. From 1997 until 2002, Muser served as ...

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 establis ...

Toronto Blue Jays

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

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

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 ...

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, allowing an inherited runner to score and committing an error. He was placed on waivers with a 4–13 record and 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 part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. 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 is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the Orioles, but did not make the club.

Death

In 2011, Jefferson died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

References

External links

, o
Jesse Jefferson - Baseballbiography.com
o

{{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 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 sportspeople 21st-century African-American people