:Mark Esser
{{short description|American baseball player (1956–2025)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name = Mark Esser
| position = Pitcher
| image =
| bats = Right
| throws = Left
| birth_date = {{birth date|1956|4|1}}
| birth_place = Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|5|12|1956|4|1}}
| debutleague = MLB
| debutdate = April 22
| debutyear = 1979
| debutteam = Chicago White Sox
| finalleague = MLB
| finaldate = April 29
| finalyear = 1979
| finalteam = Chicago White Sox
| statleague = MLB
| stat1label = Win–loss record
| stat1value = 0–0
| stat2label = Earned run average
| stat2value = 16.20
| stat3label = Strikeouts
| stat3value = 1
| teams = *Chicago White Sox ({{mlby|1979}})
}}
Mark Gerald Esser (April 1, 1956 – May 12, 2025) was a professional baseball pitcher. He appeared in only two games in Major League Baseball, one week apart, in 1979 for the Chicago White Sox.
Early life
Esser was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1956 and moved to Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1965. He attended Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappinger, New York, where he played baseball and basketball. Esser was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 20th round of the 1975 MLB Draft, but opted to play college baseball for Miami-Dade North Junior College.
Baseball career
The Chicago White Sox drafted Esser in the eighth round of the 1977 MLB January Draft-Regular Phase. He spilt the minor league season between the Rookie League Gulf Coast League White Sox and the Single A Appleton Foxes, where his teammates included future Hall-of-Famer Harold Baines.{{cite web |title=Mark Esser Minor Leagues Statistics & History |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=esser-001mar |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=6 May 2021 |language=en}} Esser then enjoyed a standout season in 1978 in Appleton, amassing a 9–2 record and seven saves pitching out of the bullpen in relief for a staff that featured future White Sox starting pitchers Britt Burns, Ross Baumgarten, and LaMarr Hoyt. Appleton would win the Midwest League title with 97–40 record and Esser was picked for the All-Star team.
Esser made his Major League debut on April 22, 1979, against the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland Stadium.{{cite web |title=Mark Esser 1979 Pitching Game Logs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=esserma01&t=p&year=1979 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=6 May 2021 |language=en}} He pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in relief of Francisco Barrios.{{cite web |title=Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians Box Score, April 22, 1979 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE197904220.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=6 May 2021 |language=en}} Seven days later, he pitched in the second and final Major League game of his career. Esser faced four Texas Rangers batters at Comiskey Park and retired only one of them, allowing three earned runs on one hit and two walks.{{cite web |title=Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox Box Score, April 29, 1979 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA197904290.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=6 May 2021 |language=en}} Esser spent the rest of the season pitching for the Triple A Iowa Oaks. The Sox converted Esser to a starter in 1980 and he went 10–12 pitching at three levels in the Chicago farm system.
On August 2, 1982, he and Bill Atkinson combined to throw a no-hitter for the Glens Falls White Sox.{{cite news |title=This Day in History |url=http://www.milb.com/milb/history/tdih.jsp?tdih=0802&sid=milb |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=MiLB.com |agency=Minor League Baseball |language=en}} It would be Esser's final season in professional baseball.
Personal
Esser was inducted into the [https://www.facebook.com/DCBBHOF/ Dutchess County Baseball Hall of Fame Association] in 2023.
Esser died on May 12, 2025, at the age of 69.{{Cite web |date=2025-05-16 |title=Mark Esser Obituary - Poughkeepsie Journal |url=https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/obituaries/pnys1179781 |access-date=2025-05-17 |newspaper=Poughkeepsie Journal |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Baseballstats |mlb=113908 |espn= |br=e/esserma01 |fangraphs= |brm=esser-001mar |retro=E/Pessem101}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esser, Mark}}
Category:Major League Baseball pitchers
Category:Chicago White Sox players
Category:Gulf Coast White Sox players
Category:Appleton Foxes players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:Glens Falls White Sox players
Category:Miami Dade Sharks baseball players