Hal Bevan

{{Short description|American baseball player (1930–1968)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Hal Bevan

|image=HalBevan1953bowman.jpg

|caption=Bevan in 1953.

|position=Third baseman

|birth_date={{Birth date|1930|11|15}}

|birth_place=New Orleans, Louisiana

|death_date={{death date and age|1968|10|5|1930|11|15}}

|death_place=New Orleans, Louisiana

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=April 24

|debutyear=1952

|debutteam=Boston Red Sox

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=May 13

|finalyear=1961

|finalteam=Cincinnati Reds

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.292

|stat2label=Hits

|stat2value=7

|stat3label=Home runs

|stat3value=1

|teams=

• Boston Red Sox (1952)
• Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1952, 1955)
• Cincinnati Reds (1961)

}}

Harold Joseph Bevan Jr. (November 15, 1930 – October 5, 1968) was an American professional baseball player.

A longtime minor league first baseman, catcher and third baseman, he was a pinch hitter and backup third baseman in Major League Baseball who had brief trials for the Boston Red Sox (1952), Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1952, 1955), and Cincinnati Reds (1961). Bevan was a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, who batted and threw right-handed, stood {{convert|6|ft|2|in}} tall and weighed {{convert|198|lb}}. His cousin George Strickland was a Major League shortstop, coach and manager.

File:Hal Bevan 1957.jpg Seattle Rainiers in 1957.]]

Bevan's playing career was plagued by serious injuries. A broken leg curtailed his {{baseball year|1952}} rookie season, a hand injury hampered his final MLB trial with the {{by|1961}} Reds, and he also broke his jaw and an ankle and was seriously beaned during his minor league career.

In parts of three Major League seasons, Bevan was a .292 hitter with a home run and five RBI in 15 games played. His home run, a solo shot, came as a pinch hitter off Vinegar Bend Mizell of the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 12, 1961.Retrosheet [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B05120PIT1961.htm box score: 1961-05-12] The following day, Bevan made his final Major League appearance, striking out as a pinch hitter against another Pirate left-hander, Joe Gibbon.Retrosheet [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B05130PIT1961.htm box score: 1961-05-13] He was sent to the Triple-A Jersey City Jerseys on May 18. Despite his brief term with the team, he was featured in Cincinnati relief pitcher Jim Brosnan's memoir of the Reds' 1961 season, Pennant Race. During his long minor league career (1948–51; 1953–62), Bevan compiled a batting average of .295 with 1,618 hits and 90 home runs. He led the Venezuelan Winter League with a .351 average in the 1954–55 season.

Bevan died from a kidney infection[http://thedeadballera.com/tooyoung.html The Dead Ball Era.com] in his native New Orleans at the age of 37. At the time of his death, he was a scout for the Atlanta Braves.