Don Mossi

Donald Louis Mossi (January 11, 1929 – July 19, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1954 to 1965. Born in St. Helena, California, the son of Patience (Woodworth) and Louis Mossi, he grew up in Daly City and attended Jefferson High School, where he starred as a quarterback and twice earned all-Peninsula Athletic League honors.

Mossi was signed by the Cleveland Indians after leaving high school in 1949 and assigned to Class-A Bakersfield. He struggled with control early, walking 115 batters in 195 innings during his first professional season. He developed steadily, posting a 2.92 earned run average over 122 innings for the Wichita Indians in 1951, and earned a spot in the Cleveland bullpen for the 1954 season.

A left-handed control pitcher, Mossi reversed his early wildness to become one of the league's most reliable arms. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was regularly among the league leaders, and he led the league in that category in 1961. Over his twelve-year career he compiled 101 wins, 50 saves, and a career earned run average of 3.43.