Daniel Vincent Frisella (March 4, 1946 – January 1, 1977) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher whose career was cut short when he was killed in a dune buggy accident on New Year's Day in 1977.

[7] After leading the Cougars to the College World Series in 1965 and being named to the All-Conference team, he was selected by the Milwaukee Braves in the 39th round of the 1965 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.

He began the 1967 season in the Carolina League with the Durham Bulls, where he went 9-3 with a 1.49 ERA in thirteen starts to earn a promotion all the way up to triple A.

He began seeing more work as a relief pitcher with the Jacksonville Suns, and was added to the major league bullpen by the end of July.

After three relief appearances (8 innings pitched, no earned runs) for manager Wes Westrum, Frisella was added to the Mets' starting rotation.

After going 5–8 with a 3.34 ERA and nine saves, Frisella was traded along with Gary Gentry from the Mets to the Atlanta Braves for Félix Millán and George Stone on November 1, 1972.

Entering the game in the eighth inning with the Braves leading 2-1, Frisella allowed both inherited base runners to score, and gave up an additional four earned runs of his own, while retiring just two batters.

During spring training in 1976, Frisella was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for lefty pitcher Ken Reynolds and minor leaguer Bob Stewart.

Two poor performances against Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" saw his ERA balloon to 3.97 before he was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later midway through the season.

The accident occurred about 50 yards (46 m) from Frisella's home when his friend lost control of the dune buggy, causing it to overturn.

Frisella tried to jump from the vehicle as it began to flip, but he was unable to free his leg from the dune buggy and his head was struck by the roll bar.