Dave Leonhard
David Paul Leonhard (born January 22, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1967 through 1972.[1] He was a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the World Series in 1970.
Dave Leonhard | |||
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Pitcher | |||
Born: Arlington, Virginia | January 22, 1941|||
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MLB debut | |||
September 21, 1967, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 20, 1972, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Win-Loss record | 16–14 | ||
Earned run average | 3.15 | ||
Innings | 337 | ||
Teams | |||
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Baseball career
A native of Arlington, Virginia, Leonhard attended Johns Hopkins University.[1] He was signed by the Orioles as a free agent in 1963.[1] He started his professional career with Class C Aberdeen Pheasants (1963–1964), and won the International League Pitcher of the Year Award while playing for the Rochester Red Wings in 1967, gaining a promotion to Baltimore late in the season.[2][3]
Leonhard made his major league debut on September 21, 1967 at the age of 26.[1] In three games with the 1967 Orioles, Leonhard went 0-0 with a 3.14 ERA in 14 ⅓ innings of work.[1] In 1968, he finished with a 7-7 record in a starting rotation that included Dave McNally (22-10), Jim Hardin (18-13) and Tom Phoebus (15-15), but with the emergence of Jim Palmer in 1969, he was relegated to the bullpen.[1]
On May 6, 1968 Leonhard took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Detroit Tigers outfielder Jim Northrup broke it up with a single after two outs. He had to settle with a one-hit shutout, 4–0 victory over Detroit at Memorial Stadium.[4] On May 30, 1968 he shutout the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, 5–0, giving up just two singles to Luis Aparicio (4th inning) and Tommy McCraw (7th).[5]
Leonhard appeared in the 1969 and 1971 World Series (3.00 ERA in two games), and won a World Series ring in 1970 though he did not play in the Series. He played in his final major league game on September 20, 1972.[1] Leonhard continued to play in the minor leagues until he retired in 1976 at the age of 35.[3] He also pitched with the Puerto Rican team in the 1971 Caribbean Series and for Triple-A Salt Lake City Angels in 1973.[6]
In a six-season major league career, Leonhard played in 117 games, accumulating a 16-14 win-loss record along with a 3.15 earned run average including; 29 starts, seven complete games, four shutouts and five saves, giving up 118 earned runs on 287 hits and 150 walks while striking out 146 in 337.0 innings.
Sources
- "David Leonhard statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Red Wings History
- "David Leonhard minor league statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Retrosheet – May 6, 1968 Box Score
- Retrosheet – May 30, 1968 Box Score
- 1973 Salt Lake City Angels
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or SABR Biography Project, or Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)