Len Church
Leonard Church (March 21, 1942 – April 22, 1988) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs. A student at Lane Technical High School in Chicago, he was signed as a free agent by the Cubs in 1963.
| Len Church | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: March 21, 1942 Chicago, Illinois | |||
| Died: April 22, 1988 (aged 46) Richardson, Texas | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| August 27, 1966, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 4, 1966, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 0–1 | ||
| ERA | 7.50 | ||
| Strikeouts | 3 | ||
| Teams | |||
| |||
After spending four seasons in the minors, Church made his MLB debut on August 27, 1966, allowing one run in two innings of work in a 5-4 Cubs loss to Houston. On August 29 and 31, he came into both games in save situations and was the pitcher who surrendered the Cubs' lead, recording a blown save in each case. On August 31, Church surrendered a pinch-hit home run to Cincinnati's Art Shamsky, the first batter he faced, but prior pitcher Curt Simmons was on the hook for the loss due to a player reaching on an error, followed by an intentional walk to the next batter. The Cubs blew a 5–0 lead in the process, losing 7-5.
Church made one more appearance in his MLB career, relieving Bill Hands on September 4 of the same season. He allowed four runs in two innings of work and was charged with the loss as the Cubs lost to Pittsburgh 8-5. For the 1966 season (and his MLB career), Church finished 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA. He played five more seasons in the minor leagues, mostly with the AAA Tacoma Cubs, before hanging up his spikes in 1971 at age 29.
Church died of a heart attack in Richardson, Texas on April 22, 1988.