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| Jim Leyritz | |
|---|---|
 Leyritz atBaseball Hall of Fame Weekend in 2019 | |
| Catcher /Infielder /Outfielder | |
| Born: (1963-12-27)December 27, 1963 (age 61) Lakewood, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 8, 1990, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 13, 2000, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .264 |
| Home runs | 90 |
| Runs batted in | 387 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
James Joseph Leyritz (born December 27, 1963) is an American former professionalbaseballcatcher andinfielder. In his 11-yearMajor League Baseball (MLB) career, Leyritz played for theNew York Yankees,Anaheim Angels,Texas Rangers,Boston Red Sox,San Diego Padres, andLos Angeles Dodgers. With the Yankees, Leyritz was a member of the1996 and1999 World Series championships, both over theAtlanta Braves.
Leyritz grew up inAnderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio with his parents, brother, and sister,[1] and attendedTurpin High School inCincinnati, Ohio.[1] He then attendedMiddle Georgia College, ajunior college inCochran, Georgia, before transferring to theUniversity of Kentucky. At Kentucky, Leyritz playedcollege baseball for theKentucky Wildcats baseball team.
After playing the 1985 season for theKentucky Wildcats, Leyritz went undrafted byMajor League Baseball (MLB), but was signed as a free agent by theNew York Yankees.[2] Leyritz made his MLB debut for the Yankees on June 8, 1990.
His playing days were highlighted by a pair of memorable postseasonhome runs he hit with the Yankees in 1995 and 1996 in comeback wins. In Game 2 of the1995 American League Division Series against theSeattle Mariners atYankee Stadium, in rainy conditions, Leyritz hit awalk-off two-run home run to right-center field in the 15thinning, giving the Yankees a 7–5 victory and a two-games-to-none lead in the best-of-five series. The home run was surrendered by Mariners pitcherTim Belcher, who was famously involved in aprofanity-laced incident with a cameraman covering him walking through the tunnel to the clubhouse afterwards.
The best known of Leyritz's playoff heroics occurred in Game 4 of the1996 World Series against theAtlanta Braves atAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium. In the series, the Yankees trailed the Braves two games to one, and in Game 4, the Yankees trailed, 6–0, after five innings. The Yankees rallied for three runs in the 6th inning, setting the stage for Leyritz in the 8th inning. Facing Atlanta closerMark Wohlers with oneout and two runners on base, Leyritz hit a three-run home run to left field to tie the game and cap the improbable Yankee comeback. "In the air to left field... back, at the track, at the wall, we are tied!" said announcerJoe Buck on national television. The Yankees eventually won the game, 8–6, in 10 innings to tie the series. In Game 5, Leyritz caught pitchersAndy Pettitte andJohn Wetteland for a 1–0shutout, and the Yankees clinched their championship with a victory in Game 6.[3]
After the 1996 season, the Yankees traded Leyritz to theAnaheim Angels for twoplayers to be named later (PTBNL): minor leaguers Jeremy Blevins and Ryan Kane. On July 29, 1997, the Angels traded Leyritz and a PTBNL (minor leaguerRob Sasser) to theTexas Rangers forKen Hill.[4] After the season, the Rangers traded Leyritz to theBoston Red Sox withDamon Buford forMark Brandenburg,Bill Haselman, andAaron Sele.[5]
On June 20, 1998, the Red Sox traded Leyritz with Ethan Faggett to theSan Diego Padres forCarlos Reyes,Mandy Romero andDarío Veras. Leyritz had a number of unlikely playoff home runs and clutch hits that season. The most dramatic of them came in Game 2 of theNational League Division Series againstHouston Astros pitcherBilly Wagner. Leyritz hit an opposite-field game-tying home run off the right fieldfoul pole in the top of the 9th inning. However, the Astros won the game in the bottom half of the inning. In Game 3, Leyritz hit the eventual game-winning home run againstScott Elarton in the bottom of the 7th inning that broke a 1–1 tie. Overall, Leyritz batted .400 with three home runs and fiveruns batted in in that series. Leyritz's Padres were matched against his former team, the Yankees, in the1998 World Series. During player introductions in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, Leyritz received a standing ovation from the fans who remembered his heroics from two years earlier. He went hitless in tenat bats in a four-game Yankees sweep.[6]
On July 31, 1999, the Padres traded Leyritz to the Yankees for Geraldo Padua. The Yankees advanced to the1999 World Series, and in Game 4, in the bottom of the 8th inning, Leyritz hit a solo home run to extend the Yankees' lead to 4–1 and help them complete a sweep of the Braves to win a championship.NBC commentatorBob Costas remarked incredulously about Leyritz after the home run, "You could send this guy to a resort in the spring and summer, as long as he comes back in October."[7] That home run was the last one to be hit in the 1990s.
On June 20, 2000, the Yankees traded Leyritz to theLos Angeles Dodgers forJosé Vizcaíno and cash. Although he was traded midway during the 2000 season before the Yankees won theirthird straight World Series title and fourth in five seasons, Leyritz was awarded his third World Series ring by the Yankees.[8]
Leyritz became a free agent after the 2000 season, and signed in 2001 with theNewark Bears of the independentAtlantic League. His performance there led to a contract with the Padres, who assigned him toAAA. He did not receive a call-up to the Major Leagues.
Leyritz served as a pinch-hitter toward the end of his career. He batted and threw right-handed exclusively in the majors, but was known to switch-hit in theminor leagues.
On June 8, 2006, while doing an interview on theOpie and Anthony show onXM Satellite Radio, Leyritz admitted to usingamphetamines during his playing career when they were not against the rules. The statement came in the wake of an admission by pitcherJason Grimsley that he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.[9]
Leyritz was known for using an unusual stance which involved keeping his front leg (left leg) straight and stiff while his back leg (right leg) behind him considerably bent at the knee. He did this while circling his bat around behind his head, waiting for the pitch. After each pitch that Leyritz did not put into play or strike out on, he grabbed the bat by its center and twirled it at his hip like a baton. He has said that former YankeeMickey Rivers taught him how to twirl the bat at his hip.
Leyritz was also Pettitte's personal catcher in 1995–96 and again in 1999–2000.[10]
In February 2011, Leyritz was hired as a pitching coach for theNewark Bears.[11] He left the team after one season, wanting to spend more time with his family.[12]
On April 14, 2012, it was announced that Leyritz was returning to the Yankees on a personal services contract.[13]
From 2004 to 2007, Leyritz co-hosted a radio show with Vinny Micucci and Billy Sample calledMLB Radio Daily on MLB Radio and is a regular contributor toTheMichael Kay Show on the New York CityESPN Radioaffiliate.[citation needed]
In October 2007, Leyritz worked with Harold Reynolds and Chris Myers covering the pre- and post-game reports on the field for the 2007 Playoffs and World Series for Fox.com.[citation needed]
On January 6, 2014, Leyritz was hired to host a radio show for Angels Radio 830AM with Jason Brennan called "Inside The Game" with Leyritz and Brennan. The show was later postponed due to a conflict with ESPN radio.[citation needed]
Starting in March 2016, Leyritz co-hosted a nationally syndicated weekly radio show withDavid Meltzer called "Sports Blender" onSB Nation radio.
Leyritz wrote a book titledCatching Heat: The Jim Leyritz Story, published in June 2011. The book was co-written by brothersJeffrey Lyons andDouglas B. Lyons.[14] In a brief review,Publishers Weekly called the book "a surprisingly defensive attempt at a self-serving memoir."[15]
Leyritz is involved with many charities. He is the spokesperson for Pinktie.org /1st Equity Title Co out of Melville, NY. He also works with many chapters of ALS, a disease which took his brother-in-law, Joe Toerner, in 2010.[16] During his playing days, Leyritz and his wife broughtfoster children to see games at Yankee Stadium and contributed toCovenant House andPolice Benevolent Association.[1]
As of March 2015, Leyritz lives inOrange County, California, with his wife Michelle, his three sons, and her two daughters. They married in March 2016. He is a member and usher atSaddleback Church inLake Forest, California.
On December 28, 2007, Leyritz was arrested inBroward County, Florida on suspicion ofdrunk driving andvehicular homicide after his car struck Freida Veitch's car. Veitch, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the car and died at the scene. Leyritz was released on US$11,000 bond and charged with two counts of drunk driving.[17] Police collected two blood samples from Leyritz, the first 2½ hours after the crash and the second about an hour later. The first sample showed ablood-alcohol level of .14, and the second, .13, police said. Veitch had a blood-alcohol level of .18. Both Leyritz and Veitch were legally drunk at the time of the collision.[18]
Several days after the accident, it was revealed that Leyritz could face further charges because his driver license had been suspended inNew York prior to the accident. On June 20, 2007, Leyritz had been issued a ticket outsideAlbany, New York, for using a cell phone while driving. According to Leyritz's attorney, Leyritz's license "was not suspended in the state of Florida on the day of the accident, nor is it suspended today."[19]
On February 13, 2009, Leyritz was ordered back to jail as his bail was revoked following his apparent consumption of alcoholic beverages in violation of his bail conditions.[20] A judge allowed him to return home on bail on February 23 after agreeing with Leyritz's attorney that his pretrial release conditions were unclear and that Leyritz had misunderstood them.[21]
On May 13, 2009, Leyritz was hospitalized in Florida. Reports onESPN claimed Leyritz had threatened suicide, but Leyritz issued a statement later saying he was not suicidal but stressed out. Leyritz ran into trouble on May 14 when he attempted to start his car but the alcohol monitoring device on the car malfunctioned, leading to a false positive and triggering an automatic urine test for Leyritz. The test showed he had not consumed any alcohol, and a judge cleared him.[22]
On July 2, 2009, Leyritz was arrested for battery against his former wife;[23] however, the charges were later dropped.[24]
In November 2010, Leyritz's trial for the December 2007 DUI crash was held. He was acquitted on the DUI manslaughter charge in less than 45 minutes, but was convicted—after two days of deliberations—on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. He was subsequently sentenced to one year's probation and a $500 fine.[25] In May 2010, Leyritz's insurance company settled a civil lawsuit for the accident, paying $350,000 to the other driver's family.[26]
