| Dave Leonhard | |
|---|---|
 Leonhard in 1972 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1941-01-22)January 22, 1941 (age 84) Arlington, Virginia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| 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 |
| Strikeouts | 146 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
David Paul Leonhard (born January 22, 1941) is an American former professionalbaseball player. He played inMajor League Baseball as a right-handedpitcher from1967 through1972.[1] He was a member of theBaltimore Orioles dynasty that won three consecutiveAmerican League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and won the1970 World Series over theCincinnati Reds.
A native ofArlington, Virginia, Leonhard attendedJohns Hopkins University.[1] He was signed by the Orioles as afree agent in 1963.[1] He started his professional career with Class CAberdeen Pheasants (1963–1964), and won theInternational League Pitcher of the Year Award while playing for theRochester 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 3.14ERA in14+1⁄3 innings of work.[1] In 1968, he finished with a 7–7 record in astarting rotation that includedDave McNally (22–10),Jim Hardin (18–13) andTom Phoebus (15–15), but with the emergence ofJim Palmer in 1969, he was relegated to thebullpen.[1]
On May 6, 1968, Leonhard took ano-hitter into the seventh inning beforeDetroit Tigers outfielderJim Northrup broke it up with asingle after two outs. He had to settle with a one-hitshutout, 4–0 victory over Detroit atMemorial Stadium.[4] On May 30, 1968, he shutout theChicago White Sox atComiskey Park, 5–0, giving up just two singles toLuis Aparicio (4th inning) andTommy McCraw (7th).[5]
Leonhard appeared in the1969 and1971World Series (3.00 ERA in two games), and was a part of the team's roster in the1970 World Series, though he did not make an appearance. After the series, the Orioles offered him a World Series ring or a TV; Leonhard picked the TV because he did not wear rings.[6] During the1971 World Series, Weaver asked him to warm up during a game, a surprise to Leonhard because the Orioles had four 20-game winners on their staff. Weaver said it was "To scare 'em," to which Leonhard responded, "Earl, the Pirates have been scouting us just like we've been scouting them. They know better than to get scared by me." "Not the Pirates," Weaver responded. "I want to scare Palmer, McNally, and Cuellar into pitching better."[7] He played in his final major league game on September 20, 1972.[1] Leonhard continued to play in theminor leagues until he retired in 1976 at the age of 35.[3] He also pitched with thePuerto Rican team in the1971 Caribbean Series and for Triple-ASalt Lake City Angels in 1973.[citation needed]
In a six-season major league career, Leonhard played in 117games, accumulating a 16–14win–loss record along with a 3.15earned run average including; 29 starts, sevencomplete games, four shutouts and fivesaves, giving up 118 earned runs on 287hits and 150walks whilestriking out 146 in 337.0 innings.
After he graduated from Johns Hopkins, Leonhard married Judy. She had been his girlfriend in high school, but they stopped dating initially when he went to college; however, their relationship started again when they saw each other at an alumni football game. They only stayed married for a few years before divorcing.[8] Palmer introduced him to Doris while the Orioles were visiting the Red Sox in the early 1970s, and she became his second wife. They opened a garden center inBeverly, Massachusetts, in 1975; as of 2010, they owned seven greenhouses in the area, where they sold plants and gardening materials.[8]
Leonhard was roommates with Palmer, who called him "my best friend on the team."[9] Palmer said, "Davey's education really was uncommon in the big leagues. He used words of more than one syllable, and he knew a pronoun was not a ex-amateur noun and stuff like that."[10] The Matz family lives behind Leonhards nursery in Beverly MA
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