| Hank Leiber | |
|---|---|
 Leiber, circa 1943 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born:(1911-01-17)January 17, 1911 Phoenix,Arizona, U.S. | |
| Died: November 8, 1993(1993-11-08) (aged 82) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 16, 1933, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 25, 1942, for the New York Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .288 |
| Home runs | 101 |
| Runs batted in | 518 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Henry Edward Leiber (January 17, 1911 – November 8, 1993) was an American professionalbaseball player.[1] He played as anoutfielder inMajor League Baseball from 1933 to 1942 with theNew York Giants andChicago Cubs.
Leiber was born inPhoenix, Arizona in 1911. He attendedPhoenix Union High School and theUniversity of Arizona and was apitcher for theArizona Wildcats baseball team.[2] He began hisprofessional baseball career in 1932. He hit .362 with theWinston-Salem Twins of theClass B levelPiedmont League and debuted in the majors the following April, with the Giants.[1] However, he spent most of 1933 with theMemphis Chickasaws of theSouthern Association, where he hit .358. In 1934, he started the season with theNashville Volunteers. He was hitting .424 through 45 games when he was again called up by the Giants, this time for good.[3]
Leiber came up to the major leagues at the beginning of the 1933 season, and batted .200 over 6 games and 10 at-bats. However, he was reassigned to the minor leagues for the rest of the season.[4] Leiber batted just .241 over 63 games and 187 at-bats with the Giants in1934.[1] The following season, he broke out, hitting .331 with 22home runs and 107runs batted in.[1] He finished 11th in the 1935National LeagueMost Valuable Player Award voting; this would remain his best season in the majors.[2][5] Leiber was a hold-out the following spring. He eventually played in 101 games, but his numbers dropped and he only batted .279.[1] Leiberplatooned withJimmy Ripple, who played in the games Leiber did not play.[6]
Leiber is remembered for hitting one of the longestfly ballouts in major league history. On October 2, 1936, during Game 2 of the1936 World Series at thePolo Grounds, Leiber hit a long fly ball to deep,center field that traveled an estimated 490 feet fromhome plate, before being caught byJoe DiMaggio for the final out of the game.[7][8]
Leiber had a tendency to crowd the plate while hitting.[9] Duringspring training in 1937, he wasbeaned by one of the fastest pitchers in history,Bob Feller. Leiber suffered aconcussion and was bothered by dizziness for the rest of the season.[10] However, he eventually recovered enough to play in the1937 World Series, hitting for a .364 average in three games.[11]
Leiber was named to theAll-Star team in1938. That December, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, and he responded with two good seasons — hitting over .300 in 1939 and 1940 and being named to his second All-Star team.[1] On July 4, 1939, he hit 3 home runs in a game in a losing effort against theSt. Louis Cardinals.[12]
On June 23, 1941, Leiber was beaned again, this time byCliff Melton. He missed the rest of the season and was traded back to the New York Giants. He did play in 1942 but suffered acalf injury, and his production suffered. Although he had never pitched at the major league level, in the final game of his MLB career, Leiber took the mound in a game against the Phillies on September 25, 1942. Leiber was able to pitch a complete game in a 9–1 loss. With World War II going on, Leiber went back to his home in Arizona. He did not return to the majors when the war ended.[13]
In a 10-year major league career, Leiber played in 813games, accumulating 808hits in 2,805at bats for a .288 career batting average along with 101 home runs, 518runs batted in and anon-base percentage of .356.[1] He retired with a .974fielding percentage.[1]
Leiber managed the Tucson Cowboys of theArizona–Texas League for one season (1950).[3] He eventually became a successful real-estate developer.[14]
In 1963, Leiber was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.[15] He died inTucson, Arizona at the age of 82.
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