Timothy James Leary (born December 23, 1958) is an American former professional baseball right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Amateur career

Leary posted a 10–2 record in his senior year at

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...

, and was named to the All-

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

first-team. He went 19–1 to lead his American Legion Baseball team to the national championship. Much more in stature than his teammate and fellow former major leaguer, Rod Allen, he received the opportunity to play college baseball at UCLA. Leary attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(UCLA), where he was a three-year letterwinner for the

UCLA Bruins baseball The UCLA Bruins baseball team is the varsity college baseball team of the University of California, Los Angeles. Having started playing in 1920, the program is a member of the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference. It plays its home games at Jackie ...

team while completing an

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

degree. Over his college career, Leary compiled a 21–15 record with a 3.09

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. His sixteen complete games is a school record, and his 258 strikeouts are the school's fourth highest total. In , Leary helped lead the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball t ...

to the silver medal in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

played in Italy. He was also a member of the national team for the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

Professional career

New York Mets

Leary was selected by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

as the second overall pick of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. He went 15–8 with a 2.76 ERA and 138 strikeouts for the

Jackson Mets The Jackson Mets were a professional baseball team based in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1975 through 1990. As of 2010, they were the longest-tenured club to be based in the Jackson metropolitan area. For their entire sixteen seasons of existence, t ...

in his first professional season, prompting the Mets to make the controversial decision to bring him all the way to the majors for his second season. Making his major league debut on April 12, , Leary faced just seven batters, before leaving the game after just two innings with a strained elbow. After four months inactive, he appeared in six games with the Mets' triple A affiliate, the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesap ...

toward the end of the 1981 season. He strained his elbow a second time during Spring training , and was shut down for the entire 1982 season. He returned to Tidewater in , and fell to 8–16 with a 4.38 ERA, mostly due to an increase in home runs allowed (11 versus just 5 in ). Regardless, he received a second call up to the majors that September, and never made it out of the second inning in his return, mostly due to two errors by George Foster in

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

that led to five

unearned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an error ...

s. His second start, however, went far better, as he pitched a complete game for his first major league victory against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. Leary split the season between Tidewater and the Mets

Milwaukee Brewers

During the 1984-85 offseason, Leary was part of a four team trade in which the Mets sent him to the Milwaukee Brewers and received Frank Wills from the Kansas City Royals. Leary spent the season with Milwaukee's triple A affiliate, the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

, and once again returned to the majors when rosters expanded that September. He finally enjoyed his first healthy major league season in when he went 12–12 with a 4.21 ERA and 188.1 innings pitched. Following the season, he and

Tim Crews Stanley Timothy Crews (April 3, 1961 – March 23, 1993) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers from to . Crews was part of the Dodgers team that won the 1988 World Series. At the end of the 1992 ...

were traded to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

for Greg Brock.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Leary went 3–11 with a 4.76 ERA splitting his time between starts and as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

in . After the season, Leary pitched in the Mexican Leagues so he could learn how to throw a split-finger pitch. He had to drive from

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

on a daily basis to play. This led to a breakthrough season for the Dodgers in . He held the Philadelphia Phillies to just one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

on May 25, and was named the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

's "Pitcher of the Week" for the week of July 18–24, during which he shut out the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and earned a complete game victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished the season second on his team behind Cy Young Award winner

Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...

in wins (17), ERA (2.91), shutouts (6), complete games (9) and innings pitched (228.2), while leading his club with 180 strikeouts. The Dodgers won the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

by seven games over the Cincinnati Reds to face Leary's former franchise, the New York Mets, in the

1988 National League Championship Series The 1988 National League Championship Series was played between the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League East champion New York Mets. The Dodgers won the Series four games to three, en route to defeating the O ...

. Leary appeared in the game four twelve inning marathon won by the Dodgers, and made the start in game six, taking the loss. In the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

against the Oakland Athletics, Leary was used out of the bullpen by manager

Tommy Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Natio ...

. His three innings of scoreless work allowed the Dodgers to come back from a 4–2 deficit in game one, and he appeared in game three, allowing one run in 3.2 innings. Following the Dodgers' World Series victory, Leary was named the '' Sporting News National League Comeback Player of the Year for his regular season performance.

Cincinnati Reds

He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds midway through the season with Mariano Duncan for Kal Daniels and Lenny Harris. After the season, the Reds sent him and Van Snider to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

for

Hal Morris William Harold Morris III (born April 9, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for several teams from 1988 to 2000, including an eight-year stint with the Cincinnati Reds. From until 2016, he was the di ...

and minor leaguer Rodney Imes.

New York Yankees

Leary experienced some hard luck in his first season with the Yankees. Despite a respectable 4.11 ERA, he led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

with nineteen losses, mostly due to poor run support from the Yankees' bats and a league leading 23

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

es. Either way, the Yankees re-signed Leary for three years and $5.95 million when he became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

at the end of the season. After winning his first two starts of the season, Leary went 2–8 with a 6.95 ERA to earn a demotion to the bullpen. He ended the season at 4–10 with a 6.49 ERA. He was moved back into the starting rotation in , and was 5–6 with a 5.57 ERA when he was dealt to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

for minor leaguer Sean Twitty.

Seattle Mariners

Seattle acquired Leary to fill a starting rotation that had been decimated by injury. As a result, Leary made six starts that September. In , the Mariners improved from a team that narrowly avoided one hundred losses to 82–80, mostly due to new manager

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

, and the emergence of young stars

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

, Ken Griffey Jr. and

Jay Buhner Jay Campbell Buhner (born August 13, 1964), nicknamed "Bone", is an American former professional baseball right fielder. At and , he was among the most recognizable players of his day, noted for his shaved head, thick goatee, and patch of pine ...

. For his part, Leary had his first winning season since 1988 at 11–9.

Retirement

Leary signed a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring training with the Montreal Expos in . He was 2–4 with a 5.43 ERA for the triple A

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

when they released him. He caught on with the Texas Rangers shortly afterwards, and went 1–1 with an 8.14 ERA. He retired when the Rangers attempted to reassign him to the minor leagues following the season. In 2011, Leary served as the pitching coach at

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest u ...

. As of 2015, Leary is an Alumni member of the

Community Relations team.

Career stats

Leary was named the NL

Silver Slugger The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

pitcher in 1988, when he batted .269 with nine

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

and thirteen successful sacrifice bunts. His only career home run came off

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Steve Carlton.

Personal life

Leary was inducted into the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

Athletics Hall of Fame while he was a member of the New York Yankees. Shortly after his retirement, he became a coach for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

from to and again in . He has also coached at

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

Now he is the pitching coach for Brentwood School in Los Angeles. He resides in

Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed bec ...

. He has two daughters, Anne-Sophie and Caroline, and a son, Thomas.

References

External links

, o
Ultimate Mets Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leary, Tim 1958 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Irish descent Baseball players at the 1979 Pan American Games Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Santa Monica, California Cal State Northridge Matadors baseball coaches Cincinnati Reds players Jackson Mets players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Ottawa Lynx players Pan American Games competitors for the United States Seattle Mariners players Silver Slugger Award winners Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tidewater Tides players UCLA Bruins baseball players University of California, Los Angeles alumni Vancouver Canadians players UCLA Bruins baseball coaches Loyola Marymount Lions baseball coaches High school baseball coaches in the United States Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players