Curtis John Leskanic (; born April 2, 1968) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

relief pitcher 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 d ...

. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched from 1993 to 2004 for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

. He is currently a professional scout for the Red Sox.

Career

Leskanic was drafted in the eighth round of the 1989 baseball amateur entry draft out of

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

, but was traded in 1992 to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

with Oscar Múñoz for Paul Sorrento. Later that same year, he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 1992 Expansion Draft. In 1993, he made his major league debut with the Rockies. In 2004, during the Kansas City Royals disastrous 58–104 season he was released on June 18. On June 22, he was picked up by the Boston Red Sox and then made three appearances during the

2004 ALCS The 2004 American League Championship Series was the Major League Baseball playoff series to decide the American League champion for the 2004 season, and the right to play in the 2004 World Series. A rematch of the 2003 American League Championsh ...

against 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 o ...

and was credited with the Game 4 win. His innings of shutout baseball during Game 4 were the last he would ever throw; he retired following the 2004 season. He did make a return to

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...

for Opening Day 2005; there he received his

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

, as well as a large ovation. For Opening Day 2008, he got to carry out the World Series trophy. Leskanic was a Little League coach in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

and a scouting consultant for Boston before joining the Red Sox professional scouting staff for the 2008 season.

Personal life

Leskanic has a son, Brandon, and two daughters, Chloe and Chandler.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leskanic, Curtis 1968 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Pennsylvania Boston Red Sox players Kansas City Royals players Colorado Rockies players Milwaukee Brewers players People from Homestead, Pennsylvania LSU Tigers baseball players Kinston Indians players Orlando Sun Rays players Portland Beavers players Wichita Wranglers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Salem Avalanche players Huntsville Stars players Indianapolis Indians players Pawtucket Red Sox players Boston Red Sox scouts American people of Slovak descent

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links