Jeffrey N. Leonard (born September 22, 1955) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

left fielder 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 ...

. He played 14 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 1977 to 1990 for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, and

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

. Leonard was known professionally until the 1986 season as "Jeff" Leonard.

Early years

Leonard was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He was a standout in football, basketball and baseball at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, which produced basketball stars

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

and

Walt Hazzard Mahdi Abdul-Rahman (born Walter Raphael Hazzard Jr.; April 15, 1942 – November 18, 2011) was an American professional basketball player and college basketball coach. He played in college for the UCLA Bruins and was a member of their first natio ...

. He got 60 scholarship offers for football, five for basketball and none for baseball, where he played shortstop and twice hit two home runs in one inning.

Baseball career

Leonard was signed as an amateur free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in June 1973.

Minor league career

While playing in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

in the middle of the 1981 season

Max Venable William McKinley "Max" Venable (born June 6, 1957) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, ...

and

Guy Sularz Guy Patrick Sularz (born November 7, 1955) is a former infielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete i ...

gave Jeffrey Leonard the nickname "HackMan" because he had a habit of swinging at the first pitch no matter what. People spelled it "Hackman" but he did not like the way the spelling looked, and said, "Spell it like the video game '' PacMan''", so it came out as "HacMan." Leonard was known for his "one flap down" routine: running around the bases after hitting a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

with one arm hanging motionless at his side.1980 Topps #106 Jeff Leonard
/ref> Leonard tied for the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

lead for assists by an outfielder with 13 while playing for the

Bakersfield Dodgers Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. Bakersf ...

in 1976. He also led the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in hits (183) and batting average (.365) while playing for the

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Fran ...

in 1978.

Notable achievements in Major League Baseball

Leonard, along with

Dave Bergman David Bruce Bergman (June 6, 1953 – February 2, 2015) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman, designated hitter and left fielder who played between 1975 and 1992. Early life Born in Evanston, Illinois, Bergman was an alumnus of M ...

, was traded from the

to the

for Mike Ivie on April 20, 1981. He was selected to the National League

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and to the American League All-Star team in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. Jeffrey Leonard's greatest moment as a player most likely occurred during the

1987 National League Championship Series The 1987 National League Championship Series took place in Major League Baseball’s 1987 postseason between October 6 and 14 at Busch Memorial Stadium (Games 1, 2, 6, and 7) and Candlestick Park (Games 3, 4, and 5). It matched the East divisio ...

while with the

. During the seven-game series against 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, Leonard had five runs, ten hits, four home runs, five

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

, a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .417, and a

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

of .917. For his performance, Leonard was awarded the 1987 NLCS

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

Award. As of , Leonard is the last person to be named the Most Valuable Player of a

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, ...

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

while a member of the losing team. His four home runs tied a record shared by

Bob Robertson Robert Eugene Robertson (born October 2, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman between and , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won five Nation ...

(

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

) and

Steve Garvey Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948) is an American former professional Major League Baseball player who played first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987. Garvey began his major league career wit ...

(

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

) for most home runs in a League Championship Series. It was also during this NLCS that Leonard would draw ire for a "Cadillac" home run trot; the Cardinals felt he took a little too much time rounding the bases on his home runs, thereby showing up the pitcher. In response to this attitude, and for Leonard's repeated "one-flap down" routine of running bases, Cardinals pitcher

Bob Forsch Robert Herbert Forsch (January 13, 1950 – November 3, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–1988) before finishing his pl ...

famously hit Leonard in the back with a fastball in the fifth inning of Game 3. The St. Louis press began calling Leonard "both flaps down" after the incident. Leonard was dealt from the Giants to the

for

Ernest Riles Ernest Riles (born October 2, 1960) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman. From 1985 through 1993, Riles played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1985–1988), San Francisco Giants (1988–1990), Oakland Athletics (199 ...

on June 8, 1988. His playing time reduced because of injuries, he had been replaced by

Mike Aldrete Michael Peter Aldrete (born January 29, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman/outfielder and current hitting coach for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for 7 teams over a span of ten seasons, incl ...

as the starting left fielder. Leonard had a solid career in the majors that included a lifetime .266 batting average, 144 home runs, 614 runs scored, and 723 RBI. During his first season as a starting outfielder, he hit .290 for the Houston Astros in 1979. His best season was in 1984 when Leonard hit .302 with 21 homers and 86 RBI for the Giants. His best season for power came with Seattle in 1989 as the 6-2, 200-pound slugger finished with a .254 average along with 24 home runs and 93 RBI.

Pittsburgh drug trials

Leonard was one of seven then-current or former major league baseball players who testified at the 1985 cocaine trafficking trial of Curtis Strong, which became known as the

Pittsburgh drug trials Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the 67th-most populous city in the U.S., with a population of 302,9 ...

. Many of the players who testified, including Leonard, were given immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony. Baseball commissioner

Peter Ueberroth Peter Victor Ueberroth (; born September 2, 1937) is an American sports and business executive known for his involvement in the Olympics and in Major League Baseball. A Los Angeles–based businessman, he was the chairman of the Los Angeles Ol ...

suspended 11 players on February 28, 1986, including Leonard. Ueberroth interviewed the involved players during the off-season at the end of that year, and imposed sanctions against players for their apparent involvement in the cocaine network. Leonard was among a group of players that Ueberroth cited as having had a "prolonged pattern of drug use" and had involvement in cocaine distribution; these players were issued one-year suspensions from Major League Baseball, however, the suspensions were to be waived in exchange for donations to drug-treatment programs, and community service performed with drug-related organizations. The donations for many, including Leonard, were to amount to 10% of their base salaries (in Leonard's case, this amounted to $80,000) and players had to submit to drug testing for the rest of their careers. The Pittsburgh drug trials are considered one of Major League Baseball's biggest scandals of all time, albeit one that was "behind the scenes" and did not affect play on the field.

Post-playing activities

Since his retirement, Leonard has coached both in Minor League organizations and college baseball. He coached the

Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College (AVC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Lancaster, California. It is part of the California Community College system. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Communi ...

Marauders baseball team in 2003 and 2004, where he had a total win–loss record of 25-44-1. He has taught students who are serious about furthering their baseball careers to a college level and/or professional level. Since 2013, he has been a part of the

front office as a community ambassador. He is the father of two sons. Leonard and his former wife started a foundation called the One Flap Down Foundation to help single parents going through breast cancer treatment, after Leonard's former step-daughter Christine, a single mother of three, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Jeffrey 1955 births Living people Major League Baseball left fielders Los Angeles Dodgers players Houston Astros players San Francisco Giants players Milwaukee Brewers players Seattle Mariners players National League All-Stars American League All-Stars Baseball players from Philadelphia African-American baseball players Bellingham Dodgers players Orangeburg Dodgers players Bakersfield Dodgers players Lodi Dodgers players Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen San Antonio Dodgers players Phoenix Giants players Omaha Royals players Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses National League Championship Series MVPs Antelope Valley Marauders baseball coaches Sportspeople from Rocklin, California Baseball players from Placer County, California 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen