Leonard Joseph Yochim (October 16, 1928 – May 11, 2013) was an American 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in parts of two 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 ...

for the

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

in 1951 and 1954, and later served in the organization for almost four decades. Yochim batted and threw left-handed. Yochim was born and died in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Highly touted by the Pittsburgh Pirates during his career, he was a

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

specialist and had a good

curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

as well, but a sore arm limited him to pitch in only 28.1

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

. He pitched in two games in 1951 and ten in 1954, ending his major league career with a 1–2 record and a 7.62

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 12

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

(three as a starter). His professional career highlight came on December 8, 1955, when he became the first pitcher to throw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

in the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

for the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A., better known by its commercial name as the Leones del Caracas, is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVPB). The owner and sole shareholder of the sports club is Ricardo C ...

club. Helped by

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Earl Battey Earl Jesse Battey, Jr. (January 5, 1935 – November 15, 2003) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1955 to 1967, most prominently for the Minnesota Twins where he was a five-time All- ...

, Yochim accomplished the feat in the Caracas 3–0 victory over the

Navegantes del Magallanes Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (; ''Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators''), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in ...

Ramón Monzant Ramón Segundo Monzant Espina (January 4, 1933 – August 10, 2001) was a Venezuelan right-handed baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the New York / San Francisco Giants from 1954 to 1960. He compil ...

was credited with the loss. Besides, he also played in the league for Vargas, Gavilanes and Magallanes, compiling a 29–20 record and a 3.57 ERA in 86 games from 1952 through 1956, while pitching for Caracas in the

1953 Caribbean Series The fifth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1953. It was held from February 20 through February 25, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Leones de la Habana; Panama, Chesterfield Smokers; Puerto Rico, ...

.Venezuelan Professional Baseball League batting and pitching statistics
/ref> Following his playing career, Yochim rejoined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 1966 to become a member of their baseball operations department. He served as an area

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

, national crosschecker and major-league scout for the Pirates before moving into the front office in 1994. Yochim also worked as a senior adviser for player personnel from 1994 through 2004, when he decided not to return for another season. He was the older brother of former MLB pitcher and minor league manager and coach

Ray Yochim Raymond Austin Aloysius Yochim (July 19, 1922 – January 26, 2002) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in four games over parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals—one game in 1948 and th ...

( 1922–2002).

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yochim, Lenny 1928 births 2013 deaths Albany Senators players Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from New Orleans Charleston Rebels players Gavilanes de Maracaibo players Hollywood Stars players Kansas City Athletics scouts Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Iberia Cardinals players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Sabios de Vargas players 20th-century American sportsmen