Leonardo Lago Faedo (born May 13, 1960) is a 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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. He played 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 until for 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. In 1978, he won the Tony Saladino Award, which went yearly to the top baseball player in Hillsborough County.

Pro career

Faedo was drafted by the

in the first round, with the 16th overall selection, in the

1978 MLB draft The 1978 Major League Baseball draft was held June 6–8, 1978, consisting of 48 rounds, during which a total of 779 players were selected by 26 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations. The first overall selection was Bob Horner, drafted by t ...

, two spots behind a future teammate,

Tom Brunansky Thomas Andrew Brunansky (born August 20, 1960), nicknamed "Bruno", is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1981 to 1994 for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Brew ...

. Faedo was assigned to the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...

of the Appalachian League, where he was teammates with another player the Twins had acquired in an earlier draft, pitcher

Jesse Orosco Jesse Russell Orosco (born April 21, 1957) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 1979 to 2003 for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimor ...

. After batting .280 in his first professional season, the Twins saw enough in Faedo that they promoted him the following season to their Double-A affiliate, the

Orlando Twins Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

of the Southern League. While Faedo wasn't imposing at the plate, the Twins saw enough in his fielding that in 1980, they promoted him to the club midway through the 1980 season from Orlando which meant Faedo skipped an entire level of development and was promoted to the majors. At just 20 years old, Faedo was in the majors. While his first stay was brief, The Twins returned Faedo to the minor leagues for the 1981 season, where he played for their top affiliate, the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

. He had another cup of coffee in 1981, hoewever, in 1982, he appeared to be on the verge of locking down the role of the Twins regular shortstop. On July 20, 1982, the Twins were playing the

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 ...

, in a game which featured a bench clearing brawl. In the fifth inning, Twins first baseman

Kent Hrbek Kent Alan Hrbek (; born May 21, 1960), nicknamed "Herbie", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 14-year baseball career with the Minnesota Twins (1981–1994). Hrbek batted left-handed and threw right-ha ...

made a hard slide into Brewers second baseman

Jim Gantner James Elmer Gantner (born January 5, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1976–92). Background Gantner was born on January 5, 1953, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and grew up in Ed ...

. In the sixth, Brewers shortstop

Robin Yount Robin R. Yount (; born September 16, 1955), nicknamed "the Kid" and "Rockin' Robin", is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire 20-year career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and center fielder for the Milwauk ...

ran over Faedo, which touched off a brawl. At the end of the brawl, Hrbek and Brewers pitcher

Bob McClure Robert Craig McClure (born April 29, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1975 to 1993, most notably as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers with whom ...

were ejected from the game. In 1983, Faedo backed-up

Ron Washington Ronald Washington (born April 29, 1952) is an American professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager, Coach (baseball), coach, and former infielder. Since November 2023, Washington has been the manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Major Leagu ...

, appearing in 51 games. In 1984, the Twins had a platoon at short, which included Washington, Faedo, Houston Jimenez, and

Chris Speier Christopher Edward Speier (born June 28, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop, most notably for the San Francisco Giants and the Montreal Expos. He is known by the nickname ...

. By the time 1985 rolled around, Faedo was out of the picture as the Twins had settled on Greg Gagne to be the team's regular shortstop. Faedo spent the 1985 season in the farm system of the

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. After Kansas City released him, Faedo signed with 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 ...

and spent his final season in their farm system before retiring from baseball at the conclusion of the 1986 season. After his playing career was over, Faedo was briefly the hitting instructor for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Personal life

Faedo is the uncle of

pitcher

Alex Faedo Alexander Michael Faedo (born November 12, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers. He made his MLB debut in 2022. Amateur ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faedo, Lenny 1960 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Tampa, Florida Charleston Charlies players Elizabethton Twins players Evansville Triplets players Major League Baseball shortstops Memphis Chicks players Minnesota Twins players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Oklahoma City 89ers players Orlando Twins players San Antonio Dodgers players Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida) alumni Toledo Mud Hens players