Dennis Leonard
American baseball player (born 1951)
Baseball player
| Dennis Leonard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1951-05-08) May 8, 1951 (age 72) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 4, 1974, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1986, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 144–106 |
| Earned run average | 3.70 |
| Strikeouts | 1,323 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Dennis Patrick Leonard (born May 8, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986. He retired in 1986 due to injuries.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Leonard attended Oceanside High School on Long Island, then played college baseball for and graduated from Iona College. He was drafted by the Royals in the second round of the 1972 draft and made his major league debut on September 4, 1974. In 1975, his first full year with the Royals, he achieved a 15-7 record.
Leonard later recorded three 20-win seasons, to become the only pitcher in Royals history to do it.[1] He started nine post-season games for the Royals between 1976 and 1981, ending with a record of 3-5, including a 1-1 record in the 1980 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.[2]
From 1975 to 1981, Leonard won 130 games, the most by any right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball.
Leonard missed two months of the 1982 season, the majority of the 1983 season, and all of the 1984 and 1985 seasons due to hand and knee injuries. His final season was in 1986, where he ended up with an 8-13 record.[3] Besides his rookie season of 1974, 1986 was his only season with a losing record.
Leonard finished his career as the Royals’ all-time leader in complete games (103) and shutouts (23), and was second in wins (144). He also held the club's single-season bests in starts (40), complete games (21), innings pitched (294.2) and strikeouts (244).
In 1989, Leonard was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.
See also
Baseball portal
- List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise
References
- ^ Dennis Leonard Q&A: Righty a long-time participant in Royals caravan. The Topeka Capital-Journal. Article posted on January 13, 2013.
- ^ Baseball Reference
- ^ "Briefs". Spokane Chronicle. 24 December 1986. p. C2. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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Kansas City Royals Opening Day starting pitchers
- Brian Anderson
- Kevin Appier
- Tim Belcher
- Bud Black
- Wally Bunker
- Steve Busby
- Bruce Chen
- Dick Drago
- Danny Duffy
- Scott Elarton
- Zack Greinke
- Mark Gubicza
- Larry Gura
- Runelvys Hernández
- Luke Hochevar
- Danny Jackson
- Brad Keller
- Dennis Leonard
- José Lima
- Gil Meche
- Cole Ragans
- Bret Saberhagen
- James Shields
- Paul Splittorff
- Jeff Suppan
- Yordano Ventura
- Edinson Vólquez
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