Donald George Leppert (born October 19, 1931) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. A

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, he appeared in

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), ...

(MLB) from 1961 to 1964 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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and Washington Senators. Leppert threw and batted right-handed; he stood tall and weighed . He was born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and began his 12-year active career in 1955 in the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

' organization.

Playing career

During an MLB career of only 3½ years, Leppert nonetheless distinguished himself by hitting a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

on the first pitch thrown to him in the majors. On June 18, 1961, Leppert connected in the second inning of his MLB debut against

Curt Simmons Curtis Thomas Simmons (May 19, 1929 – December 13, 2022) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to . Along with right-hander Robin Roberts (a member of the Baseball H ...

of 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

; the blow gave the Pirates a 2–1 lead in a game they would eventually win, 5–3. Almost two years later, on April 11, 1963, he hit three homers in his third game in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

; a solo shot off

Ike Delock Ivan Martin Delock (November 11, 1929 – February 28, 2022) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played 11 seasons for the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. He was born in Highland Park, Michigan. In ten-plus seaso ...

in the fourth inning, followed by a three-run blast and another solo homer, both off

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 (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Chet Nichols Jr. Chester Raymond Nichols Jr. (February 22, 1931 – March 27, 1995) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player. A tall, left-handed, left-hander, he was a pitcher over all or parts of nine seasons (, –, –) with the Boston ...

, as the Senators beat the

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 eight ...

, 8–0, at

DC Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the United States Capitol, U.S. Capit ...

. To top it all off, Leppert caught Tom Cheney's one-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, with the Washington pitcher striking out ten Red Sox. That season, Leppert was selected as a reserve on the American League All-Star team, but he did not play in the July 9 game at

Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball an ...

. In 190 Major League games, Leppert collected 122

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, including 22 doubles and 15 home runs. He batted .229.

Coaching career

After his playing career ended in the minors in 1966, Leppert managed in Class A in the Pittsburgh organization in 1967. He then embarked upon an 18-year stint as a Major League coach for the Pirates (1968–1976),

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

(1977–1979) and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

(1980–1985). In the late 1980s, Leppert served as field coordinator of minor league instruction 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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

and managed in the Twins'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. Leppert also umpired a game on August 25, 1978, in Toronto during an umpires'

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

. The Blue Jays' Leppert and the late

Jerry Zimmerman Gerald Robert Zimmerman (September 21, 1934 – September 9, 1998) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins from 1961 to ...

, then the bullpen coach of the Twins, are the last two active coaches to umpire a Major League game. He is sometimes confused with Don Eugene Leppert, a second baseman who played one year in MLB with the 1955 Baltimore Orioles.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leppert, Don 1931 births Living people American League All-Stars Austin Senators players Baseball coaches from Indiana Baseball players from Indianapolis Caribbean Series managers Columbus Jets players Corpus Christi Clippers players Dallas Rangers players Evansville Braves players Hawaii Islanders players Houston Astros coaches Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first base coaches Minor league baseball managers Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Pittsburgh Pirates players Toronto Blue Jays coaches Washington Senators (1961–1971) players Wichita Braves players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links