David Paul Leonhard (born January 22, 1941) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played 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), ...

as a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

from through . He was a member of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

in 1970.

Baseball career

A native of

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, Leonhard attended

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. He was signed by the Orioles as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1963. He started his professional career with Class C

Aberdeen Pheasants The Aberdeen Pheasants was the primary moniker minor league baseball teams located in Aberdeen, South Dakota between 1920 and 1997. The Pheasants played in the Northern League from 1946 until the league folded in 1971. Aberdeen was the Class C ...

(1963–1964), and won the

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

Pitcher of the Year Award while playing for the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

in 1967, gaining a promotion to Baltimore late in the season. Leonhard made his major league debut on September 21, 1967, at the age of 26. In three games with the 1967 Orioles, Leonhard went 0–0 with a 3.14

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in innings of work. In 1968, he finished with a 7–7 record in a starting rotation that included

Dave McNally David Arthur McNally (October 31, 1942 – December 1, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dyn ...

(22–10),

Jim Hardin James Warren Hardin (August 6, 1943 – March 9, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won ...

(18–13) and

Tom Phoebus Thomas Harold Stephen Phoebus (April 7, 1942 – September 5, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynas ...

(15–15), but with the emergence of

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

in 1969, he was relegated to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. On May 6, 1968, Leonhard took a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

into the seventh inning before

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

outfielder Jim Northrup broke it up with a

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after two outs. He had to settle with a 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 ...

, 4–0 victory over Detroit at Memorial Stadium. On May 30, 1968, he shutout the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

, 5–0, giving up just two singles to

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, m ...

(4th inning) and

Tommy McCraw Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

(7th). Leonhard appeared in the

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

(3.00 ERA in two games), and was a part of the team's roster in the

1970 World Series The 1970 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1970 season. The 67th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League champion Baltimore Orioles (108–54 in the regula ...

, though he did not make an appearance. After the series, the Orioles offered him a World Series ring or a TV; Leonhard picked the TV because he did not wear rings. During the

1971 World Series The 1971 World Series was the championship round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1971 season and featured the first night game in its history. The 68th edition of the Fall Classic was a best-of-seven playoff between the defending World Series ...

, Weaver asked him to warm up during a game, a surprise to Leonhard because the Orioles had four 20-game winners on their staff. Weaver said it was "To scare 'em," to which Leonhard responded, "Earl, the Pirates have been scouting us just like we've been scouting them. They know better than to get scared by me." "Not the Pirates," Weaver responded. "I want to scare Palmer, McNally, and Cuellar into pitching better." He played in his final major league game on September 20, 1972. Leonhard continued to play 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 Nor ...

until he retired in 1976 at the age of 35. He also pitched with the Puerto Rican team in the

1971 Caribbean Series The fourteenth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') baseball tournament was played in 1971. It was held from February 6 through February 11 with the champions teams from Dominican Republic, Tigres del Licey; Mexico, Naranjeros de ...

and for Triple-A

Salt Lake City Angels Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantiti ...

in 1973. In a six-season major league career, Leonhard played in 117

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, accumulating a 16–14

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

along with a 3.15

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

including; 29 starts, seven

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, four shutouts and five saves, giving up 118 earned runs on 287

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 ...

and 150 walks while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

146 in 337.0 innings.

Personal life

After he graduated from Johns Hopkins, Leonhard married Judy. She had been his girlfriend in high school, but they stopped dating initially when he went to college; however, their relationship started again when they saw each other at an alumni football game. They only stayed married for a few years before divorcing. Palmer introduced him to Doris while the Orioles were visiting the Red Sox in the early 1970s, and she became his second wife. They opened a garden center in

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...

, in 1975; as of 2010, they owned seven greenhouses in the area, where they sold plants and gardening materials. Leonhard was roommates with Palmer, who called him "my best friend on the team." Palmer said, "Davey's education really was uncommon in the big leagues. He used words of more than one syllable, and he knew a pronoun was not a ex-amateur noun and stuff like that."Palmer and Dale, p. 37 The Matz family lives behind Leonhards nursery in Beverly MA

Sources

External links

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Retrosheet
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SABR Biography Project
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Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonhard, Dave 1941 births Living people Aberdeen Pheasants players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Virginia Bluefield Orioles players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Elmira Pioneers players Fox Cities Foxes players Johns Hopkins Blue Jays baseball players Johns Hopkins University alumni Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball coaches Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela People from Beverly, Massachusetts Québec Carnavals players Quebec Metros players Rochester Red Wings players Salt Lake City Angels players Sportspeople from Arlington County, Virginia Washington College alumni Washington College Shoremen baseball players Washington College Shoremen basketball players Wichita Aeros players