Jonathan David Leicester (born February 7, 1979) is a 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 t ...

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 ...

. He previously played for the Chicago Cubs and

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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

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), ...

Career

Originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the

2000 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

, Leicester made his major league debut for the Cubs in . Prior to the season, Leicester was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

minor league pitcher Clint Brannon. Leicester never appeared in a game for the Rangers in the majors, and after the 2006 season, became 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 , he began playing for the Baltimore Orioles organization. He spent most of the season with the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, but pitched his first major league complete game in a September callup. He began the season in Norfolk. After the 2008 season, he signed with the Orix Buffaloes in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

, playing for the club in 2009 and 2010. On March 1, 2011, San Diego signed him and he spent the year at AAA Tucson starting 25 games. He elected free agency after the season. Leicester played two seasons for the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

in 2012 and 2013. On March 29, 2014, Leicester signed with the

Diablos Rojos del Mexico The Diablos Motorcycle Club, or Diablos MC for short, is a " one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club that has chapters in cities across the United States. John E. Irvin, president of the Diablos' San Fernando Valley chapter, and Thomas E. Pastor, ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. On June 3, 2014, Leicester was released. On February 6, 2015, Leicester signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

. He was released on June 22, 2015, and signed with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

the next day. Leicester was released by Puebla on July 2. Leicester signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseb ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball shortly after his release from the Pericos. He re-signed with the Blue Crabs for the 2016 season and became a free agent after the year.

References

External links

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Retrosheet
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Pura Pelota (VPBL)
1979 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from California Chicago Cubs players Daytona Cubs players Diablos Rojos del México players Eugene Emeralds players Gulf Coast Orioles players Iowa Cubs players Lansing Lugnuts players Leones de Yucatán players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Tigers baseball players Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma RedHawks players Orix Buffaloes players People from Mariposa, California Pericos de Puebla players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Tucson Padres players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players University of Memphis alumni West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub