Leonard Joseph Yochim (October 16, 1928 – May 11, 2013) was a

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 played in parts of two seasons 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), ...

for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1951 and 1954, and later served in the organization for almost four decades. Yochim batted and threw left-handed. Yochim was born and died in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Highly touted by the Pittsburgh Pirates during his career, he was a

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

specialist and had a good

curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

as well, but a sore arm limited him to pitch in only 28.1 innings. He pitched in two games in 1951 and ten in 1954, ending his major league career with a 1–2 record and a 7.62

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 12 games (three as a starter). His professional career highlight came on December 8, 1955, when he became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

for the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

club. Helped by

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

Earl Battey Earl Jesse Battey, Jr. (January 5, 1935 – November 15, 2003) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago White Sox (1955–1959) and Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (1960� ...

, Yochim accomplished the feat in the Caracas 3–0 victory over the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

. Ramón Monzant was credited with the loss. Besides, he also played in the league for Vargas, Gavilanes and Magallanes, compiling a 29–20 record and a 3.57 ERA in 86 games from 1952 through 1956, while pitching for Caracas in the

1953 Caribbean Series The fifth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1953. It was held from February 20 through February 25, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Leones de la Habana; Panama, Chesterfield Smokers; Puerto Rico, ...

.Venezuelan Professional Baseball League batting and pitching statistics
/ref> Following his playing career, Yochim rejoined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 1966 to become a member of their baseball operations department. He served as an area scout, national crosschecker and major-league scout for the Pirates before moving into the front office in 1994. Yochim also worked as a senior adviser for player personnel from 1994 through 2004, when he decided not to return for another season. He was the older brother of former MLB pitcher and minor league manager and coach

Ray Yochim Raymond Austin Aloysius Yochim (July 19, 1922 – January 26, 2002) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in four games over parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals—one game in 1948 and thr ...

( 1922–2002).

References

External links

RetrosheetVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yochim, Lenny 1928 births 2013 deaths Albany Senators players Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from New Orleans Charleston Rebels players Gavilanes de Maracaibo players Hollywood Stars players Kansas City Athletics scouts Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Iberia Cardinals players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Sabios de Vargas players