Leslie Earl Peden (September 17, 1923 – February 11, 2002) nicknamed "Gooch", was an American

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 ...

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. A

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 ...

, he appeared in nine Major League games for the Washington Senators. He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . The native of

Azle, Texas Azle ( ) is a small city west of Fort Worth in Parker and Tarrant Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,947. Azle is the home of the Azle Marching Green Pride marching band and the Fighting Azl ...

, attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. His minor league playing career lasted all or parts of 18 seasons, largely in the organizations of the Chicago Cubs and

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

. He was selected by Washington in the 1952 Rule 5 draft after he batted .279 with 18 home runs in 153 games for the Open-Classification

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

of the Pacific Coast League. For the first month of the 1953 MLB season, Peden was a member of the Senators' 28-man roster. Of his nine games, eight were as Washington's starting catcher. On April 29, he hit his only Major League home run, a solo shot off

Saul Rogovin Saul Walter Rogovin (March 24, 1922 – January 23, 1995) was an American professional baseball player. Rogovin was a pitcher over parts of 8 seasons (1949–57), with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia ...

of 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 ...

, in a 3–0 Washington victory at Comiskey Park. Peden caught

Bob Porterfield Erwin Coolidge "Bob" Porterfield (August 10, 1923 – April 28, 1980) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for twelve seasons between 1948 and 1959 for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh ...

's complete game, five-

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

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 ...

that day. He collected his second

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

, a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, off the Detroit Tigers' Hal Erickson on May 5, as he caught another complete game win for Porterfield.1953-5-5 box score from Retrosheet
/ref> The double was the last of Peden's seven MLB hits and raised his batting average to .292. After going hitless on May 6 against Detroit's Ned Garver, Peden was returned to the Cubs' organization and the PCL Angels when rosters were reduced to 25 men at the May 15 cutdown. Peden then continued his lengthy minor league career, spending ten seasons as a playing manager in the Cubs and Athletics' farm systems. In , he was listed as a member of the Cubs'

College of Coaches The College of Coaches was an unorthodox baseball organizational practice employed by the National League's Chicago Cubs in and . After the Cubs finished 60–94 in , their 14th straight NL second-division finish, Cubs owner P. K. Wrigley anno ...

, although he worked as manager of the

Short-season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Class A

Wenatchee Chiefs The Wenatchee Chiefs were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Wenatchee, Washington. Founded in 1937, the team was a part of the Class B Western International League through 1954, although the team did not oper ...

of the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

that season. He managed in Triple-A for three seasons, with the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

(1962–63) and Tacoma Cubs (1966). After 1966, he served the Cubs as a scout.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peden, Les 1923 births 2002 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Panama Baseball players from Texas Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs scouts Des Moines Bruins players Fayetteville Cubs players Little Rock Travelers players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball catchers Nashville Vols players Portland Beavers managers Portland Beavers players Quincy Gems players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Shreveport Sports players Springfield Cubs players Texas A&M Aggies baseball players United States Army personnel of World War II Washington Senators (1901–1960) players

See also

References

External links