Leslie Dale Walrond (born November 7, 1976) is an

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former

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and current scout for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

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. He is a former

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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 ...

whose active career extended from 1998–2012. The native of

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, appeared in 23 Major League games pitched, 21 in

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, for the Kansas City Royals (2003),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(2006) and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(2008). He appeared in 21 games as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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 ...

in 2009. He stood tall and weighed . During his freshman and sophomore years in high school, Walrond played

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 ...

at Booker T. Washington High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma) under the tutelage of Coach Corey Slagle. With Walrond anchoring the baseball team, Booker T. experienced an athletic renaissance that included New York Giants

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R. W. McQuarters and

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. He graduated from Union High School in Tulsa and attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

Career

Walrond made his Major League debut on June 8, , while he was with the Kansas City Royals against the Colorado Rockies as a

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. He was signed as a

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on January 11, , by the

and played for their Triple-A affiliate, the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

in . On May 2, , Walrond signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was called up from the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, on August 1, , then sent back down on August 20, following the activation of

Pedro Feliz Pedro Julio Feliz (born April 27, 1975), is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and St. Louis Cardinals. Feliz hi ...

from the disabled list. He was claimed off waivers by the

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 ...

on November 4, 2008, but waived on November 20. In December, he signed with the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...

of Japan's Central League. In 2011, Walrond paid for his own airline ticket to the Mets spring training camp where he was signed to a minor league contract. Les pitched well during the Big League Camp, but became ill before the break of camp. Unfortunately, Les was waived by the Mets. On April 15, 2011, Les signed a deal with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League. On May 26, 2011, Walrond signed a minor league deal and was assigned to Double-A

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two days later. On July 16, 2012 the Toronto Blue Jays announced they signed Walrond to a minor league contract. Walrond's final season, 2012, was split between

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and Double-A, where he hurled for the

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

. Walrond spent 2014–15 as a professional scout for the

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mlb.com
/ref> and joined the Dodgers for the season.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walrond, Les 1976 births Living people African-American baseball players Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Baseball players from Oklahoma Boston Red Sox scouts Chicago Cubs players Doosan Bears players Iowa Cubs players Kansas City Royals players Kansas Jayhawks baseball players KBO League pitchers Lancaster Barnstormers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players LG Twins players Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Hampshire Fisher Cats players New Haven Ravens players New Jersey Cardinals players Omaha Royals players Sportspeople from Muskogee, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma Peoria Chiefs players Philadelphia Phillies players Tennessee Smokies players Tiburones de La Guaira players Wichita Wranglers players Yokohama BayStars players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople