Al Leiter

Alois Terry "Al" Leiter [lighter] (born October 23, 1965 in Toms River, New Jersey) is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher who plays with the New York Mets (1998-2004). Previously, he played for the New York Yankees (1987-89), Toronto Blue Jays (1989-95) and Florida Marlins (1996-97).

Leiter has four pitches: fastball, slider, change, and a sinking fastball which is almost unhittable both by right and left batters. He needs to continually change speeds and stay ahead of the hitter to be successful. Leiter keeps baserunners off balance by using an assortment of pickoff moves and a short delivery, but he has problems controlling the running game. Once he's committed to throwing a pitch, he is so slow to the plate that his catchers usually don't have a chance. As a fielder, his quick feet allow him to move off the mound and field the ball with relative ease.

In 18 seasons, Leiter has compiled a 155-120 record with 1877 strikeouts, a 3.65 ERA, 16 complete games, 10 shutouts, and 2248.2 innings in 386 games. In 17 post-season games he went 1-3 with 66 strikeouts and 4.50 ERA.

Highlights

• Twice All-Star (1996, 2000)
• Twice Top 10 Cy Young Award (9, 1996; 6, 1998)
• Pitched a no-hitter game against the Colorado Rockies, retiring the last five batters on just one pitch each (May 11, 1996).
• Became the first pitcher to have defeated all 30 MLB teams (April 30, 2002)

External links

• Al Leiter at:
  • Baseball Library (biography) (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/L/Leiter_Al.stm)
  • Baseball Reference {career statistics and analysis) (http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/leiteal01.shtml)
  • 2004 ESPN (profile and daily update (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4130)