Tim Leary

{{About|the baseball player|1960s counterculture figure|Timothy Leary}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Tim Leary

|image=Tim Leary - New York Mets.jpg

|position=Pitcher

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1958|12|23}}

|birth_place=Santa Monica, California, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=April 12

|debutyear=1981

|debutteam=New York Mets

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=August 9

|finalyear=1994

|finalteam=Texas Rangers

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=78–105

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=4.36

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=888

|teams=

New York Mets ({{mlby|1981}}, {{mlby|1983}}–{{mlby|1984}})
Milwaukee Brewers ({{mlby|1985}}–{{mlby|1986}})
Los Angeles Dodgers ({{mlby|1987}}–{{mlby|1989}})
Cincinnati Reds ({{mlby|1989}})
New York Yankees ({{mlby|1990}}–{{mlby|1992}})
Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|1992}}–{{mlby|1993}})
Texas Rangers ({{mlby|1994}})

|highlights=

World Series champion ({{wsy|1988}})
Silver Slugger Award (1988)

|medaltemplates=

{{Medal|Country|{{bb|USA}}}}

}}

Timothy James Leary (born December 23, 1958) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher.

Amateur career

Leary posted a 10–2 record in his senior year at Santa Monica High School, and was named to the {{baseball year|1976}} All-California Interscholastic Federation first-team. He went 19–1 to lead his American Legion Baseball team to the national championship.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hEYhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bn8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5215,4405309&dq|title=California Wins in Legion Play|work=The Modesto Bee|date=August 27, 1976}} Much more in stature than his teammate and fellow former major leaguer, Rod Allen, he received the opportunity to play college baseball at UCLA.

Leary attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was a three-year letterwinner for the UCLA Bruins baseball team while completing an economics degree. Over his college career, Leary compiled a 21–15 record with a 3.09 earned run average. His sixteen complete games is a school record, and his 258 strikeouts are the school's fourth highest total.{{cite web|url=http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/leary_tim00.html|title=Tim Leary Profile|publisher=UCLABruins.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929091859/http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/leary_tim00.html|archive-date=2012-09-29}}

In {{baseball year|1978}}, Leary helped lead the United States national baseball team to the silver medal in the World Cup played in Italy. He was also a member of the national team for the 1979 Pan American Games.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ta4SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IvkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1654,848083&dq|title=UCLA Star Paces Yanks|work=Spokane Daily Chronicle|date=July 4, 1979}}

Professional career

=New York Mets=

Leary was selected by the New York Mets as the second overall pick of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. He went 15–8 with a 2.76 ERA and 138 strikeouts for the Jackson Mets in his first professional season, prompting the Mets to make the controversial decision to bring him all the way to the majors for his second season. Making his major league debut on April 12, {{baseball year|1981}}, Leary faced just seven batters,{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN198104120.shtml|title=New York Mets 2, Chicago Cubs 1|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=April 12, 1981}} before leaving the game after just two innings with a strained elbow.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6AFdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AVoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4773,3197135&dq|title=Mets Place Leary on Disabled List|work=Record-Journal|date=April 22, 1981}} After four months inactive, he appeared in six games with the Mets' triple A affiliate, the Tidewater Tides toward the end of the 1981 season. He strained his elbow a second time during Spring training {{baseball year|1982}},{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=__0hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_KQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2080,1061647&dq|author=Dink Carroll|date=April 23, 1982|title=N.Y. Mets' Pitching Big Question Mark|work=The Montreal Gazette}} and was shut down for the entire 1982 season.

He returned to Tidewater in {{baseball year|1983}}, and fell to 8–16 with a 4.38 ERA, mostly due to an increase in home runs allowed (11 versus just 5 in {{baseball year|1980}}). Regardless, he received a second call up to the majors that September, and never made it out of the second inning in his return, mostly due to two errors by George Foster in left field that led to five unearned runs.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN198309250.shtml|title=Chicago Cubs 11, New York Mets 7|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=September 25, 1983}} His second start, however, went far better, as he pitched a complete game for his first major league victory against the Montreal Expos.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198310022.shtml|title=New York Mets 5, Montreal Expos 4|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 2, 1983}}

Leary split the {{baseball year|1984}} season between Tidewater and the Mets

=Milwaukee Brewers=

During the 1984–85 offseason, Leary was part of a four team trade in which the Mets sent him to the Milwaukee Brewers and received Frank Wills from the Kansas City Royals.

Leary spent the {{baseball year|1985}} season with Milwaukee's triple A affiliate, the Vancouver Canadians, and once again returned to the majors when rosters expanded that September. He finally enjoyed his first healthy major league season in {{baseball year|1986}} when he went 12–12 with a 4.21 ERA and 188.1 innings pitched. Following the season, he and Tim Crews were traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Greg Brock.

=Los Angeles Dodgers=

Leary went 3–11 with a 4.76 ERA splitting his time between starts and as a reliever in {{baseball year|1987}}. After the season, Leary pitched in the Mexican Leagues so he could learn how to throw a split-finger pitch. He had to drive from Santa Monica to Tijuana nearly on a daily basis to play.{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-11-sp-3896-story.html | title=NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : Work in Tijuana Does Wonders for Leary : Right-Hander Starts Tonight Against Mets | website=Los Angeles Times | date=October 11, 1988 }} This led to a breakthrough season for the Dodgers in {{baseball year|1988}}. He held the Philadelphia Phillies to just one hit on May 25,{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI198805250.shtml|title=Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Philadelphia Phillies 0|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=May 25, 1988}} and was named the National League's "Pitcher of the Week" for the week of July 18–24, during which he shut out the St. Louis Cardinals{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN198807180.shtml|title=Los Angeles Dodgers 1, St. Louis Cardinals 0|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=July 18, 1988}} and earned a complete game victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT198807230.shtml|title=Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 2|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=July 23, 1988}} He finished the season second on his team behind Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser in wins (17), ERA (2.91), shutouts (6), complete games (9) and innings pitched (228.2), while leading his club with 180 strikeouts.

The Dodgers won the National League West by seven games over the Cincinnati Reds to face Leary's former franchise, the New York Mets, in the 1988 National League Championship Series. Leary appeared in the game four twelve inning marathon won by the Dodgers,{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198810090.shtml|title=1988 National League Championship Series, Game Four|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 9, 1988}} and made the start in game six, taking the loss.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198810110.shtml|title=1988 National League Championship Series, Game Six|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 11, 1988}}

In the World Series against the Oakland Athletics, Leary was used out of the bullpen by manager Tommy Lasorda. His three innings of scoreless work allowed the Dodgers to come back from a 4–2 deficit in game one,{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198810150.shtml|title=1988 World Series, Game One|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 15, 1988}} and he appeared in game three, allowing one run in 3.2 innings.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK198810180.shtml|title=1988 World Series, Game Three|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 18, 1988}}

Following the Dodgers' World Series victory, Leary was named the Sporting News' National League Comeback Player of the Year for his regular season performance.

=Cincinnati Reds=

He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds midway through the {{baseball year|1989}} season with Mariano Duncan for Kal Daniels and Lenny Harris. After the season, the Reds sent him and Van Snider to the New York Yankees for Hal Morris and minor leaguer Rodney Imes.

=New York Yankees=

Leary experienced some hard luck in his first season with the Yankees. Despite a respectable 4.11 ERA, he led the American League with nineteen losses, mostly due to poor run support from the Yankees' bats and a league leading 23 wild pitches. Either way, the Yankees re-signed Leary for three years and $5.95 million when he became a free agent at the end of the season.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NYYkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VQgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5586,7802026&dq|title=Leary Rejoins Yankees for $5.95 Million|work=The Spokesman-Review|date=November 19, 1990}} After winning his first two starts of the {{baseball year|1991}} season, Leary went 2–8 with a 6.95 ERA to earn a demotion to the bullpen. He ended the season at 4–10 with a 6.49 ERA.

He was moved back into the starting rotation in {{baseball year|1992}}, and was 5–6 with a 5.57 ERA when he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners for minor leaguer Sean Twitty.

=Seattle Mariners=

Seattle acquired Leary to fill a starting rotation that had been decimated by injury.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U1szAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2OYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5608,7010017&dq|title=Pitching-thin Mariners Acquire Yankees' Leary|work=Lawrence Journal-World|date=August 23, 1992}} As a result, Leary made six starts that September.

In {{baseball year|1993}}, the Mariners improved from a team that narrowly avoided one hundred losses to 82–80, mostly due to new manager Lou Piniella, and the emergence of young stars Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Jay Buhner. For his part, Leary had his first winning season since 1988 at 11–9.

=Retirement=

Leary signed a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring training with the Montreal Expos in {{baseball year|1994}}. He was 2–4 with a 5.43 ERA for the triple A Ottawa Lynx when they released him. He caught on with the Texas Rangers shortly afterwards, and went 1–1 with an 8.14 ERA. He retired when the Rangers attempted to reassign him to the minor leagues following the season.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VAofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ps8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4723,5343132&dq|title=Yankees Exercise Option on Howe|work=Herald-Journal|date=October 15, 1994}}

In 2011, Leary served as the pitching coach at Cal State Northridge.

As of 2015, Leary is an Alumni member of the Los Angeles Dodgers Community Relations team.

Career stats

class="wikitable"

|PCT

|ERA

|GS

|CG

|SHO

|SV

|IP

|ER

|HR

|BB

|WP

|HBP

|Fld%

|Avg

|105

|.426

|4.36

|292

|224

|25

|1491.1

|1570

|723

|792

|147

|535

|888

|87

|52

|.972

|.221

Leary was named the NL Silver Slugger pitcher in 1988, when he batted .269 with nine runs batted in and thirteen successful sacrifice bunts. His only career home run came off Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI198404200.shtml|title=New York Mets 3, Philadelphia Phillies 1|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=April 20, 1984}}

Personal life

Leary was inducted into the UCLA Bruins Athletics Hall of Fame while he was a member of the New York Yankees. Shortly after his retirement, he became a coach for UCLA from {{baseball year|1997}} to {{baseball year|2000}} and again in {{baseball year|2004}}. He has also coached at Loyola Marymount University{{cite web|url=http://www.lmulions.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/leary_tim00.html|title=Tim Leary Profile|publisher=LMULions.com}} Now he is the pitching coach for Brentwood School (Los Angeles).

References

External links

{{Baseballstats |mlb=117592 |espn=840|br=l/learyti01|fangraphs=1007438|brm=leary-001tim |retro=L/Pleart001}}, or [http://ultimatemets.com/profile.php?PlayerCode=0325 Ultimate Mets Database]

Category:1958 births

Category:Living people

Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada

Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico

Category:American people of Irish descent

Category:Baseball players at the 1979 Pan American Games

Category:Baseball coaches from California

Category:Baseball players from Santa Monica, California

Category:Cal State Northridge Matadors baseball coaches

Category:Cincinnati Reds players

Category:Jackson Mets players

Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players