Dennis Leonard | |||
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Pitcher | |||
Born: Brooklyn, New York |
May 8, 1951 |||
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MLB debut | |||
September 4, 1974, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 27, 1986, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Win–loss record | 144–106 | ||
Earned run average | 3.70 | ||
Strikeouts | 1,323 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Dennis Patrick Leonard (born May 8, 1951) was a pitcher for the Kansas City Royals in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He retired in 1986 due to injuries.
Born in Brooklyn, Leonard attended Oceanside High School on Long Island, then played college baseball for and graduated from Iona College. In 1975, his first full year with the Royals, he achieved a 15-7 record.
Leonard later recorded three 20-win seasons, to become the only pitcher in Royals history to do it. Besides, he started nine post-season games for the Royals between 1976 and 1981, ending with a record of 3-5, including a 1-1 record in the 1980 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Towards the end of his career, Leonard missed most of the remaining seasons due to knee injuries. His final season was in 1986, where he ended up with an 8-13 record. Besides his rookie season of 1974, this was the only time he had a losing record. At the end of the 1986 season he retired as a player.