A fireballing Dominican with a good forkball, DeLeon
flirted with no-hitters in his
second and third ML starts in 1983, carrying one into the seventh against the Padres,
and the other into the ninth against the Mets. But he went 2-19 for Pittsburgh in
1985, leading the NL in losses - and received a raise. He was dealt to the White
Sox for
Bobby Bonilla in 1986, went 11-12 in 1987, and was sent to the Cardinals
for
Lance Johnson and
Rick Horton. He eventually blossomed under manager
Whitey Herzog,
going 16-12, 3.05 in 1989 and leading the NL in strikeouts. The following year, however, he posted the second 19-loss season of his career. DeLeon later developed into an effective reliever, and was traded from the Phillies back to the White Sox for
Bobby Thigpen in
August 1993 to aid Chicago's stretch run.
(
RL)