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)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»July 31, 1983:
In the nitecap of a doubleheader, Pirates rookie Jose DeLeon holds the Mets hitless for 81/3 innings before Hubie Brooks singles, but Mets starter Mike Torrez pitches 11 shutout innings himself and New York goes on to win 1–0 in 12 innings. In his previous start, DeLeon had held the Padres hitless for 61/3 innings. Mets reliever Jesse Orosco wins both games with four innings of relief in the 11-inning opener, and an inning in the nitecap.
»August 20, 1983: Pittsburgh's Jose DeLeon takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning for the 3rd time this season, but Cincinnati's Dan Driessen doubles with two out to spoil the gem. DeLeon finishes with 13 strikeouts in a 4–0 two-hitter.
»August 24, 1984: Despite allowing just one hit—an RBI single to Dave Parker in the 7th inning—Pittsburgh's Jose DeLeon loses to the Reds 2–0. DeLeon walks three and strikes out eight but is beaten by Jeff Russell, who tosses a 3-hitter of his own.
»August 4, 1986: White Sox pitcher Jose DeLeon (2-0) beats Boston's Roger Clemens (17-4) for the 2nd time in five days 1–0 at Fenway Park. DeLeon and the White Sox also won 7–2 on July 30th.
»May 9, 1987: Eddie Murray homers from each side of the plate for the 2nd consecutive game, a ML first. Murray's four home runs in two days help the Orioles to 7–6 and 15–6 wins over the White Sox. Yesterday, Murray took righty Jose DeLeon and lefty Ray Searage deep; today it is Joel McKeon (LHP) and Bob James (RHP).
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