When first coming up through the Yankee farm system, Leiter was hailed as the next great arm in pinstripes, the one remaining star left in a minor-league system decimated by foolish trades throughout the 1980s. Though he never realized that success with the Yanks, he did end up reaching the World Series with three other teams. A tough-as-nails power pitcher, Leiter as hampered by injuries through the first half of his career, but fought back to establish himself as one of the premier lefties in the bigs by the mid-'90's.
The Yankees' second-round pick in the June 1984 draft, the much-lauded Leiter recorded an unimpressive 2-2 with a 6.35 ERA after his first call-up in 1987. That was good enough for the bumbling Yanks, who put him into the rotation in 1988, though he was frequently unable to pitch due to a recurring blister. In need of heavy hitting, the Yanks traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays early in the 1989 season for Jesse Barfield. Shortly after being traded, the southpaw went on the DL and underwent arthroscopic surgery in September.
From 1990-92, the hard-luck Leiter appeared in only eight games with the Jays, thanks to arthroscopic surgery, an irritated nerve in his left elbow, and tendinitis. In fact, Leiter didn't record his first win in a Toronto uniform until 1993, when he went a respectable 9-6 as a spot starter, helping the club win its second consecutive World Championship. But it was not 1995 (his first injury-free season) that Leiter would establish himself as an ace in the making, setting career highs in almost every pitching category, winning 11 games, striking out 153, and posting a 3.64 ERA.
By that time, Leiter's pitching rhythm had become concrete. As opposed to most lefties in the majors who used offspeed pitches to combat their opponents, Leiter went for the gullet like Randy Johnson. Sinking fastballs and devastating sliders were the composite of his repertoire, along with a looping curveball to induce groundball outs.
Leiter signed a lucrative three-year deal with the Florida Marlins in December 1995, citing his desire to play closer to home. (Leiter and his family owned a Fort Lauderdale house that was just minutes from Joe Robbie Stadium.) In 1996, he enjoyed a career year, winning 16 games, hurling his and the club's first ever no-hitter, and recording the final out in the All-Star Game.
Despite struggling most of the season during the team's pennant drive in 1997, Leiter was given the ball by Marlin skipper Jim Leyland for the seventh game of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians. Finally able to avoid surrendering "a big inning" -- a pitfall which had plagued him for much of his career -- Leiter hurled six solid innings while yielding only two runs. The Marlins went on to win the dramatic game 3-2 in eleven innings.
As part of the club's post-season dismantling, Leiter was traded to the New York Mets on February 6, 1998 in a package deal that sent the Marlins minor-league pitcher A.J. Burnett. The club that he had rooted for as a youngster growing up met him with open arms, and Leiter responded by winning a career-best 17 games and striking out 174 batters. Following the season, he inked a $32 million dollar deal to stay with the Mets for another four years.
Though the Mets made the post-season for the first time in 1999, pressure mounted on Leiter to stand up as the ace of a high-pressure New York team. His stats dropped considerably, and he finished just 13-12 with a 4.23 ERA. But the acquisition of Mike Hampton in December 1999 took some of the heat off him, and allowed Leiter to shift into the second starter role. Al ended up going 16-8 with a 3.20 ERA and 200 strikeouts.
In the 2000 Subway Series, Leiter's Game Five effort showed all of New York and the nation how gritty he was, as he toughed it out against the Yanks till the last, throwing 142 pitches in all. Though he lost the game, he had won the admiration of New York.
Leiter's efforts off the field were just as remarkable. Beyond the passive role of a millionaire athlete who writes checks to charities, Leiter became an avid coordinator and participant in aid organizations. After signing his four-year, $32 million contract with the Mets in 1998, Leiter publicly pledged to donate $1 million to kids' causes, mostly through a foundation he and his wife started and ran. Among his gifts to the communities was his establishment of a tutoring project in Harlem and a $100,000 donation for the construction of a Little League baseball field in his hometown of Toms River, New Jersey.
Baseball ran in the Leiter family: his brother Kurt pitched briefly with the Orioles organization, and his brother Mark enjoyed moderate success with several big-league clubs. (MSA/WOR/AG)
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»October 16, 1993: In the World Series opener, the Blue Jays defeat the Phils, 8-5, behind home runs by Devon White and John Olerud. Al Leiter gets the win in relief. Olerud's home run in the 6th breaks a 4–4 tie.
»December 14, 1995:
The Marlins sign free agent P Al Leiter to a 3-year contract.
»May 11, 1996: At Joe Robbie Stadium, Al Leiter tosses the major's first no-hitter of the year, burying the Rockies, 11–0. Leiter (6–2), using mostly fast balls, is in control all the way, and retires five batters in the 8th and 9th innings on just one pitch each. He walks two and fans six in his masterpiece.
»August 12, 1996:
The Expos defeat the Astros, 8-1, in a game marked by a 3rd-inning 10-minute brawl which will result in 4-game suspensions being handed down to Henry Rodriguez, Moises Alou, David Segui, Jeff Juden, and John Cangelosi. Danny Darwin gets six games. Houston manager Terry Collins receives a gash that will require four stitches to close when he's hit by a thrown batting helmet. The fight starts when Rodriguez is plunked by a pitch, the apparent result of his stopping and admiring a homer he hit his last time up. Al Leiter pitches a 3-hitter to win, although he gives up a leadoff homer to Brian Hunter.
»May 31, 1997:
In Miami, Andres Galarraga golfs a 529-foot grand slam, the longest home run ever at Pro Player Stadium, then gets ejected four innings later. His homer gives the Colorado Rockies a 7-0 lead over the Marlins, and they eventually win, 8–4. Galarraga has three home runs in the past three games against Florida that traveled 1,435 feet, an average of 478 feet. He hit a 455-foot homer Thursday and a 451-foot homer Friday. The longest previous homer at the stadium was 482 feet by Pete Incaviglia of the Phillies off Al Leiter on May 1, 1996.
»February 6, 1998:
The Mets obtain P Al Leiter and IF Ralph Milliard from the Marlins in exchange for minor leaguers P Jesus Sanchez, pitcher A.J. Burnett, and OF Robert Stratton.
»October 4, 1999: The Mets whitewashes the Reds, 5-0, to become the National League's wild card team. Al Leiter hurls a complete game 2-hitter for the win. NY SS Rey Ordonez plays his 100th consecutive game without an error, setting a new major league mark.
»October 5, 2000: The Mets even their series with the Giants at one game apiece by winning a 10-inning thriller, 5-4. Jay Payton's single drives home the winning run in the top of the 10th after J.T. Snow's pinch-hit 3-run home run ties the game in the bottom of the 9th. Edgardo Alfonzo hit a 2-run homer for NY in the top half of the frame. Al Leiter pitches 8+ innings for the Mets. Armando Benitez gives up the tying homer, but gets the win in relief.
»April 14, 2001: A major league record is set as 11 one-run games are played, breaking the mark of 10 set in 1967. With a 1–0 win over the Mets, the Reds set the modern day NL record with their 175th consecutive game without being shut out, breaking the mark of 174, set by the 1992-93 Phillies. Chris Reitsma and Danny Graves combine to beat Al Leiter.
»April 30, 2002: Mike Piazza hits two home runs and drives home six as the Mets defeat the Diamondbacks, 10–1. Al Leiter gets the victory for NY and in doing so becomes the first pitcher to have defeated all 30 ML teams. Both Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks and Kevin Brown of the Los Angeles Dodgers have beaten 29 teams, but Johnson needs a win against his own team, the D'Backs, for 30.
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