Brent Leach

Brent Allen Leach (born November 18, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Yokohama BayStars.

Brent Leach
Pitcher
Born: (1982-11-18) November 18, 1982
Flowood, Mississippi
Batted: Right Threw: Left
Professional debut
MLB: May 6, 2009, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
NPB: July 28, 2011, for the Yokohoma BayStars
Last MLB appearance
July 28, 2009, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record2–0
Earned run average5.75
Strikeouts19
NPB statistics
(through 2011 season)
Win–Loss1–7
Earned run average5.95
Strikeouts36
Teams

Amateur career

He attended Brandon High School in Brandon, Mississippi and played college baseball at the University of Southern Mississippi and Delta State University. During his freshman season with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles baseball team, Leach recorded sixteen appearances, with one save, a 2.08 ERA and a .237 batting average against as a reliever. In 2003, he pitched in just four games, starting three of them. Leach finished with a 7.27 ERA that year. He missed the 2004 baseball season while undergoing Tommy John surgery, and transferred to Delta State, where he returned to the bullpen full-time. In his final college baseball season, Leach pitched in 24 games, managing a 1–1 record and 1.74 ERA, with seven saves. Following an appearance with the Statesmen at the 2005 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship, Leach was drafted by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2005 MLB draft.[1]

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

He made his minor league debut in 2005 with the Ogden Raptors and split 2006 with the Columbus Catfish and the Vero Beach Dodgers. In 2007, Leach played fourteen games with the Advanced A Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino. Leach split 2008 with the 66ers and the Double-A Jacksonville Suns.

He was added to the Dodgers 40 man roster on November 20, 2008 and earned his first Major League call-up when the Dodgers promoted him from Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts on May 2, 2009.[2][3]

Leach made his Major League debut with one scoreless inning of relief against the Washington Nationals on May 6, 2009.[4] He made 38 appearances out of the bullpen for the Dodgers before he was sent back to the minors on July 30.[5] He finished the season with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes. In 2010, he began his season with Albuquerque, but was sent back to the AA Lookouts in an attempt to convert him from a reliever to a starter.[6] In 13 starts, he was 7–3 with a 4.57 ERA.

Yokohama BayStars

On December 21, 2010, he was designated for assignment by the Dodgers and signed with the Yokohama BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball.[7]

On March 17, 2011, in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the resulting nuclear radiation scare, Leach left the country. He said he had no desire to return and the Nippon Baseball commissioner invoked a rare rule, placing Leach on the restricted list, the first time such a list had been used in league history.[8][9]

On July 8, Yokohama announced that they were going to reinstate Leach, as he had decided to return to Japan to pitch.[10] He issued the following statement, "I'm really grateful to get another chance to play in Japan. Even after returning to the US, I had thoughts about playing for the Bay Stars. I made some good friends here during spring camp. I want to get to Ichi-gun as quickly as I can and do my best to help the team out."[11]

Leach made his NPB debut on July 28, taking a loss against the Yomiuri Giants.[12] He defeated the same team on August 12 for his first Japanese league win.[13]

Return to Dodgers

Leach signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in February 2012 and was sent back to Albuquerque.[14] He was released in May after appearing in 10 games for the Isotopes with a 7.02 ERA.[15]

Atlanta Braves

He signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves on June 21, 2012 and was assigned to the AA Mississippi Braves.[1][16]

Milwaukee Brewers

Leach signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers on July 3, 2013.[17] He resigned with the team on December 1, 2014,[18] and released in August 2015.[19]

References
  1. Black, Miranda (June 21, 2012). "Brandon, Mississippi native joins M-Braves". MILB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  2. Gurnick, Ken (November 20, 2009). "Dodgers add to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  3. Gurnick, Ken (May 2, 2009). "Dodgers place Kuo on DL, call up Leach". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  4. Gurnick, Ken (May 6, 2009). "Dodgers set modern record for home start". Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  5. Gurnick, Ken (July 31, 2009). "Dodgers acquire Sherrill for two prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  6. Hoffarth, Tom (June 12, 2010). "For starters, a Weaver rematch is only a dream". Daily Breeze. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  7. Gurnick, Ken (December 21, 2010). "Leach designated for assignment by Dodgers". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  8. Croskey, Jason (July 31, 2011). "Leach happy to get second chance with BayStars". Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  9. Croskey, Jason (April 10, 2011). "Bannister in no man's land after move by Giants". Japan Times. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  10. "Leach to return to Japan on Friday". Japan Times. July 7, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  11. NPB accepts Yokohama's request to reinstate Brent Leach
  12. Coskrey, Jason (July 29, 2011). "BayStars' Leach loses season debut to Giants". Japan Times. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  13. "Leach, BayStars end Giants' streak at seven". Japan Times. August 12, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  14. Eddy, Matt (February 23, 2016). "Minor League Transactions: Feb. 14-20". Baseball America. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  15. Eddy, Matt (May 10, 2012). "Minor League Transactions: May 1–7". Baseball America. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  16. Eddy, Matt (June 28, 2012). "Minor League Transactions: June 19–24". Baseball America. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  17. Eddy, Matt (July 7, 2013). "Minor League Transactions: June 27-July 3". Baseball America. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  18. McCalvy, Adam (December 1, 2014). "Brewers sign Leach, Additon to Minor League deals". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  19. Eddy, Matt (August 31, 2015). "Minor League Transactions: Aug. 20-27". Baseball America. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
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