Jeffrey Leonard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jeffrey N. Leonard (born September 22, 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball with a 14-year career from 1977 to 1990. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants, all of the National League, and the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners, both of the American League.

Nicknamed "HacMan" after the popular video game PacMan, Leonard was known for his "one flap down" routine: running around the bases after hitting a home run with one arm hanging motionless at his side.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Minor league career

Leonard tied for the California League lead for assists by an outfielder with 13 while playing for the Bakersfield Dodgers in 1976. He also led the Pacific Coast League in hits (183) and batting average (.365) while playing for the Albuquerque Dukes in 1978.

[edit] Notable achievements in Major League Baseball

He was selected to the National League All-Star team in 1987 and to the American League All-Star team in 1989.

Jeffrey Leonard's greatest moment as a player most likely occurred during the 1987 National League Championship Series while with the San Francisco Giants. During the seven game-long series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Leonard had five runs, ten hits, four home runs, five runs batted in, a batting average of .417, and a slugging percentage of .917. For his performance, Leonard was awarded the 1987 NLCS Most Valuable Player Award. To date, Jeffrey Leonard is the last person to be named the Most Valuable Player of a League Championship Series while a member of the losing team.

It was also during this NLCS that Leonard would draw ire for a "Cadillac" home run trot; the Cardinals felt he took a little too much time rounding the bases on his home runs, thereby showing up the pitcher. He also acquired the nickname "Penitentiary Face" during this series because of his sour demeanor.

He was inducted in to the Brew Crew Review Hall of Shame in 2008 for his service time as a Milwaukee Brewer.

[edit] Post-playing activities

He currently resides in San Jose, California. He is currently the manager of the Reno Silver Sox of the Golden Baseball League.

[edit] See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Hitting for the cycle
• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Retrosheet