Rick Leach turns 68 today.
In 1979, the Tigers selected him 13th overall in the first round. He made it to the majors during the strike-shortened 1981 season, hitting a big .193/.320/.289 in 83 at-bats. He mostly pinch-hit and played a bit of first and right field. Rick played three seasons in Detroit. He never hit much, and the Tigers released him.
The Blue Jays signed him before the 1984 season. He played 5 seasons for the Jays, playing DH, first, right, left and occasionally center field. He even pitched an inning in 1984. It didn’t go well; he walked two and gave up two hits, including a home run. He hit reasonably well. In 1986, he had a .308/.335/.435 line, then in 1987, he hit .282/.371/.405, not bad, but he didn’t have the power you’d want from a corner outfield spot, nor the speed. But for a 4th outfielder, he was pretty good.
During the 1986 season, Leach tested positive for some ‘nonperformance enhancing drug’ (so some recreational drug) and was suspended for 60 days and ordered to undergo drug treatment.
In 5 years with the Jays, Rick hit .283/.34/.391 with 8 home runs and 95 RBI in 763 at-bats. After the Jays, Leach played a season with the Giants and the Rangers before leaving baseball at 33. He seemed like a likable guy, a fan favourite in the way that fourth outfielders are often fan favourites, but since the Jays had Bell, Barfield and Moesby in the outfield, there was no way he would get a full-time role. But he was a useful lefty batter on the bench.
He was a favourite of mine because, back in the day, I played Statis Pro Baseball and Strat-O-Matic Baseball, and Rick had good numbers in 1986 and 1987, giving him a valuable card in those games.
Leach was also a pretty good football player, playing quarterback in College. The Denver Broncos drafted him in the fifth round of the 1979 draft.Happy birthday, Rick. I hope it is a good one.
I found an old baseball card of Rick’s:
Also having birthdays:
- Max Castillo turns 26. He was an international free agent signing for the Jays in 2015.He made it to the Jays in 2022, pitching in 9 games, 2 starts. Then, in August, he and Samad Taylor were traded to the Royals for Whit Merrifield. He pitched in 12 games for them in 2022 and 2023. He’s in the Phillies farm system now.
- Butch Alberts turns 75. He played in 6 games for the Jays in 1978, hitting .278/.278/.333, which was his MLB career. Butch and Pat Kelly were traded to the Angels for Ron Fairly in 1977.
- Miguel Cairo turns 51. The Dodgers signed him as an undrafted free agent, and he would have a 17-year MLB career. It started with the Jays, who picked him up, with Bill Risley, from the Mariners for Edwin Hurtado and Paul Menhart. He played 9 games for us, hitting .222/.300/.296. We traded him to the Cubs for Jason Stevenson (a pitcher who never made the majors). Cairo would go on to play 1490 MLB games, with a .264/.314/.361 line and a 7.7 bWAR.