Dennis Leonard
Born: 5/18/1951 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
MLB Debut: 1974-09-04 | Final Game: 1986-09-27
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: Dennis Patrick Leonard
Biography
Dennis Leonard was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, known for his impactful career that spanned from 1974 to 1986. Born in 1951, Leonard made a name for himself primarily with the Kansas City Royals, where he developed into a key figure in the team's pitching rotation during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Over the course of his career, he recorded a win-loss record of 144-106 and maintained an earned run average (ERA) of 3.7, showcasing his ability to effectively manage opposing hitters.
Leonard's career was marked by his impressive strikeout total of 1,323, reflecting his skill as a dominant force on the mound. While he recorded only one save in his career, his role as a starting pitcher allowed him to impact games significantly over multiple innings. As a part of the Royals during a transformative era in baseball, Leonard contributed to the teamโs successes, including their playoff appearances and a trip to the World Series. His contributions to the game have left a lasting legacy, and he remains a respected figure in the history of the franchise.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 144 | 106 | 312 | 302 | 103 | 23 | 1 | 2187.0 | 2137 | 898 | 202 | 622 | 1323 | 3.70 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | KCR | AL | 0 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 | 28 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 5.32 | - |
| 1975 | KCR | AL | 15 | 7 | 32 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 212.3 | 212 | 89 | 90 | 146 | 3.77 | - |
| 1976 | KCR | AL | 17 | 10 | 35 | 34 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 259.0 | 247 | 101 | 70 | 150 | 3.51 | - |
| 1977 | KCR | AL | 20 | 12 | 38 | 37 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 292.7 | 246 | 99 | 79 | 244 | 3.04 | - |
| 1978 | KCR | AL | 21 | 17 | 40 | 40 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 294.7 | 283 | 109 | 78 | 183 | 3.33 | - |
| 1979 | KCR | AL | 14 | 12 | 32 | 32 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 236.0 | 226 | 107 | 56 | 126 | 4.08 | - |
| 1980 | KCR | AL | 20 | 11 | 38 | 38 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 280.3 | 271 | 118 | 80 | 155 | 3.79 | - |
| 1981 | KCR | AL | 13 | 11 | 26 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 201.7 | 202 | 67 | 41 | 107 | 2.99 | - |
| 1982 | KCR | AL | 10 | 6 | 21 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 130.7 | 145 | 74 | 46 | 58 | 5.10 | - |
| 1983 | KCR | AL | 6 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 63.0 | 69 | 26 | 19 | 31 | 3.71 | - |
| 1985 | KCR | AL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | - |
| 1986 | KCR | AL | 8 | 13 | 33 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 192.7 | 207 | 95 | 51 | 114 | 4.44 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 313 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | KCR | AL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1975 | KCR | AL | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1976 | KCR | AL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | KCR | AL | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1978 | KCR | AL | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1979 | KCR | AL | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1980 | KCR | AL | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1981 | KCR | AL | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1982 | KCR | AL | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1983 | KCR | AL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1985 | KCR | AL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1986 | KCR | AL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | AWDIV | KCA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1980 | ALCS | KCA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1980 | WS | KCA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1978 | ALCS | KCA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1977 | ALCS | KCA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1976 | ALCS | KCA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 50.0 | 56 | 24 | 10 | 31 | 4.32 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | AWDIV | KCA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1.12 |
| 1980 | ALCS | KCA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2.25 |
| 1980 | WS | KCA | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10.7 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 6.75 |
| 1978 | ALCS | KCA | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12.0 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 3.75 |
| 1977 | ALCS | KCA | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3.00 |
| 1976 | ALCS | KCA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.3 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 19.29 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 312 | 302 | 135 | 292 | 24 | 28 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | KCA | P | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 1975 | KCA | P | 32 | 30 | 14 | 28 | 2 | 4 |
| 1976 | KCA | P | 35 | 34 | 11 | 23 | 6 | 2 |
| 1977 | KCA | P | 38 | 37 | 21 | 29 | 4 | 2 |
| 1978 | KCA | P | 40 | 40 | 16 | 43 | 1 | 2 |
| 1979 | KCA | P | 32 | 32 | 19 | 32 | 1 | 2 |
| 1980 | KCA | P | 38 | 38 | 9 | 41 | 1 | 4 |
| 1981 | KCA | P | 26 | 26 | 13 | 31 | 0 | 3 |
| 1982 | KCA | P | 21 | 21 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 2 |
| 1983 | KCA | P | 10 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| 1985 | KCA | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | KCA | P | 33 | 30 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 4 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 312 |
| Designated Hitter | 1 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Hutch Award | |
| 1975 | Player of the Week | Week of 1975-08-29 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | KCA | AL | $883,333 |
| 1985 | KCA | AL | $871,429 |
| Total Career Earnings | $1,754,762 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iona College | New Rochelle | NY | 1970, 1971, 1972 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Cy Young Award | AL | 7th | 1.0 | 140 | 0 |
| 1977 | Cy Young Award | AL | 4th | 45.0 | 140 | 5 |
| 1977 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 29th | 1.0 | 392 | 0 |