A member of the 1988 Los Angeles Dodger World Championship team, the 31-year-old right-hander knows what it takes to be a winner. In '88 he won 17 games and was named the NL Comeback Player of the Year.
Known as a power pitcher, Leary wants to resurrect his curve and changeup. 'If I can get ahead of the batters and keep the ball down, I'll be okay,' Leary says. 'I know Yankee Stadium is great for hard-throwing right-handers who can get the ball sinking and that's what I do.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook
"Leary had his finest season as a major league pitcher in 1988, posting a 17-11 record in 35 games. He was named UPI National League Comeback Player of the Year, The Sporting News NL Comeback Player of the Year, and NL Silver Slugger. Leary had career highs in starts (34), ERA (2.91), complete games (9), shutouts (6), innings pitched (228.2) and strikeouts (180). He finished sixth in the NL in wins, sixth in strikeouts, fifth in complete games and second in shutouts.
He started four games in April and posted a 2-1 record with a 2.52 ERA. He struck out 11 Padres on April 18. Tim struggled through the first part of May but went 2-1 in his last three games of the month. His one relief appearance of the year came on May 3 against Pittsburgh and he retired all eight batters he faced. He pitched a 1-hitter on May 25 at Philadelphia, one of 11 thrown by NL pitchers in '88.
From July 2-August 2, Tim was 5-2 with a 0.51 ERA in 55.2 innings with 40 strikeouts. He was voted National Player of the Week for July 18-24 when he went 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA with two complete games, a shutout, two walks and 13 strikeouts. For the month of July he was 4-2 with a 0.96 ERA, four complete games and 37 strikeouts. Leary pitched four straight complete games, over St. Louis (July 18), Pittsburgh (July 23), San Francisco (July 27) and Cincinnati (August 2), improving his record to 11-7 with a 2.24 ERA.
He would go on to post a 5-1 record for August, winning his last four decisions of the month and improving to 15-8 with a 2.44 ERA. He had a game-winning pinch-hit single against the Giants in the 11th inning on August 13, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 win. Tim struck out a career high 12 batters on August 21 against Montreal; he recorded four 10-or-more strikeout games on the year. He won his 17th game on September 12 against Atlanta, winning 4-3 in Los Angeles, then was 0-2 in his last four starts.
For the season, Leary allowed two or fewer runs in 20 of 34 starts, and in his 17 wins compiled a 1.68 ERA. Opponents batted .234 against him and his strikeout-to-walk ratio was better than three to one.
Overall Tim hit .269 to lead the Dodger pitching staff and had nine RBIs, three of which were game winners. He had 13 sacrifice bunts, fifth in the NL.
He allowed just 11 home runs in 177 innings before giving up four in one game to the Mets on September 2 at New York. He defeated every team in the NL except the Mets (0-2 against New York). 10 of Leary's 17 wins were in the second half. He was 0-1 in two games in the NLCS but was effective in his two appearances the World Series, allowing just one run with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings, all in relief.
Leary started the 1989 season with Los Angeles with a win on April 6 at Cincinnati, tossing a complete game 5-hitter in a 4-1 Dodger win while notching a season best seven strikeouts. After a loss at San Francisco, he tossed his second and final complete game as a Dodger against Houston, allowing five hits and one run while fanning six. Leary ended the month with two straight losses, and for April was 2-2 in five starts with a 3.82 ERA in 33 innings pitched.
After a no-decision against St. Louis, Tim was shut out, 3-0, at Philadelphia. From April 22-May 18 he was 1-4 with a 4.18 ERA in five starts and was 1-2 in five May starts with a 2.55 ERA as the Dodgers scored eight runs in his four non-wins. He was 3-4 with a 3.16 ERA in 68.1 innings through May.
After a loss at Houston on June 3, Tim put together back-to-back wins on June 5 at Atlanta and on June 11 against Cincinnati (8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER). The win at Atlanta was one of his two relief outings of the season (3 IP, 0 ER). Tim was 3-1 with two no-decisions in June with a 3.03 ERA.
He was the winning pitcher in a 1-0 win against Pittsburgh on July 1, tossing eight scoreless innings. Leary was 6-6 at the break, allowing nine home runs in 116 innings. He made a relief appearance on July 17 at Chicago, taking the loss while going 1-1 innings (3 ER). Leary was 6-7 with a 3.38 ERA, including 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA against the Reds in '89 when he was traded along with infielder Mariano Duncan to Cincinnati on July 18 in exchange for outfielder Kal Daniels and infielder Lenny Harris.
Leary made his first start as a Red just four days later on July 21. He lost his debut, 3-1, at Montreal, going six innings. His first win as a Red came in his next outing, at Riverfront Stadium against the Padres, allowing one earned run over eight innings. On August 11, he earned his final win of the season, pitching 7.1 innings (1 ER) in a 6-1 win at Houston. Tim made six August starts and was 1-4 with a 5.71 ERA in 34.2 innings.
September/October was a month of frustration for Tim. He pitched six times, going 0-2 with four no-decisions. In his final five outings, Tim was 0-2 with a 1.88 ERA in 34 innings in three two-run games and two one-run games. He lost 2-1 against Atlanta (8.1 IP, 1 ER), 4-3 at San Francisco (7 IP, 3 ER), 3-1 against San Diego (6 IP, 0 ER), 5-3 at San Diego (5 IP, 2 ER) and 2-0 against Houston (8 IP, 2 ER).
Overall Tim finished 8-14 in 33 games (31 starts) with a 3.52 ERA. In his 13 losses as a starter, the Dodgers and Reds combined to score 17 runs; the two teams were 11-20 in his starts. He averaged just short of 6.2 innings per start and pitched six-plus innings in 21 of his 31 starts. Leary had his second straight 200-plus inning season. As a batter, he was 7-for-59 (.119) with four RBIs.
He was obtained by the Yankees from Cincinnati with outfielder Van Snider in exchange for first baseman Hal Morris and pitcher Rodney Imes. He signed a one-year contract in January 1990.
Leary was selected by the New York Mets in the first round (second player taken) of the June 1979 free agent draft but was injured that season and did not pitch. 1980 was his first year with the Mets organization and Tim was 15-8 with a 2.76 ERA in 26 starts. He led the Texas League with six shutouts and completed 11 games, pitched 173 innings and struck out 138, and was named the Texas League MVP.
He started the 1981 season with the Mets, making the big leagues after one season in the minors, but strained a muscle in his right elbow in his major league debut at Chicago and was sidelined until August 1. Tim finished the season at Tidewater, going 1-3 for the Tides while experiencing shoulder problems. In 1982 He did not pitch after irritating a nerve in his right shoulder.
In 1983, recovered from a year off due to arm problems, he was a disappointing 8-16 with a 4.38 ERA for Tidewater, working 160.1 innings in 27 starts with eight complete games and one shutout. In his rookie season with the Mets, Leary went 1-1 in two starts, pitching 10.2 innings. His first major league win came on October 2 against Montreal, winning 5-4 in a complete game victory.
Leary started the 1984 season with the Mets and was 3-3 with a 4.02 ERA in 20 games, starting seven. He appeared in 10 games for Tidewater, all as a starter, and was 4-4 with a 4.05 ERA in 53 innings.
Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in January 1985 as part of a six-player, four-team deal, Tim joined the Brewers on September 11 from Vancouver. He defeated Boston, 6-3, in his American League debut at Fenway Park, then lost his next four decision as the Brewers scored just four runs. He was 1-4 on the season with a 4.05 ERA.
1986 was his last season with the Brewers and he was 12-12 with a 4.21 ERA in 33 games, 30 as a starter. Tim won six of his last eight decisions and was 6-3 with a 3.14 ERA after the All-Star Game. Leary's longest winning streak was three games, he had no record and a 0.90 ERA in three relief appearances, and he allowed 20 home runs.
Traded to Los Angeles with pitcher Tim Crews for first baseman Greg Brock in December 1986, Leary was 3-11 overall for the Dodgers in 1987: he was 2-8 with a 5.04 ERA in 12 starts and was 1-3 with a save and a 4.36 ERA in 27 relief outings.
His first win as a Dodger came in his second start, defeating the Braves, 5-3, on June 9 in Atlanta. His best outing was on August 12 against Cincinnati, pitching 7.1 innings and allowing just five hits in a 1-0 win. Tim then posted a 9-0 winter league record for Tijuana, establishing a new record for most wins, and had a 1.24 ERA.
Tim attended UCLA where he lettered three years on the Bruin baseball team. He was an All-Pac 10 performer while leading the Bruins to the conference title. He was also All-District Eight, All-American, was the right-handed pitcher on the Sporting News All-America baseball team, and also earned Academic All-America honors.
He graduated in 1976 from Santa Monica High School, where he earned all-league and all-star honors in baseball. Tim likes all sports."
-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide
Named right-handed pitcher on The Sporting News College Baseball All-America Team, 1979.
Led Texas League in shutouts (6), 1980.
Named Texas League Most Valuable Player, 1980.
Named National League Comeback Player by The Sporting News, 1988.
Named pitcher on the National League Silver Slugger Team, 1988.
-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide
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