"Leary must recover from a nightmarish 19-loss season that fell two defeats short of the Yankees record. He did not pitch after September 19 to keep matters from getting any worse. He endured a career high eight-game losing streak from May 28-July 8. A victim of terrible run support, Leary held the opposition to one run three times and wound up with two losses and a no-decision. Shoddy catching contributed to a club record 23 wild pitches, one shy of Jack Morris' American League mark.
Born in Santa Monica, Leary played an important role in the Dodgers' unexpected rise to the World Championship in 1988 by winning 17 games and pitching six shutouts. He was acquired by the Yankees from the Reds with Van Snider for Hal Morris and Rodney Imes before last season."
-John Shea and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1991 Edition
"Had he arrived a year or two earlier, Tim Leary just might have put up the big pitching numbers the Yankees were looking for. Instead, frustrated by a lack of run support in 1990, Leary struggled through a disappointing 9-19 season.
However, numbers can be deceiving. Despite the record, most baseball people recognized the quality of Leary's performance. A number of rival clubs even approached the Yankees about trading for Leary whose effort did not go unnoticed. His big problem last year was the fact that the Yankees scored an average of less than two runs a game in his 19 losses.
'When I go to the mound, my goal is to give my team a chance to win,' says Leary. 'For the most part, I feel I can accomplish that goal.' So do the Yankees, who gave Leary a raise this winter. And, with a little help from his friends, Tim Leary is looking to return the favor by raising his record this year."
-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook
"In 1990 Tim led Yankee starters in virtually every category despite posting a 9-19 record. He was a victim of minimal run support in many of his losses.
He made his return to the American League a winning one, posting a victory in his first Yankee start on April 17. Overall he made three starts in April and was 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA for the month.
Despite a losing record in May, Leary continued to pitch well, compiling a 2-4 record with a 2.44 ERA and four complete games in six starts. He started the month with a 2-0 loss at home to Oakland (9.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER). After another loss, he won his second game at Seattle 4-1 (9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER) but lost the shutout with two outs in the 9th inning on a Ken Griffey Jr. home run. Tim took the loss on May 18 against Kansas City, then beat the Twins on May 23 at the Metrodome throwing a complete game 4-hit shutout in a 12-0 win. He ended the month with a 2-1 complete game loss on May 28 at Chicago (8.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER).
Tim did not win a game in June, posting an 0-5 mark with a 4.75 ERA over six starts. He allowed 22 earned runs and was supported with 12 runs in six games.
He lost his first two July games heading into the break, and at the break was 3-12 with a 3.85 ERA in 17 starts. In his final nine starts heading into the break, starting on May 28, Leary was 0-8 with a 5.10 ERA. In his first start after the break he posted a no-decision, and on July 19 at Minnesota snapped a 10-game winless streak with a 2-1 win (7.1 IP, 8 H, 1 ER). For July, Leary was 2-3 with a 6.75 ERA.
August was his winningest month (3-3) during which he posted a 3.43 ERA. On August 19 against Seattle, Tim pitched seven innings of one-run ball in notching his first Yankee Stadium win of 1990.
Tim made four starts in September (1-3, 5.11). On September 3 he allowed a career high six walks in a 7-0 loss to California. His final 1990 win came on September 14 at Detroit (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) in a 5-2 Yankee victory. His final start was on September 19 at Toronto with Tim taking the loss in a 7-6 Yankee defeat. After the break he was 6-7 with a 4.44 ERA.
In his nine wins Leary had a 1.19 ERA (68.1 IP, 9 ER), throwing two complete games and a shutout. In his 19 losses, he had a 5.40 ERA (125.0 IP, 75 ER) and threw four complete games. In his three no-decisions, he had a 6.75 ERA (14.2 IP, 11 ER). Overall he was supported with 98 runs (3.2 per game) and allowed 105 runs.
Leary reached 200+ innings for the fourth straight season. He recorded 138 strikeouts, second only to a career best 180 in 1988. His 77 walks were a career high at any professional level as were his 19 losses.
He led the majors in throwing 23 wild pitches which also set a Yankee record, breaking the old mark of 14 set by Al Downing in 1964, and were the second most in American League history to Jack Morris' 24 in 1987. Leary allowed 11 home runs in his first seven starts and 50.2 innings (through May 23) and then had a string of 14 starts and 90.2 innings without allowing a home run. Overall he allowed seven homers in his final 157.1 innings pitched, an average of one every 22.1 innings pitched.
Tim pitched six-plus innings in 23 of 31 (74%) starts and allowed the opposition three earned runs or less in 16 of 31 (52%) of his starts. Right-handed hitters hit .255 against him, left-handers .260, yet he held opposing hitters to a .230 batting average (40-for-174) with men in scoring position. He was 1-9 with a 4.73 ERA at home, 8-10 and .3.69 on the road.
He signed a three-year contract in November of 1990. The contract runs through the 1993 season.
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.
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 while picking up his second win of the year. 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 off Joe Price 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 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."
-1991 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.
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
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