100 Greatest Phillies: 73 – Dutch Leonard
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Tue, January 13, 2009 02:19 PM | Comments: 5
100 Greatest Phillies, Posts
Dutch Leonard
Starting Pitcher
1947-1948
Career w/Phillies: 460.2 IP / 29-29 / 2.59 ERA / 195 K
Leonard gave the Phillies two of the franchise’s best pitching seasons ever. And then he was gone, like a myst. Leonard – the younger of the two Dutch Leonards – has said to be the inventer of the knuckleball. And he used that pitch while throwing for the Phillies, recording a 29-29 record over those two seasons. But while his record was mediocre (he pitched for a team that went a combined 128-180), his ERA was beyond fantastic, posting 2.68 and 2.51 marks in his two campaigns. He also walked only 737 batters in his 20-year career. Not too shabby.
Comment: Leonard may have pitched just two years in Philadelphia, but his two seasons were very, very good, finishing 13th place in MVP voting in 1947. And if he really invented the knuckleball … wow. Good for him.
Posts: 0 Jason B.
It’s the “other” dutch! I wonder if this one talks to lizards too?
Posted: 03:16 PM on January 13, 2009
Posts: 0 rob
Fyi: the picture is of the wrong Dutch Leonard. That’s the older Dutch Leonard, a left-handed pitcher for the Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers.
Posted: 03:19 PM on January 13, 2009
Posts: 0 From Section 113
Rob- But the picture says phillies on it and not to mention he has a glove on his left hand, makin ghim right handed in the pic. I don’t get what you are saying?
Posted: 03:45 PM on January 13, 2009
Posts: 0 rob
That’s because they fixed it. It’s all good now :)
Posted: 05:17 PM on January 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Tim Malcolm
Yeah, I fixed it.
Posted: 07:47 PM on January 13, 2009