100 Greatest Phillies: 73 – 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.
