Al Leiter

Alois Terry Leiter (born October 23, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports commentator.

During one stretch in high school, he pitched consecutive no-hitters followed by a 32-strikeout game in 13 innings on April 19, 1984 (a game which ended in a tie when it was called for rain).

Leiter was selected for the Wilson First Team All-American team.

Leiter was drafted by New York Yankees in 1984 MLB draft as a second round pick.

Both he and his brother Mark became Yankees prospects.

He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1987 to 2005 for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, and New York Mets.

Leiter made his MLB debut as the starting pitcher for the Yankees on September 15, 1987, earning the win in a Yankees 4–3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium.

Leiter has mentioned on a YES Network broadcast that early in his career with the Yankees, manager Billy Martin walked up to him and asked him why he was lifting weights.

Leiter responded, "To strengthen my arm."

Billy was quoted as saying, "If you want to strengthen your arm, do some long toss."

The young Leiter grew nervous easily; teammate Tommy John observed "If they had named him to start on opening day [in 1989], he wouldn't have slept for a week. That's how high-strung he was. He was a rookie bouncing off the walls."

In one of his final starts as a young player for the Yankees, manager Dallas Green left Leiter in to throw 162 pitches on a cold damp day in 1989.

The Yankees traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Jesse Barfield on April 30, 1989.

After being dealt to Toronto, the left-hander had arthroscopic surgery.

He pitched in fewer than 20 innings for the Blue Jays from 1989 to 1992, because of the surgery, a pinched nerve in his elbow, tendinitis, and another arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder.

His statistics during this period were a 5.17 ERA, 15 2⁄3 IP, 14 H, 10 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, 1 GS, 0–0.

He was, however, able to overcome a blisters problem with an exotic liniment (that he used throughout his career), and was still seen as a very promising prospect.

Leiter finally got over his injury troubles in 1993, making 32 appearances (12 starts) for the Blue Jays.

That year he appeared in 5 postseason games and even picked up a win in relief in Game One, and hit a double in Game Three of the 1993 World Series, as the Blue Jays went on to win their second consecutive World Championship.

Following the 1995 season, Leiter left Toronto and signed with the Florida Marlins as a free agent.

In his first season as a Marlin, Leiter made his first All-Star team, going 16–12 with a 2.93 ERA and 200 strikeouts.

A two-time National League (NL) All-Star player, Leiter pitched for three World Series winning teams and threw a no-hitter in 1996 during his tenure with the Marlins.

Leiter pitched effectively for the Blue Jays for the next two seasons before departing via free agency in 1996.

On May 11, 1996, he pitched a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies, the first no-hitter in Marlins franchise history.

This was also the first no-hitter that included a three-pitch inning.

Leiter was also selected to his first All Star game.

The game was played at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia where he recorded the last out of a National League 6–0 win over the American League.

In 1997, Leiter won another World Series as the Marlins beat the Cleveland Indians.

Leiter started Game 7 for the Marlins, pitching 6 innings and giving up two earned runs while being credited with a no decision.

The Marlins would go on to win the game 3–2 in 11 innings to capture the championship.

In the following off-season, Leiter was traded to the New York Mets in part of the Marlins' fire sale where owner Wayne Huizenga traded away almost all of the team's higher priced players.

In Leiter's first season as a Met, he reached a career high in wins going 17–6 and a career low in ERA finishing with a 2.47 ERA.

In 1999, when the Mets were tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the National League Wild Card spot after 162 games, Leiter was the Mets starting pitcher in the "winner take all" one game playoff at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati.

Leiter pitched a 2-hit shutout to earn the win in the Mets 5–0 victory.

As a member of the New York Mets, Leiter was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award in 2000.

After his playing career, he worked as a television color commentator and baseball analyst for the YES Network and the MLB Network.

Leiter was raised in a baseball-oriented family; all five of his brothers played the game.

A native of Berkeley Township, New Jersey, Leiter attended Central Regional High School, in the township's Bayville section.

The win was the last NL win for 13 years until 2010 when the National League won the All Star Classic in Anaheim.

In 2016, the NJSIAA named Leiter to the NJ High School Hall of Fame.