Len Yochim
From BR Bullpen
Leonard Joseph Yochim
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
- Debut September 18, 1951
- Final Game June 19, 1954
- Born October 16, 1928 in New Orleans, LA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Len Yochim was a young left-hander from New Orleans who signed as an amateur free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 1947 season. The Pirates farmed Yochim out to the New Iberia Cardinals of the class D Evangeline League and the young lad went 20-6 with a 3.25 ERA while pitching 219 innings his first year out. He graduated to the Albany Senators of the Eastern League and in 1948, Len went 14-4 with a 3.22 ERA.
Yochim would spend the next couple of years (1949-50) with four minor league clubs, fighting his way up to the 1951 season where he went 11-1 with the Charleston Rebels of the South Atlantic League with a 2.34 ERA. That earned him a late season invite to Forbes Field. He debuted in the major leagues on September 18, 1951. Len appeared in two games for the 1951 Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching in 8 innings and coming up with a 1-1 record.
Len spent the next three seasons with his hometown New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association. The left-hander would win 34 games and lose 25 with a 3.91 ERA while pitching 455 innings over these three years. He again would be invited to Forbes Field in 1954 where he went 0-1, pitching 19 innings, all in relief for the Pittsburgh Pirates; this would be it for Yochim in the major leagues, finishing with a 1-2 record while appearing in 12 games.
Len would go back to New Orleans in 1955, winning 12 and losing 9 with a 4.10 ERA. He finished out his ten-year run in the minor leagues, in the Southern Association in 1956, with a 109-68 record and a 3.79 ERA while pitching 1,453 innings. Len, who still resides in New Orleans (as of last notice), remained in baseball as a longtime scout in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He was the team's East Coast scouting coordinator and later the senior adviser of player personnel.
Len's brother, Ray, was a right-hander who had short trials with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1948 and '49.
