Luis Leál

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Luis Enrique Leál Alvarado

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 3", Weight 205 lb.

Debut May 25, 1980
Final Game June 29, 1985
Born March 21, 1957 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela

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[edit] Biographical Information

The Toronto Blue Jays signed Luis Leal as an amateur free agent previous to the 1979 season. The young righthander started fast and kept it going as he went 12-2 with the Dunedin Blue Jays. He also spent 1 game with the IL Syracuse Chiefs winning it, to up his record for his first year to 13-2.

He was with the Syracuse Chiefs again in 1980, winning 6 and losing 5 and also got his first chance at the big league hitters appearing in 13 games, winning 3 and losing 4 while pitching 60 innings for the Blue Jays. On June 2, 1980 Leal gave up an AL record five consecutive hits to start a game.

He would spend the next five seasons, 1981 through 1985 as one of The Blue Jays main men. The chunky starter from Venezuela showed flashes of brilliance for the Blue Jays within a mediocre career. Leal was erratic, with a five game winning streak in 1983 that was followed by a four game losing streak the same season.

In 1981 his record was 7-13 with 3.68 ERA in 130 innings pitched. 1982 saw him improve to 12-15, appearing in 29 games and pitching 249 innings for a 3.93 ERA.

Luis got his wins better than his losses for the first time during his major league run when he went 13-12 in 1983. Luis was just getting warmed up and his record went to 13-8, his best major league total ever. Then on August 15, 1984 in a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians, Leal was allowed to stay in the game to give up a team-record 10 runs (all earned).

Leal fell off his horse again in 1985, in 15 games he won 3 and lost 6, had a 5.75 ERA and was shipped back to the Syracuse Chiefs where he immediately got back in the saddle and built a 6 won, 2 loss record with a 3.91 ERA for the remainder of the year.

Luis was back with the Syracuse Chiefs in 1986 but went 3-4 and was traded along with Damaso Garcia to the Atlanta Braves for Craig McMurtry.

At the time of his trade, Leal ranked behind only Jim Clancy and Dave Stieb as the Blue Jays' career leader in starts, innings, wins, losses, strikeouts, and walks.

The ever tough Leal gave it one more shot in 1987 with the Syracuse club going 2-1 and wound up his professional baseball career with the Knoxville Blue Jays on a 1-0 note.

Leal spent six seasons in the major leagues, winning 51 games and losing 58, appearing in 165 games while pitching 946 innings and had a career 4.14 ERA. His minor league figures showed a 31 win 14 loss record in 89 appearences pitching 436 innings for a 3.47 ERA. Luis was only 30 years old when he left the game.