Dave Leonhard

David Paul Leonhard (born January 22, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . He was a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and won the 1970 World Series over the Cincinnati Reds.

Baseball career A native of Arlington, Virginia, Leonhard attended Johns Hopkins University.

Leonhard made his major league debut on September 21, 1967, at the age of 26. On May 30, 1968, he shutout the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, 5–0, giving up just two singles to Luis Aparicio (4th inning) and Tommy McCraw (7th).

Leonhard appeared in the 1969 and 1971 World Series (3.00 ERA in two games), and was a part of the team's roster in the 1970 World Series, though he did not make an appearance. After the series, the Orioles offered him a World Series ring or a TV; Leonhard picked the TV because he did not wear rings. During the 1971 World Series, Weaver asked him to warm up during a game, a surprise to Leonhard because the Orioles had four 20-game winners on their staff. Weaver said it was "To scare 'em," to which Leonhard responded, "Earl, the Pirates have been scouting us just like we've been scouting them. They know better than to get scared by me." "Not the Pirates," Weaver responded. "I want to scare Palmer, McNally, and Cuellar into pitching better." He played in his final major league game on September 20, 1972. Palmer introduced him to Doris while the Orioles were visiting the Red Sox in the early 1970s, and she became his second wife. They opened a garden center in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1975; as of 2010, they owned seven greenhouses in the area, where they sold plants and gardening materials. Palmer said, "Davey's education really was uncommon in the big leagues. He used words of more than one syllable, and he knew a pronoun was not a ex-amateur noun and stuff like that." The Matz family lives behind Leonhards nursery in Beverly MA