Win–loss record 191–181 Role Baseball player Name Dutch Leonard | Strikeouts 1,170 Earned run average 3.25 | |
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Died April 17, 1983, Springfield, Illinois, United States | ||
Emil John "Dutch" Leonard (March 25, 1909 – April 17, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed knuckleball pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1933–36), Washington Senators (1938–46), Philadelphia Phillies (1947–48), and Chicago Cubs (1949–53). He was born in Auburn, Illinois.
In a 20-season career, Leonard posted a 191–181 win–loss record with 1170 strikeouts and a 3.25 earned run average in 3218 1⁄3 innings pitched. He was a six-time All-Star selection.
On July 4, 1939, Leonard pitched a complete game and the Senators defeated the New York Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. At the conclusion of the first game, Lou Gehrig delivered his famous "luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech.
During the 1945 season, Leonard was part of what was possibly the only four-man rotation in baseball history to have been all knuckleball pitchers. Reportedly, after facing Leonard, Jackie Robinson once said: "I am glad of one thing, and that is I don't have to hit against Dutch Leonard every day. Man, what a knuckleball that fellow has. It comes up, makes a face at you, then runs away."
In a biographical movie about Robinson called 42, former MLB pitcher C. J. Nitkowski plays the role of Leonard pitching against Robinson.
Leonard's nickname 'Dutch' was also taken in his honor by crime novelist Elmore Leonard, and was tattooed as such during his time in the SeaBees.
Although his nickname suggests otherwise, Leonard was of Belgian descent. Leonard died in Springfield, Illinois at age of 74.