American baseball player (1931?2023)
Baseball player
Don Leppert
|
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Leppert in 1963
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Catcher
|
Born:
(
1931-10-19
)
October 19, 1931
Indianapolis, Indiana
, U.S.
|
Died:
April 13, 2023
(2023-04-13)
(aged 91)
Delaware, Ohio
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Right
|
|
June 18, 1961, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
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September 16, 1964, for the Washington Senators
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|
Batting average
| .229
|
---|
Home runs
| 15
|
---|
Runs batted in
| 59
|
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|
|
|
|
Donald George Leppert
(October 19, 1931 ? April 13, 2023) was an American
professional baseball
player and coach.
A
catcher
, Leppert appeared in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
and
Washington Senators
. Leppert threw and batted right-handed; he stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg). He was born in
Indianapolis
and began his 12-year active career in 1955 in the
Milwaukee Braves
' organization.
Playing career
[
edit
]
During an MLB career of only 3½ years, Leppert nonetheless distinguished himself by hitting a
home run
on the first pitch thrown to him in the majors. On June 18, 1961, Leppert connected in the second inning of his MLB debut against
Curt Simmons
of the
St. Louis Cardinals
; the blow gave the Pirates a 2?1 lead in a game they would eventually win, 5?3.
[1]
Almost two years later, on April 11, 1963, he hit three homers in his third game in the
American League
: a solo shot off
Ike Delock
in the fourth inning, followed by a three-run blast and another solo homer, both off
relief pitcher
Chet Nichols Jr.
, as the Senators beat the
Boston Red Sox
, 8?0, at
DC Stadium
. To top it all off, Leppert caught
Tom Cheney
's one-hit
shutout
, with the Washington pitcher striking out ten Red Sox.
[2]
That season, Leppert was selected as a reserve on the American League
All-Star team
, but he did not play in the July 9 game at
Cleveland Stadium
.
[3]
In 190 Major League games, Leppert collected 122
hits
, including 22
doubles
and 15 home runs. He
batted
.229.
Coaching career
[
edit
]
After his playing career ended in the minors in 1966, Leppert
managed
in Class A in the Pittsburgh organization in 1967.
Leppert then embarked upon an 18-year stint as a Major League coach for the Pirates (1968?1976),
Toronto Blue Jays
(1977?1979) and
Houston Astros
(1980?1985).
In the late 1980s, Leppert served as field coordinator of minor league instruction for the
Minnesota Twins
and managed in the Twins'
farm system
.
Leppert also
umpired
a game on August 25, 1978, in Toronto during an umpires'
strike
.
[4]
The Blue Jays' Leppert and
Jerry Zimmerman
, then the bullpen coach of the Twins, are the last two active coaches to umpire a major league game.
Personal life and death
[
edit
]
Leppert and his wife, Daphine, had five children. He died on April 13, 2023, at his home in
Delaware, Ohio
, at the age of 91.
[5]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
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]