Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 90

Freddy Leach was a laser-armed, athletic outfielder, for the Phillies from 1923-1928. Leach, a Missouri native, was a key offensive contributor for Philadelphia during some rough times.

Leach broke into the Majors in 1923 at age 25 and played in 52 games in a backup role. As a rookie, Leach batted .260 with a homerun and 16 RBI in 108 plate appearances.

The lefty batting Leach spent the following two seasons splitting time in the minors and as a reserve player with the big league club, but won a full-time starting position in the Phillies' outfield in 1926, which he would hold down for three seasons.

Leach's best offensive season with the Phillies came in 1928. In 145 games that year, Leach posted a .304 batting average with a career high 13 homeruns, 96 RBI and 83 runs scored.

During a stretch when the Phillies were stuck in a rut of losing seasons, without much reason for fans to get excited, Leach was a bright spot in the lineup, as he became a .300-plus hitter in four consecutive seasons.

Primarily a left fielder, Leach excelled on the defensive side as well. In 1927, Leach led the National League with 27 outfield assists. The following season, he nailed 29 runners on the bases.

Unfortunately for Leach, his offensive and defensive advancements earned him a ticket out of town. Following the 1928 season, Leach was traded to the New York Giants for pitcher Lefty O'Doul and $20,000. O'Doul promptly proved this to be a great deal for the Phillies by winning the National League batting title while setting the NL record for hits in a single season, which still stands, in his first year with Philadelphia.

As a member of the Giants, Leach continued to be productive, with a .310 batting average in 368 games over three seasons with New York.

Prior to the 1932 season, Leach's contract was sold to the Boston Braves for $10,000. Leech finished out his playing career in Boston. During his lone season as a Brave, a knee cap injury forced his retirement to his farm in Idaho. He passed away in 1981 at age 84.
________________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Connect with PhoulBallz.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Comments

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early. When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more. Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one. That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Is it time to be concerned about Mickey Moniak?

Mickey Moniak with Lakewood in 2017 Almost daily I am engaged via Twitter or email or text messages or in person about Phillies prospects. It comes with the gig. The player that scores the most inquiries is, as should be expected, 2016 top overall draft selection Mickey Moniak . Questions from fans that don't want to seem overly judgmental will ask, “Should we be concerned?” Others, living up to the more stereotypical Philadelphia sports fan reputation, will assert the notion, “He’s a bust! Somebody didn't do his job right!” For the most part I have responded in defense of Moniak and others, letting people know that the youngster’s skills are real and his coaches stand by them. I’d caution fans that he was young, still a teenager, among the five youngest position players in the Class A Advanced Florida State League (per his team the Clearwater Threshers, as of the end of April), and he just needed time to catch up to the older, more mature pitching at that level....

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog