Hank Leiber

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hank Leiber
Runs batted in
518
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Henry Edward Leiber (January 17, 1911 – November 8, 1993) was an

New York Giants and Chicago Cubs
.

Early life

Leiber was born in

Nashville Volunteers. He was hitting .424 through 45 games when he was again called up by the Giants, this time for good.[3]

Major league career

Leiber came up to the major leagues at the beginning of the 1933 season, and batted .200 over 6 games and 10 at-bats. However, he was reassigned to the minor leagues for the rest of the season.

runs batted in.[1] He finished 11th in the 1935 National League Most Valuable Player Award voting; this would remain his best season in the majors.[2][5] Leiber was a hold-out the following spring. He eventually played in 101 games, but his numbers dropped and he only batted .279.[1] Leiber platooned with Jimmy Ripple, who played in the games Leiber did not play.[6]

Leiber is remembered for hitting one of the longest

home plate, before being caught by Joe DiMaggio for the final out of the game.[7][8]

Leiber had a tendency to crowd the plate while hitting.[9] During spring training in 1937, he was beaned by one of the fastest pitchers in history, Bob Feller. Leiber suffered a concussion and was bothered by dizziness for the rest of the season.[10] However, he eventually recovered enough to play in the 1937 World Series, hitting for a .364 average in three games.[11]

Leiber was named to the

St. Louis Cardinals.[12]

On June 23, 1941, Leiber was beaned again, this time by

calf injury, and his production suffered. Although he had never pitched at the major league level, in the final game of his MLB career, Leiber took the mound in a game against the Phillies on September 25, 1942. Leiber was able to pitch a complete game in a 9–1 loss. With World War II going on, Leiber went back to his home in Arizona. He did not return to the majors when the war ended.[13]

In a 10-year major league career, Leiber played in 813

runs batted in and an on-base percentage of .356.[1] He retired with a .974 fielding percentage.[1]

Later life

Leiber managed the Tucson Cowboys of the Arizona–Texas League for one season (1950).[3] He eventually became a successful real-estate developer.[14]

In 1963, Leiber was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.[15] He died in Tucson, Arizona at the age of 82.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Hank Leiber". baseball-reference.com. sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Hank Lieber - Baseballbiography.com
  3. ^ a b "Hank Leiber Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. sports-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  4. ^ "Hank Leiber Minor League Statistics at Baseball Reference". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  5. ^ "1935 American League Most Valuable Player Award Ballot". baseball-reference.com. sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  6. ^ Loomis, Tom (May 13, 1987). "Don't Blame Casey Stengel For Inventing Platoon System". Toledo Blade. p. 26. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  7. ^ Stanley, Frank (July 1947). Diamonds Are Rough All Over. Retrieved November 2, 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)[dead link]
  8. ^ "1936 World Series Game 2 box score". baseball-reference.com. sports-reference.com. October 2, 1936. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  9. ^ Coffey, Wayne. "The Yankee Clipper Sails In". nydailynews.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  10. ISBN 9780743284905
    .
  11. ^ "1937 World Series". baseball-reference.com. sports=reference.com. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  12. ^ "Hank Leiber 3-home run Game Boxscore at Retrosheet". retrosheet.org. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Neyer, pp. 111-112.
  14. ^ "Hank Leiber; Baseball Player, dies at 82". The New York Times. November 11, 1993. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  15. ^ "Hall of Fame". phoenixsports.org. Archived from the original on January 13, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hank_Leiber&oldid=1211915225"