Tim Leary, baseball player, 1981-1994

Tim Leary

Born: 12/23/1958 in Santa Monica, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1981-04-12 | Final Game: 1994-08-09

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 205 lbs

Full name: Timothy James Leary

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Biography

Tim Leary was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1958, whose career spanned from 1981 to 1994. He played in Major League Baseball during a transformative era characterized by increasing offensive production and the emergence of power-hitting players. Over his 13-year career, Leary compiled a record of 78 wins and 105 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.36. He struck out a total of 888 batters and recorded one save, showcasing his ability as a pitcher who could both start games and provide relief when needed. Leary's playing style was marked by his versatility on the mound, allowing him to adapt to various roles throughout his career. He pitched for several teams, including the New York Mets, the Seattle Mariners, and the Chicago White Sox, contributing to the teams' pitching staffs with his experience and knowledge of the game. Despite facing challenges in securing a winning record, Leary's perseverance and dedication to the craft of pitching left a lasting impact on his teammates and fans alike. His career serves as a reflection of the evolving nature of baseball during the late 20th century, where pitchers had to navigate a league increasingly dominated by hitters.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
78 105 292 224 25 9 1 1491.3 1570 723 147 535 888 4.36 0

Career ERA 4.36 vs. league average 3.93 across their career seasons — 11.0% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1981 NYN NL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2.0 0 0 1 3 0.00 — 0.0
1983 NYN NL 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 10.7 15 4 4 9 3.38 3.87 (+13%) 448.9
1984 NYN NL 3 3 20 7 0 0 0 53.7 61 24 18 29 4.02 3.81 (-6%) 706.8
1985 ATL AL 1 4 5 5 0 0 0 33.3 40 15 8 29 4.05 3.89 (-4%) -
1986 ATL AL 12 12 33 30 3 2 0 188.3 216 88 53 110 4.21 3.97 (-6%) -
1987 LAD NL 3 11 39 12 0 0 1 107.7 121 57 36 61 4.76 4.29 (-11%) -
1988 LAD NL 17 11 35 34 9 6 0 228.7 201 74 56 180 2.91 3.73 (+22%) -
1989 LAD NL 6 7 19 17 2 0 0 117.3 107 44 37 59 3.38 3.71 (+9%) -
1989 CIN NL 2 7 14 14 0 0 0 89.7 98 37 31 64 3.71 3.71 (avg) 177.1
1990 NYY AL 9 19 31 31 6 1 0 208.0 202 95 78 138 4.11 3.86 (-6%) -
1991 NYY AL 4 10 28 18 1 0 0 120.7 150 87 57 83 6.49 3.91 (-66%) -
1992 NYY AL 5 6 18 15 2 0 0 97.0 84 60 57 34 5.57 3.75 (-49%) -
1992 SEA AL 3 4 8 8 1 0 0 44.0 47 24 30 12 4.91 3.75 (-31%) -1959.0
1993 SEA AL 11 9 33 27 0 0 0 169.3 202 95 58 68 5.05 4.19 (-20%) -3399.9
1994 TEX AL 1 1 6 3 0 0 0 21.0 26 19 11 9 8.14 4.51 (-80%) -1029.6

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
293 163 9 36 6 0 1 19 1 5 57 0.221 0.247 0.276 0.523 -163.2

Career AVG .221 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 14.7% below league average.

Career OBP .247 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 24.0% below league average.

Career SLG .276 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 29.3% below league average.

Career OPS 0.523 vs. league average 0.715 across their career seasons — 26.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1981 NYN NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1983 NYN NL 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1984 NYN NL 20 10 2 3 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0.300 — — — — 0.0
1985 ATL AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 ATL AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 LAD NL 39 23 1 7 1 0 0 5 0 0 5 0.304 — — — — 0.0
1988 LAD NL 36 67 4 18 3 0 0 9 0 1 26 0.269 .254 (+6%) .317 (-10%) .377 (-17%) .695 (-14%) -163.2
1989 LAD NL 19 33 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0.061 — — — — 0.0
1989 CIN NL 14 26 1 5 2 0 0 4 0 4 9 0.192 — — — — 0.0
1990 NYY AL 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 NYY AL 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 NYY AL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 SEA AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 SEA AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 TEX AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1988 NLCS LAN 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1988 WS LAN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 4 1 0 11.0 14 4 5 7 3.27

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1988 NLCS LAN 0 1 2 1 0 4.3 8 3 3 3 6.23
1988 WS LAN 0 0 2 0 0 6.7 6 1 2 4 1.35

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 292 224 130 221 10 22

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1981 NYN P 1 1 0 0 0 0
1983 NYN P 2 2 1 3 0 0
1984 NYN P 20 7 3 4 1 0
1985 ML4 P 5 5 1 7 0 0
1986 ML4 P 33 30 22 26 1 1
1987 LAN P 39 12 9 18 0 2
1988 LAN P 35 34 24 34 1 4
1989 LAN P 19 17 16 16 1 2
1989 CIN P 14 14 4 15 1 0
1990 NYA P 31 31 14 36 4 4
1991 NYA P 28 18 9 12 1 3
1992 NYA P 18 15 7 10 0 1
1992 SEA P 8 8 3 8 0 2
1993 SEA P 33 27 14 28 0 3
1994 TEX P 6 3 3 4 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 292

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1988 Player of the Week Week of 1988-07-22
1988 Silver Slugger P
1988 TSN Comeback Player of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1993 SEA AL $1,800,000
1992 NYA AL $2,175,000
1991 NYA AL $1,975,000
1990 NYA AL $825,000
1989 LAN NL $670,000
1988 LAN NL $190,000
1987 LAN NL $170,000
1986 ML4 AL $90,000
Total Career Earnings $7,895,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles CA 1977, 1978, 1979