Lefty Leifield, baseball player, 1905-1920

Lefty Leifield

Born: 9/5/1883 in Trenton, IL, USA

Died: 10/10/1970 in Fairfax, VA, USA

MLB Debut: 1905-09-03 | Final Game: 1920-09-24

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 165 lbs

Full name: Albert Peter Leifield

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Biography

Lefty Leifield, born in 1883, was a prominent pitcher who made his mark in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1920. Known for his exceptional control and ability to induce weak contact, Leifield compiled an impressive career record of 124 wins and 97 losses, while maintaining a remarkable earned run average (ERA) of 2.47. Over the course of his career, he struck out 616 batters and recorded 7 saves, showcasing his versatility on the mound during an era that valued both starting pitching and late-game relief. Leifield's playing career unfolded during a transformative period in baseball, as the sport was evolving from the deadball era into a more offense-oriented game. His efficient pitching style and durability made him a key asset for his teams, and he was regarded as one of the more effective pitchers of his time. Lefty Leifield's contributions to the game left a lasting impact, not only through his statistics but also through his influence on the art of pitching in the early 20th century.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
124 97 296 216 138 33 7 1838.0 1673 505 27 554 616 2.47 0

Career ERA 2.47 vs. league average 2.92 across their career seasons — 15.2% better 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
1905 PIT NL 5 2 8 7 6 1 0 56.0 52 18 14 10 2.89 2.82 (-3%) -443.7
1906 PIT NL 18 13 37 31 24 8 1 255.7 214 53 68 111 1.87 2.68 (+30%) 362.1
1907 PIT NL 20 16 40 33 24 6 1 286.0 270 74 100 112 2.33 2.50 (+7%) -893.5
1908 PIT NL 15 14 34 26 18 5 2 218.7 168 51 86 87 2.10 2.40 (+12%) -1949.1
1909 PIT NL 19 8 32 26 13 3 0 201.7 172 53 54 43 2.37 2.55 (+7%) -2212.8
1910 PIT NL 15 13 40 30 13 3 2 218.3 197 64 67 64 2.64 2.79 (+5%) -2253.5
1911 PIT NL 16 16 42 37 26 2 1 318.0 301 93 82 111 2.63 3.37 (+22%) 511.5
1912 PIT NL 1 2 6 1 1 1 0 23.7 29 11 10 8 4.18 3.36 (-24%) -208.7
1912 CHC NL 7 2 13 9 4 1 0 70.7 68 19 21 23 2.42 3.36 (+28%) -
1913 CHC NL 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 21.3 28 13 5 4 5.48 3.07 (-79%) -
1918 SLA AL 2 6 15 6 3 1 0 67.0 61 19 19 22 2.55 2.83 (+10%) 99.5
1919 SLA AL 6 4 19 9 6 2 0 92.0 96 30 25 18 2.93 3.09 (+5%) -1269.7
1920 SLA AL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 9.0 17 7 3 3 7.00 3.45 (-103%) 0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
298 611 46 107 11 9 0 30 5 48 138 0.175 0.238 0.223 0.460 -1932.4

Career AVG .175 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 31.4% below league average.

Career OBP .238 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 25.3% below league average.

Career SLG .223 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 33.2% below league average.

Career OPS 0.460 vs. league average 0.652 across their career seasons — 29.4% 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
1905 PIT NL 8 20 2 7 1 1 0 5 0 2 5 0.350 — — — — 0.0
1906 PIT NL 37 88 6 11 0 0 0 3 1 6 16 0.125 .247 (-49%) .307 (-41%) .315 (-60%) .622 (-51%) -664.1
1907 PIT NL 40 102 5 15 2 3 0 4 0 4 15 0.147 .245 (-40%) .304 (-41%) .308 (-27%) .613 (-34%) -561.9
1908 PIT NL 34 75 6 17 1 1 0 2 2 4 14 0.227 .240 (-6%) .298 (-11%) .306 (-13%) .605 (-12%) -138.9
1909 PIT NL 32 73 2 14 1 3 0 8 1 3 25 0.192 .244 (-21%) .306 (-27%) .312 (-8%) .618 (-17%) -226.7
1910 PIT NL 40 60 6 11 2 0 0 4 0 7 15 0.183 .249 (-27%) .317 (-15%) .326 (-34%) .644 (-25%) -220.1
1911 PIT NL 43 102 12 24 2 0 0 2 1 17 17 0.235 .266 (-12%) .336 (+6%) .356 (-29%) .693 (-12%) -120.7
1912 PIT NL 6 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0.143 — — — — 0.0
1912 CHC NL 13 26 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 12 0.115 — — — — 0.0
1913 CHC NL 7 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1918 SLA AL 15 19 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 5 0.053 — — — — 0.0
1919 SLA AL 19 30 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0.100 — — — — 0.0
1920 SLA AL 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1909 WS PIT 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 1 1 0 4.0 7 5 1 0 11.25

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1909 WS PIT 0 1 1 1 0 4.0 7 5 1 0 11.25

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 296 153 85 558 27 23

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1905 PIT P 8 7 5 19 0 0
1906 PIT P 37 31 12 78 3 3
1907 PIT P 40 33 18 94 6 3
1908 PIT P 34 26 6 62 5 4
1909 PIT P 32 26 6 53 3 1
1910 PIT P 40 30 13 75 2 2
1911 PIT OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1911 PIT P 42 0 12 82 7 6
1912 PIT P 6 0 4 10 0 0
1912 CHN P 13 0 6 21 1 2
1913 CHN P 6 0 0 10 0 0
1918 SLA P 15 0 2 23 0 1
1919 SLA P 19 0 1 30 0 1
1920 SLA P 4 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 296
Left Field 1