100 Greatest Phillies: 77 – Freddy Leach

Posted by Tim Malcolm, Fri, January 09, 2009 02:00 PM

Freddy Leach

Outfielder

1923-1928

Career w/Phillies: .311 AVG / 44 HR / 301 RBI / 14 SB

At age 21, Freddy Leach played his first game of baseball. Ever. Leaving the farm, Leach needed something else to do to make money, so he turned to baseball, which to him, seemed like profitable fun. By age 25, he was playing Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies. And by age 28, he was a regular, hitting .329 and slugging .484. For three seasons, Leach put up very strong numbers, recording an average of 170 hits. He was the team’s best pure hitter during that time. After the Phillies, he’d put up some nice numbers for the New York Giants before retiring as a Boston Brave in 1932 because he didn’t like the game that much. His legacy? The Phils traded him to the Giants in 1928 for Lefty O’Doul. Pretty awesome trade, really.

Comment: Leach was a fourth outfielder for a few years, before becoming a regular and putting up some real nice numbers. Interestingly, one of his most comparable players on his Baseball Reference page is Bake McBride. There’s irony in that fact.

Permalink Comments (3) | Trackback (0)

3 Responses to “100 Greatest Phillies: 77 – Freddy Leach”

  1. John Fire Says:
    January 9th, 2009 at 8:37 pm

    This is kind of not related to the topic, but I noticed something today while perusing old philly drafts: we’ve drafted a ton of guys who opted not to sign with us and then ultimately had much success elsewhere. A few names include:

    Chuck Knoblauch
    Vince Coleman
    Bobby Higginson (a Philly guy!)
    Scott Hatteberg
    J.D. Drew (we all remember that)
    Casey Blake
    Derrick Turnbow

    Just thought it was interesting…

  2. Tim Malcolm Says:
    January 10th, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    Well it happens a lot, especially with guys on the fence between high school and college. High school players who have upside might test the draft, get picked in the 1st to 6th rounds or so, and opt to go to college because they think they can get a better slot later.

    It’s all about slotting. If a guy is picked in a certain place, he knows approx. what he’ll get because of slotting.

  3. Don Floyd Says:
    November 3rd, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    This was my Grandfather, he lived a wonderful life after baseball in southern Idaho where he loved his ranch and fishing. He had many great stories of his years in farm and major ball.
    Thank you for this page about him!

    Don Floyd

Leave a Reply

Countdown

View the 2010 Phillies Schedule

Partner

ad:

Harry Kalas Tribute:


Share your memories of Harry with fellow fans of the great man.

tickets:

Buy MLB baseball tickets online for the best seats in Philadelphia! Find Phillies tickets, Flyers tickets, Eagles tickets, 76ers tickets and great deals on World Series tickets at Coast to Coast, as well as popular concert tickets, theater tickets, NASCAR tickets, baseball playoffs tickets and NCAA tickets right here. We're your source for Philadelphia events!

phillies tickets:

Looking for Philadelphia Phillies tickets? We have tickets to every Philadelphia Phillies game at home at Citizen’s Bank Park and on the road. We also have tickets to other Philadelphia sporting events, including the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia Flyers. In fact, we are your source for sports tickets, concert tickets and theater tickets.

tickets:

Philadelphia Phillies Tickets
Nationals Tickets
World Series Tickets
Red Sox Tickets
Yankees Tickets
White Sox Tickets
Braves Tickets
Orioles Tickets
Padres Tickets
Philadelphia Eagles Tickets
Citizens Bank Park History

advertising:

Philadelphia Phillies Tickets
MLB Tickets
St. Louis Cardinals Tickets
Philadelphia Ticket Broker
Philadelphia Flyers Tickets
Villanova Wildcats
Basketball Tickets
Chicago White Sox Tickets
Boston Red Sox Tickets
New York Yankees Tickets
Concert Tickets

bladvertising:

Philadelphia Phillies tickets, Boston Red Sox Tickets, NY Yankees Tickets, Chicago Cubs Tickets, Baseball Tickets, Philadelphia Ticket Broker, Jimmy Buffett Tickets, Shakira Tickets, Dave Matthews Tickets, Eric Clapton tickets, Bruce Springsteen Tickets, Rolling Stones Tour, Philadelphia Eagles Tickets, Chicago Bears Tickets, Football Tickets, Super Bowl Tickets, Theater Tickets


the googles:

tags:

Phils news:

MLB.com: Phillies Update
Phils Trade Rumors
ESPN News
MLB Trade Rumors
Inquirer Phillies News
Phillies Transactions
Phillies Free Agent Tracker
Scout.com - Phillies

academic:

Baseball Diplomacy
Baseball and the American City
Gospel on the Mound: Our National Pastime and the Culture of Religion

Mitchell Nathanson
Economic Issues in Sports
Business of Baseball Data and Documents
Baseball Hall of Fame Research Department
Phillies Wikipedia

tickets:

2009 salaries:

Charlie Manuel - $3 million
Ryan Howard - $19 million
Chase Utley - $15 million
Roy Halladay - $15.75 million (Toronto pays $6 million)
Brad Lidge - $11.5 million
Raul Ibanez - $11.5 million
Jimmy Rollins - $7.5 million
Jayson Werth - $7 million
Cole Hamels - $6.65 million
Jamie Moyer - $6.5 million
Placido Polanco - $5.25 million
Joe Blanton - $5.475 million
Ryan Madson - $4.5 million
J.C. Romero - $4 million
Shane Victorino - $3.125 million
Chad Durbin - $1.635 million
Greg Dobbs - $1.35 million
Ross Gload - $1 million
Brian Schnieder - $1 million
Juan Castro - $750,000
Clay Condrey - $650,000
Chris Snelling - $450,000
Kyle Kendrick - $445,000
Carlos Ruiz - $425,000
Chris Coste - $415,000
Francisco Rosario - $395,000
Mike Zagurski - $392,500
Fabio Castro - $383,000
J.D. Durbin - $380,000
Anderson Garcia - $380,000
Scott Mathieson - $380,000
J.A. Happ - $380,000
Yoel Hernandez - $380,000
Scott Mathieson - $380,000
Chris Roberson - $380,000
Brian Sanches - $380,000
Zach Segovia - $380,000
Matt Smith - $380,000
Joe Thurston - $380,000

Phillies Contracts and Salaries

advertising:

Front Row USA has premium concert tickets for your favorite artists - The Eagles Tickets, Madonna Tickets and Robert Plant Tickets. Check out our inventory of Philadelphia Phillies Tickets, Florida Marlins Tickets, Miami Dolphins Tickets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tickets and Orange Bowl Tickets.

advertising:

Ticket Brokers is your premier ticket broker for Broadway theatre tickets, baseball tickets, football tickets, basketball tickets and concert tickets. Buy Cubs playoffs tickets behind home plate, or enjoy an afternoon in the Cubbies bleacher seats. We are also a Super Bowl Ticket Broker, with a large inventory of Bears Tickets.

advertising:

Phillies tickets
Pirates tickets
MLB All Star Game tickets
Cubs tickets
Yankees tickets
Steelers tickets
Eagles tickets
Patriots tickets
Giants tickets
Chargers tickets
76ers tickets
Flyers tickets,
Penguins tickets

tickets:

AC Milan Tickets
Real Madrid Tickets
Rugby Tickets
Ashes Tickets
Six Nations Tickets
O2 Arena
Michael Jackson Tickets
Theatre Tickets
Killers Tickets
Concert Tickets

advertising:

Live Football Tickets.com is the premier website for UK football tickets. Buy Champions League Final tickets, Community Shield tickets, FA Cup final tickets and Carling Cup tickets. This brand new website also offers England football tickets, World Cup 2010 tickets and Real Madrid tickets for La Liga.

advertising:

Looking for Football tickets?
1st4footballtickets.com has top Premiership tickets available such as Manchester United tickets, Arsenal tickets, Chelsea tickets and Liverpool tickets. But also international tickets such as Real Madrid tickets, Barcelona tickets, Champions League tickets and FA Cup tickets and much more!

advertising:

Carroll's Sports Cove, for all your Phillies merchandise

bladvertising:

Sports Tickets
Football Tickets
Cricket Tickets
Corporate Hospitality
Grand Prix Tickets
Six Nations Tickets
Jimmy Carr Tickets
Boxing Tickets
Concert Tickets
London Theatre Tickets
Killers Tickets
Depeche Mode Tickets
Rugby Union Tickets

bladvertising:

In search of the best football betting website? Sportsbetting3.com has it all, including great reviews and coverage of the annual NFL betting season. If casino games are more your thing, be sure to have a look at the top online casinos at Jaxcasinos.com

Text Links:

Credit Counseling - Credit Consolidation - Credit Card Consolidation - United Specialties

Baseball Games:

Ever wondered what baseball and slots had in common?

advertising: