Jalal Leach facts for kids

Jalal Donnell Leach (born March 14, 1969) is a former American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball during 2001. An outfielder is a player who fields in the outfield, the area of the baseball field farthest from home plate.

Jalal was often used as a pinch hitter by the Giants. A pinch hitter is a player who bats in place of another player. He threw and batted with his left hand. During his career, he was 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg). His professional baseball career lasted for 15 seasons, from 1990 to 2004.

Baseball Career

Jalal Leach was born in San Francisco, California. He went to San Marin High School in Novato, California. After high school, he studied at Pepperdine University. There, he played college baseball for the Pepperdine Waves team. In 1989, he played summer baseball for the Wareham Gatemen. He was even chosen as an all-star player in that league.

The New York Yankees picked Jalal in the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. This is when professional teams choose young players. During his career, he played for six different major league organizations. Before the 1998 season, the San Francisco Giants got Jalal Leach in a trade. He came to the Giants from the Seattle Mariners.

In September 2001, Jalal played a few games for the Giants. He had 12 chances to bat, called plate appearances. He got on base twice by earning bases on balls, which means the pitcher threw four pitches outside the strike zone. He also got one hit. This hit was a single off a pitcher named Octavio Dotel on September 19. A single means he hit the ball and reached first base safely.

After he stopped playing baseball, Jalal Leach became a scout. A scout finds and evaluates new talent for baseball teams. He worked for the Yankees as a scout. Later, he returned to the Giants in the same role for the 2016 season.