Leron Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Leron Lee |
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| Outfielder | |||
| Born: March 4, 1948 Bakersfield, California, U.S. |
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| Professional debut | |||
| MLB: September 5, 1969, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| NPB: April 2, 1977, for the Lotte Orions | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| MLB: October 3, 1976, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||
| NPB: October 20, 1987, for the Lotte Orions | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .250 | ||
| Home runs | 31 | ||
| Runs batted in | 152 | ||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .320 | ||
| Home runs | 283 | ||
| Runs batted in | 912 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Leron Lee (born March 4, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a talented left fielder. Leron played for eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was part of teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. After that, he spent eleven seasons playing in Japan. He played for the Lotte Orions in Nippon Professional Baseball. In Japan, he was a four-time All-Star. He also won the Best Nine Award four times. His nephew, Derrek Lee, also became a successful player in MLB.
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Leron Lee's Baseball Journey
Early Days and MLB Career
Leron Lee was the oldest of six children. He grew up in Sacramento. He graduated from Grant High School. He was so good at football that he received 36 scholarship offers. These offers came from big universities. But Leron chose a different path.
He decided to play professional baseball instead. At 18, he was the top draft pick for the St. Louis Cardinals. This happened in September 1969. He had a great season in Tulsa, batting .303. His first hit in the major leagues was against Jerry Robertson. In 1970, he had ten games with multiple hits. He even hit a tie-breaking home run against the Dodgers. His first major league home run was off Ferguson Jenkins, a future Hall of Famer.
In June 1971, Leron moved to the San Diego Padres. He played three seasons with the Cardinals before this trade. With the Padres, he had nineteen games where he got multiple hits. In one game against Cincinnati, he had three hits, including two doubles. In July 1971, his home run helped the Padres win 2-1. He finished that season batting .273. The next year, 1972, was even better. Leron batted .300 and had thirty-four multi-hit games. Six of these games included three hits.
A famous moment happened on July 4, 1972. Leron broke up a no-hitter by Tom Seaver. Seaver was a star pitcher for the New York Mets. Leron hit a single with one out in the ninth inning. This stopped Seaver from completing a no-hitter.
After three seasons with the Padres, Leron joined the Cleveland Indians. He had thirteen multi-hit games there. In one game, he hit a home run and then a grand slam. This helped his team win 5-2. He drove in all five runs himself. Later, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played two seasons with them. After that, he decided to play baseball in Japan.
Playing Baseball in Japan
After his time in Major League Baseball, Leron Lee moved to Japan. He played for the Lotte Orions from 1977 to 1987. For many years, he held a special record in Japan. He had the highest career batting average for players with over 4,000 at bats. Later, Norichika Aoki broke his record.
In his first season in Japan, Leron was amazing. He led the league in home runs and runs batted in. In 1980, he won the batting title. In 1978, he invited his younger brother, Leon Lee, to play in Japan too. Leon is the father of MLB player Derrek Lee. Together, the Lee brothers were a powerful hitting duo for the Orions.
Before Leron, many foreign players came to Japan at the end of their careers. Leron changed this view. He played in Japan during his best years. This raised the bar for all foreign players who came after him. He showed that top players could succeed there.
Coaching After Playing
After retiring from playing baseball in Japan, Leron Lee became a coach. In 1989, he was the batting coach for the Oakland Athletics. That year, the Athletics won the World Series. This was a big achievement for the team. Today, Leron works with the Cincinnati Reds. He is an advising batting coach. He helps scouted players improve their hitting skills.
