Al Leiter
Al Leiter
Alois "Al" Terry Leiteris a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. Leiter pitched 19 seasons in the Major Leagues for New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, and New York Mets. He is now a studio analyst for MLB Network and a color commentator for the YES Network and Fox Sports Florida...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth23 October 1965
CityToms River, NJ
CountryUnited States of America
It feels good to be able to go out on your own terms. I love the game very much, but when you were a certain type of player for a few years, being a front-end starter, that's the way I still think I can pitch. But the body tells you no. It feels right. Family, kids, I'm constantly being asked when I'm coming home.
I think Joe's thing is going to be he's going to be a very Type-A kind of guy that's going to have it all covered, ... He's going to be well prepared. As a player, especially as a starting pitcher, you want your club as a whole to always feel that this game is the most important game tonight. Not only in rhetoric, but also preparation.
Pitches are like pages of a book; they're so important. The chess game; how I set you up early, and how I'll do it differently later.
We were in a bad spot going to Game 5, ... And we put ourselves in a bad moment. But everybody felt good about what the outcome should have been or what we thought it would have been. I don't want to say (the plane ride was) sad. But it was about as depressing a room as I've ever seen.
It's been good for me. Full circle. Eighteen years ago, I was able to pitch my first game here.
We didn't get it done, ... That was a big surprise and a feeling of shock.
Believe me, I saw my numbers last year. I'm grateful to be on the team. I know I can help.
Tom and Shirley were like Julie McCoy on the Love Boat. We'd go to their room every night for a cocktail party before dinner.
I was a little nothing. My brother Kurt was a lot older. Mark had three years on me. They were all better. But maybe I learned a lot in those games. We had leagues where we'd imitate big-leaguers.
I think the World Cup is going to be bigger than what a lot of people are anticipating. At this stage in my career, when there is an opportunity, albeit a small one, of being on the team, what a great way to possibly end my career.
I think there's a lot of variables and factors. Obviously, I've got to feel good, feel healthy. I have to feel as though the way I'm throwing the ball is good and effective. I have to know that if I am feeling good and throwing the ball with quality pitches, I have to feel I'm wanted or needed by the organization.
For seven years, I was in this fishbowl with this intensity, with all the stuff that went on with the Mets.
He was a rock star. The little bit of attention other guys or I would usually get would suddenly be zero. He'd be miserable but we'd be left alone.
Having been part of a few playoffs, this definitely has that feeling.