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
The pitcher setting up the batter. It's chess, and you play with it.
I remember being in shock. The night before the Orioles had told my brothers (both pitchers in the organization at the time) that they were going to take me with the last pick in the first round. The Yankees had taken a very low profile.
Believe me, I saw my numbers last year. I'm grateful to be on the team. I know I can help.
Who knows after this is up what happens.
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.
Having been part of a few playoffs, this definitely has that feeling.
For seven years, I was in this fishbowl with this intensity, with all the stuff that went on with the Mets.
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.
We didn't get it done, ... That was a big surprise and a feeling of shock.
For me, I found working with Rick fascinating. I want as much data as I can get -- then break it down and decide what I want to use.
It's just wrong. He's a good guy. Anybody who thinks that doesn't know him. If you sit with him, hang out, go to lunch with him, you can't think that. He's really fun to be around.
It's a very big mental game, all day leading up to warm-ups. You're not sure if your curveball will break, or will you be able to throw it over the plate? It's all negative thoughts going into the game.
I want to get my feet wet, see if this is what I want to do. At least it keeps me around the game.