Mound Master
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April 16, 2002
Just like Engelberg, the overweight catcher in the classic baseball movie "The Bad News Bears," Miami junior pitcher Chris Leonard started his career a little bit heavier than the rest of his teammates.
"I was the little fat kid that threw hard," Leonard says. "I played on a lot of average teams and was usually the ace."
Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, Leonard played on two state championship football teams at St. Francis DeSales High School, but it was in baseball that he truly distinguished himself. His senior year on the diamond, Leonard batted .496 with 48 RBI and four home runs, not to mention a 10-2 record and 2.02 earned run average. Leonard's statistics did not go unnoticed by college coaches.
"I chose Miami for the fact that coach (Tracy) Smith said that if I proved myself I would more than likely start all four years," Leonard said. "I didn't want to waste a year by going somewhere and red-shirting. I mean, you're only guaranteed four years and that was what I was looking for."
Since that day, Leonard and Miami have been a match made in baseball heaven. Leonard broke onto the scene his freshman year and quickly earned the praises of his teammates and Mid-American Conference opponents. A two-time pitcher of the week and First Team all-MAC selection, Leonard was starting to be regarded as a legitimate pitching prospect.
"It was my freshman year that I began to develop another pitch other than a fastball," Leonard says. "Coach Smith and (then-assistant coach) Ty Neal worked on the development of my curveball. My curve was mediocre and helped me get by."
The breaking ball that Leonard incorporated into his repertoire helped him earn him a 7-1 record and honorable mention freshman all-America honors. However, he was far from finished with his learning.
The arrival of pitching coach Joe Renner in 2001 was just what the southpaw needed.
"With Coach Renner we've fine-tuned my curve and added a cutter that breaks in, because most everything I threw tailed away from right-handed batters," Leonard says. "The cutter developed into what is now my slider.
"Coach Renner has a lot to do with where I am now," Leonard says. "He knows the art of pitching, how to call pitches and how to work with each individual pitcher. He doesn't change mechanics but works with what you have already."
Armed with a two-seam and four-seam fastball, curveball and slider, Leonard dominated hitters in 2001. His 11-3 record earned him first-team all-MAC kudos for the second straight season, and he was twice named Pitcher of the Week. Leonard's 112.2 innings pitched set a Miami single-season record, while his 11 victories and 86 strikeouts also ranked in single-season top tens.
In his mind, though, Leonard was still not at the top of his game.
"Over this past summer my main goal was to develop a change-up," Leonard says. "I now have four pitches that I'm confident enough in to throw over the plate in any situation. I'm not going to overpower anybody and rear back and blow a fastball by the hitter. I need to have all types of stuff to keep the hitters off-balance."
Keeping hitters off balance is exactly what Leonard did last summer in the esteemed Cape Cod Baseball League. As a member of the Wareham Gatemen, Leonard not only led his team to the CCBL title but also was named the league's Pitcher of the Year, not a bad accolade for someone who just completed his second year of college.
"The CCBL made baseball fun again," Leonard says. "It was actually one of those summers that you enjoy being at the ballpark 6-8 hours a day. It made me believe that I can throw against anybody that steps into the batters' box, facing kids from powerhouses like Clemson, Miami (Fla.) and Stanford."
After his summer in Cape Cod, Leonard was recognized by various publications, and was even mentioned in ESPN's baseball analyst Peter Gammons' Diamond Notes. With third-team pre-season all-America recognition in tow, Leonard enters his junior year with high expectations.
"Hopefully, we win MACs and go on to the NCAA Regional, which is all stuff that we are capable of doing," Leonard says. "The preseason honor is great, but I have to take it at face value because it is based purely on what the writers anticipate you to do. I'm just going to keep doing my thing every week and see how things work out."
So far Leonard appears to have the stuff required of a first-round draft pick, but he still has a lot of baseball to play in Oxford. The no-longer chubby kid has grown into a Major League-caliber pitcher.
The only thing that distinguishes him from others now is his trademark hairstyle.
"I actually like my hair long, but Skip (Smith) keeps making me cut it," Leonard says. "I like to think of my hair as being similar to that of Samson in the Bible. My hair is my strength on the mound. Over the summer, I was nicknamed Sunshine (a character from the movie "Remember the Titans"), because I had some long, long hair."
No matter what his hair looks like under the RedHawk baseball cap, Leonard presents himself as a formidable opponent for all batters. A true team player, Leonard's main objective every time he sets foot on the hill is to give his team a chance at victory, and that is why he is Miami's ace.