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
You put deadlines on people you really don't want, because that's how you feel about them.
The pitcher setting up the batter. It's chess, and you play with it.
I did not want to leave the Mets and I did not want to leave New York.
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.
Hey, for the first time in 20 years I can be down the Shore for July Fourth fireworks. Maybe go to Seaside for Memorial Day. I always missed that.
It's been good for me. Full circle. Eighteen years ago, I was able to pitch my first game here.
It'll be fun for me. I realize this is a professional environment, and I'm going to do it seriously, but I also really look forward to being in the booth with someone I like as much as Michael on a personal basis.
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.
They talk about payroll and who gets paid what, ... (But) you still got to do it, and it's human beings doing it. There's no robots. And it just so happens that the other team in the other dugout wants to kick your butt, too. And (the Angels) can be pretty good, which they are. And we're standing in the parking lot.
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.
But I'm still not 100% convinced that Roger Clemens took steroids. I'm not.
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.
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.
Announcers don't do enough of the cat-and-mouse strategy and all the work that goes into it. You watch a broadcast and guys get the pitches wrong.