Leon Durham
Encyclopedia
Leon "Bull" Durham is a former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball
who played for 10 seasons. Durham played with the St. Louis Cardinals
(1980
, 1989
), Chicago Cubs
(1981
-1988
), and Cincinnati Reds
(1988
). Durham batted and threw left-handed.
s and an 11-3 record as a pitcher. Durham was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1976 amateur draft
in the first round and 15th overall.
Durham made his major league debut on May 27, 1980 with the St. Louis Cardinals
.
In a 10 year Major League career, Durham compiled a lifetime batting average of .277, hitting 147 home runs and driving in 530 runs. In 1982
, Durham won a Silver Slugger Award as an outfielder. He was named to the All-Star
team in 1982
and 1983
as a Chicago Cub.
Leon Durham is currently the hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers
AAA affiliate the Toledo Mud Hens
of the International League
.
. In the bottom of the seventh inning in the decisive fifth game between Durham's Chicago Cubs
and the San Diego Padres
, the Padres sent pinch-hitter Tim Flannery
to face the Cubs' ace pitcher Rick Sutcliffe.
Through the top of the sixth inning, the Cubs had a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Padres cut the Cubs' lead to 3-2 with a pair of singles by Alan Wiggins
and Tony Gwynn
, a walk to Steve Garvey
, and sacrifice flies by Graig Nettles
and Terry Kennedy
. The bottom of the seventh inning kicked off with Carmelo Martínez
walking on four pitches from Sutcliffe. Garry Templeton
then sacrificed Martínez to second, setting things up for Tim Flannery. Martinez would then score when Flannery hit a sharp grounder that trickled through Leon Durham's legs for an error.
The error became known as the "Gatorade Glove Play" because before taking his position in the field that inning, Gatorade
was spilled on Durham's glove. Some Cub fans believe the Gatorade spilled on Durham's glove amounted to a curse, similar to the goat
and Bartman curses of Cub lore.
The play would also turn out to be very similar, in style and effect, to Bill Buckner
's much-discussed error in the 1986 World Series
. The coincidental connection between these two events is that Durham had been moved from the outfield to first base during the 1984 season, replacing Buckner after the Cubs traded him to the Boston Red Sox
for pitcher Dennis Eckersley
. Buckner's error, like Durham's, would be seen as turning a post-season series around. The same joke even circulated for both incidents: That they had been despondent, jumped in front of a moving truck, and "the truck went between their legs".
The Padres wound up winning the game 6-3 to reach the World Series
for the first time ever. What was especially frustrating was the fact that the Cubs had a 2 games to 0 lead (1984
marked the last time that the League Championship Series
was a best-of-five series) over the Padres.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played for 10 seasons. Durham played with the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
(1980
1980 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 1980 season was the team's 99th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 89th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 74-88 during the season and finished fourth in the National League East, 17 games behind the eventual NL pennant and World Series champion...
, 1989
1989 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 1989 season was the team's 108th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 98th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 86-76 during the season and finished 3rd in the National League East division....
), Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
(1981
1981 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs' 1981 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Chicago Cubs finishing the first-half in last place at 15-37, 17½ games behind the Philadelphia Phillies, and the second-half in fifth place at 23-28, six games behind the eventual NL East Champion Montreal Expos in...
-1988
1988 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs' 1988 season involved the Cubs finishing in fourth place in the National League East with a record of 77-85, 24 games behind the New York Mets...
), and Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
(1988
1988 Cincinnati Reds season
The Cincinnati Reds' 1988 season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Cincinnati Reds attempting to win the National League West. Led by manager Pete Rose, the Reds had a record of 87 wins and 74 losses, finishing seven games back of the eventual world champion Los Angeles Dodgers...
). Durham batted and threw left-handed.
Career
Durham graduated from Cincinnati Woodward High School in 1976 where he was a high school All-American selection his senior year, posting a .385 batting average with 16 home runHome run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and an 11-3 record as a pitcher. Durham was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1976 amateur draft
1976 Major League Baseball Draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :The 1976 Arizona State University team, considered by many to be the best collegiate team ever, played a major role in the draft. Floyd Bannister was picked number one...
in the first round and 15th overall.
Durham made his major league debut on May 27, 1980 with the St. Louis Cardinals
1980 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 1980 season was the team's 99th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 89th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 74-88 during the season and finished fourth in the National League East, 17 games behind the eventual NL pennant and World Series champion...
.
In a 10 year Major League career, Durham compiled a lifetime batting average of .277, hitting 147 home runs and driving in 530 runs. In 1982
1982 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season of 1982 involved the team's fifth-place finish in the National League East at 73-89, 19 games behind the eventual National League and 1982 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. For the first time in more than a half-of-a-century, the Cubs were not owned by a member of...
, Durham won a Silver Slugger Award as an outfielder. He was named to the All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
team in 1982
1982 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1982 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 53rd midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 13, 1982 at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, home of the...
and 1983
1983 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1983 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 54th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 6, 1983, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the...
as a Chicago Cub.
Leon Durham is currently the hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
AAA affiliate the Toledo Mud Hens
Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a minor league baseball team located in Toledo, Ohio. The Mud Hens play in the International League, and are affiliated with the major league baseball team the Detroit Tigers, based approximately 50 miles to the north of Toledo. The current team is one of several...
of the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
.
| G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... |
AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance... |
H | 2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
R | RBI | SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate... |
BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08... |
SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.... |
AVG Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :... |
OBP On base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes... |
SLG | OPS On-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,067 | 3,587 | 992 | 192 | 40 | 147 | 522 | 530 | 106 | 444 | 679 | .277 | .356 | .475 | .831 |
1984 National League Championship Series
Leon Durham is widely remembered for an error that he made at first base during the 1984 National League Championship Series1984 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 2, 1984 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IllinoisBob Dernier led off the game for the Cubs with a homer, and things went steadily downhill for the Padres as Chicago romped to a crushing 13–0 win in their first postseason game since 1945. Gary Matthews also homered in the first...
. In the bottom of the seventh inning in the decisive fifth game between Durham's Chicago Cubs
1984 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs' 1984 season was the 109th season for the Cubs. The team finished with a record of 96-65 in first place of the National League Eastern Division. Chicago was managed by Jim Frey and the general manager was Dallas Green...
and the San Diego Padres
1984 San Diego Padres season
-Offseason:* October 21, 1983: Sandy Alomar, Jr. was signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent.* December 6, 1983: Joe Pittman and a player to be named later were traded by the Padres to the San Francisco Giants for Champ Summers...
, the Padres sent pinch-hitter Tim Flannery
Tim Flannery (baseball)
Timothy Earl Flannery is a former Major League Baseball player who spent eleven seasons with the San Diego Padres, from to . He is also the nephew of former Major League Baseball player Hal Smith.-Minors:...
to face the Cubs' ace pitcher Rick Sutcliffe.
Through the top of the sixth inning, the Cubs had a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Padres cut the Cubs' lead to 3-2 with a pair of singles by Alan Wiggins
Alan Wiggins
Alan Anthony Wiggins was a Major League Baseball second baseman and left fielder. He was the first baseball player known to die of AIDS.-Early career:Wiggins was born in 1958 in Los Angeles, California...
and Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. , nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres...
, a walk to Steve Garvey
Steve Garvey
Steven Patrick Garvey , nicknamed "Mr. Clean" because of the squeaky clean image he held throughout his career in baseball, is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current Southern California businessman...
, and sacrifice flies by Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles , nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos .Nettles was one of the best...
and Terry Kennedy
Terry Kennedy
Terrence Edward Kennedy is a former All-Star Major League Baseball catcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals , San Diego Padres , Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants . Kennedy batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He is the son of former major league player and manager Bob Kennedy...
. The bottom of the seventh inning kicked off with Carmelo Martínez
Carmelo Martinez
Carmelo Martínez Salgado is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a first baseman and outfielder, from 1983 to 1991. He also played one season in Japan for the Orix BlueWave in...
walking on four pitches from Sutcliffe. Garry Templeton
Garry Templeton
Garry Lewis Templeton, nicknamed "Jumpsteady", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets from 1976 to 1991...
then sacrificed Martínez to second, setting things up for Tim Flannery. Martinez would then score when Flannery hit a sharp grounder that trickled through Leon Durham's legs for an error.
The error became known as the "Gatorade Glove Play" because before taking his position in the field that inning, Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
was spilled on Durham's glove. Some Cub fans believe the Gatorade spilled on Durham's glove amounted to a curse, similar to the goat
Curse of the Billy Goat
The curse of the Billy Goat was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave a World Series game against the Detroit Tigers at the Cubs' home ground of Wrigley Field because his pet goat's odor was bothering other fans...
and Bartman curses of Cub lore.
The play would also turn out to be very similar, in style and effect, to Bill Buckner
Bill Buckner
William Joseph Buckner is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Despite winning a batting crown in , representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game the following season and accumulating over 2,700 hits in his twenty-year career, he is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6...
's much-discussed error in the 1986 World Series
1986 World Series
The 1986 World Series pitted the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox. It was cited in the legend of the "Curse of the Bambino" to explain the error by Bill Buckner in Game 6 that allowed the Mets to extend the series to a seventh game...
. The coincidental connection between these two events is that Durham had been moved from the outfield to first base during the 1984 season, replacing Buckner after the Cubs traded him to the Boston Red Sox
1984 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Red Sox finishing 4th in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses.- Offseason :...
for pitcher Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley , nicknamed "Eck", is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career .He...
. Buckner's error, like Durham's, would be seen as turning a post-season series around. The same joke even circulated for both incidents: That they had been despondent, jumped in front of a moving truck, and "the truck went between their legs".
The Padres wound up winning the game 6-3 to reach the World Series
1984 World Series
The 1984 World Series began on October 9 and ended on October 14, 1984. The American League champion Detroit Tigers played against the National League champion San Diego Padres, with the Tigers winning the series four games to one....
for the first time ever. What was especially frustrating was the fact that the Cubs had a 2 games to 0 lead (1984
1984 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Detroit Tigers over San Diego Padres ; Alan Trammell, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Kirk Gibson*National League Championship Series MVP: Steve Garvey...
marked the last time that the League Championship Series
League Championship Series
The League Championship Series is the official name for a round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969...
was a best-of-five series) over the Padres.
In other media
- Durham had a supporting role as Leon Alexander, a member of the Minnesota TwinsMinnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, in the film Little Big LeagueLittle Big LeagueLittle Big League is a 1994 family film about a 12-year-old who suddenly becomes the owner and then manager of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. It stars Luke Edwards, Timothy Busfield and Dennis Farina.-Plot:...
.
- Durham appears briefly in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day OffFerris Bueller's Day OffFerris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller , who decides to skip school and spend the day in downtown Chicago...
. He is the first baseman in the sequence where Braves outfielder Claudell WashingtonClaudell WashingtonClaudell Washington is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Oakland Athletics , Texas Rangers , Chicago White Sox , New York Mets , Atlanta Braves , New York Yankees and California Angels...
hits a foul ball caught by the titular character.