Rick Leach (baseball)

Leach was born in 1957 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[1] He attended Flint Southwestern High School in Flint, Michigan.[1] He was selected as the first-team all-state quarterback by the Detroit Free Press in 1975.[2] He broke every passing record in the Saginaw Valley League and was also an all-conference player in baseball and basketball.[3] In 1998, a sports writer for the Detroit Free Press rated Leach as the fourth best quarterback to come out of a Michigan high school.[4]

Leach enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1975. A left-hander, he was the Michigan Wolverines' starting quarterback from 1975 to 1978 under coach Bo Schembechler. As an 18-year-old freshman, he started 11 of 12 games for the 1975 Michigan Wolverines football team and led the team to an 8-2-2 record and #8 ranking in the final AP poll.[5] He rushed for 552 yards and passed for 680 yards as a freshman. In his freshman year, with the Big Ten championship and a berth to the 1976 Rose Bowl on the line in the Michigan-Ohio State game, Leach threw an interception that was run back to the Michigan 3-yard line by Ray Griffin and set up the winning touchdown in a 21-14 Buckeye victory.[6] However, Leach and the Wolverines never lost to Ohio State again in his career.

Leach (No. 7) with Bo Schembechler, 1975

As a sophomore, he started all 12 games at quarterback and led the 1976 team to a 10-2 record and #3 ranking in the final AP poll.[7] He passed for 973 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 638 yards and 10 touchdowns in 1976.

As a junior, he started all 12 games at quarterback and led the 1977 team to a 10-2 record and #9 ranking in the final AP poll.[8] He passed for 1,348 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 375 yards and seven touchdowns.

As a senior, he again started all 12 games at quarterback and led the 1978 team to a 10-2 record and #5 ranking in the final AP poll.[9] He passed for 1,283 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 611 yards and 12 touchdowns. Leach won numerous individual honors in 1978, including the following:

• He won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference.[10]
• He tied with Chuck Fusina as the first-team quarterback on the 1978 College Football All-America Team selected by the American Football Coaches Association.[11]
• He was selected by both the Associated Press (media) and United Press International (coaches) as the first-team quarterback on the 1978 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[12][13]
• He finished third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy, behind Billy Sims and Chuck Fusina.[14]
• He was selected as the co-Most Valuable Player (along with Charles White) of the 1979 Rose Bowl, his last game as a Wolverine.[15]

Leach was the first NCAA Division I FBS player to pass for 200 points and score 200 points.[16] He continues to hold the NCAA record for highest percentage of passes for touchdowns (400-499 attempts) with 45 in 462.[17] One of the finest athletes in Michigan history, Leach was named All-Big Ten as a quarterback three times and also placed in the voting for the Heisman Trophy three times.

Leach shattered all Michigan's career passing, total offense and touchdown records. He set an NCAA record for most touchdowns accounted for (82) and broke Big Ten records for total offense (6,460 yards), total plays (1,034), and touchdown passes (48).

A standout on the diamond as well as the gridiron, Leach won the Big Ten batting championship as a junior and won the rare honor of being named All-American in both football and baseball.

In 1999, Sports Illustrated published a list of "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Michigan" (in all sports), and ranked Leach 22nd. "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Michigan," Sports Illustrated, December 27, 1999.

Leach was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first round (13th overall pick) of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft.[1] He was also drafted by the NFL's Denver Broncos in the 1979 NFL Draft, but opted for a career in baseball. He signed with the Tigers in June 1979 and received a $150,000 signing bonus.[19]

Leach spent the 1979 season playing for the Tigers' Class A farm club in Lakeland, Florida. He appeared in 48 games and compiled a .304 batting average and .402 on-base percentage and had 23 RBIs in 168 at bats.[20] In 1980, Leach was promoted to the Tigers' Class AAA team in Evansville, Indiana, where he compiled a .272 batting average and .386 on-base percentage with 58 RBIs in 430 at bats.[20]

After batting .386 for Evansville during April 1981, Leach was promoted to the Tigers' roster, making his major league debut in late April 1981.[21] He appeared in 54 games for the 1981 Tigers and compiled a disappointing .193 batting average in 83 at bats.[1] He remained with the Tigers for two more seasons, principally in a backup role, compiling batting averages of .239 in 1982 and .248 in 1983.[1] The Tigers released Leach on March 24, 1984.[22]

Leach spent most of the 1984 season with the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League.[20] He was picked up the Toronto Blue Jays and remained on their roster through the 1988 season. His best season was 1986 when he hit .309 in 110 games.[1]

Leach concluded his major league career with the Texas Rangers in 1989 and the San Francisco Giants in 1990.[1] In August 1990, after a positive drug test, Leach, at age 33, was placed on the 60-day disqualified list and agreed to enter drug rehabilitation.[23] In March 1991, the Giants asked waivers on Leach for the purpose of giving him an unconditional release.[24]

In 2008, Leach was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.[25]

• Michigan Wolverines football statistical leaders

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference