Pittsburgh Pirates History: Tommy Leach Has Two Home Run Game
These days, hitting two homers in a single game is not exactly a major accomplishment. However, on this day in 1902, when Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Tommy Leach hit two home runs in a game, it was a surprising accomplishment.
Tommy Leach was a star for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The third baseman/center fielder was a solid hitter with an excellent ability to get on base. He was a key part of the Pirates first Golden Age in the early part of the 1900s, a pesky hitter who was one of the more difficult players in the game to get out.
As good of a hitter as Leach was, he was not exactly someone that would have been considered a power hitter. Standing in at 5’6″ tall and weighing 150 lbs, the slight Leach was more of a slap hitter, using his speed to get his doubles and triples. He was certainly not a threat to put the ball over the fence.
That did not stop Leach from hitting home runs though. On this day in 1902, Leach had the only two home run game of his career, with the Pirates third baseman belting two inside the park homers. Those home runs gave the diminutive player the lead in the National league, which he would not relinquish for the rest of the year.
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Leach ended up as the NL leader in homers, hitting six in total. All of his home runs were of the inside the park variety, as his speed provided the power that his bat did not have. That total would be the lowest to lead the league since Paul Hines hit four homers in 1878, albeit in a 60 game schedule. As a whole, the NL only had 99 homers that year, as power manifested itself in triples instead of the home run.
Overall, Leach had 63 homers in his 19 year career. He hit seven home runs twice for his career high, doing so in 1903 and again in 1914. However, his greatest assets were his ability to put the bat on the ball, and to spray hits around the ballpark.
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At 5’6″ tall and 150 lbs, Tommy Leach was not anyone’s definition of a power hitter. However, on this day in 1902, the Pittsburgh Pirates star hit two inside the park homers in a single game, giving him the league lead.