José DeLeón, who pitched for five MLB teams, including the Phillies, dies at age 63
DeLeón pitched in parts of two seasons with the Phillies, appearing in 27 games from 1992-93, posting a 3.19 ERA.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — José DeLeón, a major league pitcher for 13 seasons who led the National League in strikeouts for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1989, has died. He was 63.
Los Leones del Escogido, DeLeón's team in the Dominican Winter League, said he died Sunday evening at a hospital in Santo Domingo. The team said DeLeón had health issues without giving further information.
DeLeón pitched in parts of two seasons with the Phillies, appearing in 27 games from 1992-93, posting a 3.19 ERA. He was signed in September 1992 after being released by the Cardinals. The Phillies traded him to the White Sox for Bobby Thigpen in August 1993.
He was 86-119 with a 3.76 ERA in 264 starts and 151 relief appearances over his career. He also pitched for Pittsburgh (1983-86), the White Sox (1986-87, 1993-95), St. Louis (1988-92), and Montreal (1995). The right-hander struck out 1,594 in 1,897⅓ innings.
He topped the NL with 201 strikeouts in 1989 and tied for the NL lead with 19 losses in 1985 and 1990.
Selected by the Pirates in the third round of the 1979 amateur draft, DeLeón made his major league debut on July 23, 1983, striking out nine over eight innings in a 5-2 win over visiting San Francisco.
DeLeón finished 7-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 15 starts and was seventh in voting for NL Rookie of the Year, an award won by the New York Mets' Darryl Strawberry.
DeLeón was traded to the Chicago White Sox in July 1986 for Bobby Bonilla, who earned four consecutive All-Star Game selections with Pittsburgh from 1988-1991.
DeLeón made his only postseason appearances in 1993, allowing one run over 4⅔ innings in a pair of AL Championship Series relief appearances against Toronto.