Highlighted Year: Don Leppert, 1963

Catcher, Washington Senators

Age: 31

1^st season with Senators

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 220 

Prior to 1963:

A native of Indianapolis, Leppert participated in football and track in high school. While serving in the Air Force, he played service baseball. Signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1955, the 23-year-old catcher played for two teams at the Class A level. Leppert batted a combined .260 with 13 home runs, 42 RBIs, a .336 on-base percentage, and a .507 slugging percentage, impressing the Braves with his power potential and strong throwing ability. In 1956 Leppert was with Wichita of the Class AAA American Association where, dealing with chronic injuries, he hit .230 with 8 home runs, 21 RBIs, and a .297 OBP. In 1957 he was in Class AA with Austin of the Texas League where he batted .233 with 20 home runs, 59 RBIs, and a .297 OBP. Playing with a broken thumb in 1958, he had a .229 average, 11 home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .293 OBP. Having kept going through the injuries, he had considered retiring but moved on to the Dallas Rangers of the American Association in 1959 where his hitting improved to .270 with 13 home runs, 66 RBIs, and a .332 OBP. He stayed with the Rangers, now representing Dallas-Fort Worth and affiliated with the Kansas City Athletics in 1960, where the feisty backstop batted .256 with 17 home runs, 63 RBIs, a .326 OBP, and a .446 slugging percentage. Dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason, Leppert started the 1961 season in Class AAA with the Columbus Jets of the International League. Hitting .386 with a .450 OBP, he was called up to the Pirates in June to back up veteran catchers Smoky Burgess and Hal Smith. With Smith lost in the expansion draft, Leppert saw more action with the Pirates in 1962, hitting .262 in 45 games with 3 home runs, 18 RBIs, and a .327 OBP. In the offseason he was traded to the Senators for a minor league player.

1963 Season Summary

Appeared in 73 games

C – 60, PH – 18

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 234

At Bats – 211

Runs – 20

Hits – 50

Doubles – 11

Triples – 0

Home Runs – 6

RBI – 24

Bases on Balls – 20

Int. BB – 2

Strikeouts – 29

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 0

Average - .237

OBP - .305

Slugging Pct. - .374

Total Bases – 79

GDP – 8

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 1

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 7, HR - 5, RBI - 19, AVG - .262, OBP - .326

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Most hits, game – 3 (in 4 AB) vs. Boston 4/11

Longest hitting streak – 5 games

Most HR, game – 3 (in 4 AB) vs. Boston 4/11

HR at home – 4

HR on road – 2

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Boston 4/11

Pinch-hitting – 6 for 14 (.429) with 2 R, 1 2B, 4 BB & 2 RBI 

Fielding

Chances – 306

Put Outs – 281

Assists – 20

Errors – 5

Passed Balls – 8

DP - 4

Pct. - .984

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Senators went 56-106 to finish tenth (last) in the AL, 48.5 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees. The Senators started poorly and finished April in the AL cellar and they rarely peeked out -despite a 11-3 stretch in July. Mickey Vernon was replaced by Gil Hodges as manager in May. Leppert became a fan favorite with his three-home run game in April, but while he continued to hit well during most of the season’s first half, which provided a justification for his becoming Washington’s All-Star representative, his production dropped off during the second half and he lost the starting job at catcher to Ken Retzer.      

Aftermath of 1963:

In 1964, Leppert appeared in 50 games as he backed up Mike Brumley behind the plate and batted .156 with 3 home runs, 12 RBIs, and a .224 OBP. He was back in Class AAA in 1965 with the Hawaii Islanders of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he hit .338 with 5 home runs, 19 RBIs, and a .400 OBP. Following one more minor league season with Columbus of the International League, Leppert’s playing career came to an end at age 34. For his major league career, he batted .229 with 122 hits that included 22 doubles, 2 triples, and 15 home runs. He scored 46 runs and produced 59 RBIs and a .289 OBP. With the Senators he batted .207 with 69 hits, 26 runs scored, 14 doubles, 9 home runs, 36 RBIs, and a .275 OBP. He was hired as a minor league manager by the Pirates in 1967, followed by a stint as a coach with Pittsburgh, which lasted until 1976. He moved on to the expansion Toronto Blue Jays as a coach for three years and then moved on to the Houston Astros where he coached until 1985. He served as a minor league manager for the Minnesota Twins until becoming a field coordinator in the club’s farm system. Leppert died in 2023 at age 91, having lasted far longer as a coach, minor league manager, and farm system coordinator than he lasted as a major league player who was once an All-Star.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.