Al Leiter: (The Mets Years) 2000 N.L. Champion Mets Pitcher (1998 - 2004)

Mets Career: Al Leiter debuted with the Mets on April 2nd, in the second game of the 1998 season. In six innings of work, he gave up three runs on seven hits to the Phillies at Shea Stadium taking a loss to Mark Portugal.

On April 7th, Leiter earned his first Mets victory. It came at Wrigley Field in a 3-2 Mets win. In that game he hit a two run double off Germi Gonzalez in the 4th inning.

He won his next three starts closing out April at 3-1. 

On April 14th, he shut out the Cubs for seven innings at Shea Stadium, striking out six. Facing Germi Gonzalez again in the 4th inning, he drove in two runs with a single in the Mets four run 4th inning. In the year he batted .106 with six hits & the four RBIs.

On April 19th Leiter shut out the Reds for another seven innings in Cincinnati, earning his second win. Leiter would throw 25 straight scoreless innings from April 14th through May 4th, when he gave up a 6th inning run.

On May 23rd he pitched a four-hit complete game shutout, beating the Milwaukee Brewers at Shea Stadium. From that day to the end of June, Leiter won six straight games, he beat the Phillies striking out a season high ten batters. He then earned a win at Fenway Park, beating the Red Sox, then the Rays at Shea Stadium. 

On June 16th he pitched his second shutout of the year, he struck out seven Expos in Montreal beating Dustin Hermanson at Olympic Stadium.

On June 26th he pitched in the first of many subway series matchups, he allowed five runs & took the 8-4 loss at Shea Stadium. After that he went down & missed three weeks of action returning on July 26th.

In his return he shut out the Phillies for six innings to earn his tenth win of the year (10-4) posting a 1.76 ERA. He kept his ERA under two until July 29th, after two outings where he gave up four runs but earned no decisions.

From August on Leiter won six of seven straight games. On August 18th he pitched eight innings, giving up just two runs against the Rockies. His only loss in that stretch came on August 23rd, against Arizona. He gave up three runs but matched his season high ten strike outs. On August 29th, Leiter gave up three solo HRs to the Dodgers, but still won the game 4-3 to earn his 13th win. 

On September 4th, Leiter out pitched Tom Glavine to beat the Braves 2-1 at Shea Stadium. Mike Piazza's two run HR was the difference for New York. In his next two wins he pitched seven innings each time. On September 20th he shut out the Florida Marlins, striking out nine in a 5-0 Mets shut out.

In his first season with the Mets Leiter had his best career season, becoming the ace of the staff winning a career high 17 games. He was 17-6 with the league’s third best ERA (2.47) and was second in the NL in hits allowed per nine innings. He pitched 193 innings struck out 174 batters & walked just 71.

The Mets improved to an 88-74 record & a second place finish, missing the wild card by just two games.

1999 NL Wild Card Season:  Al Leiter was Bobby Valentine's 1999 Opening Day pitcher, but he allowed four runs in five innings, taking the loss to the Marlins in Florida. 

Leiter gave up HRs in his next three games & didn't earn his first win until his fourth start.

In five starts in May, Al gave up five runs or more each time going 1-3 in the month with a 9.00 ERA. On May 10th, he gave up a season high eight runs in Colorado, along with two HRs in a 10-3 loss to the Rockies. At the end of May he was 2-5 with a 6.39 ERA.

On May 20th, in the first game of a double header with the Brewers, he gave up five runs but earned the victory as the Mets scored ten runs in the 11-10 win. 

Things turned around in June, Al won five straight decisions, allowing three runs or less each time, while pitching seven innings in four of the five starts.

On June 6th he beat the AL New York club 7-2 in the Bronx during the regular season subway series, allowing just one run in seven innings of work. 

On June 17th at St. Louis, he collected his fifth victory to get to .500 (5-5) allowing just one run in & striking out nine in seven innings. Leiter then beat the Marlins in his next two starts, once at home & the other in Florida.

After a loss to the Braves, he beat the AL New York team again, allowing just two runs thru eight innings. In the game John Olerud hit a solo HR & Mike Piazza hit a tree run HR off Roger Clemens. It was the second of three straight games where Piazza would HR off of Clemens.

15 Strike Out Game: On August 1st, Leiter struck out a career high 15 batters pitching just seven innings. He allowed two runs on seven hits against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Leiter struck out five batters in a row from the 2nd thru the 3rd inning, then struck out the side in the 4th inning. He struck out two more batters in the 7th inning before exiting with a 3-2 lead.

The game went to extra innings, where the Mets won the game 5-4 after pitcher Pat Mahomes drove in the winning run with an RBI base hit in the top of the 13th inning.

On August 12th, in a game against the Padres at Shea, he came to bat in the 5th inning with the bases loaded & doubled off the Padres Woody Williams, clearing the bases giving himself a 9-3 lead. Leiter gave up three runs on four hits over seven innings, earning his tenth win of the season It was his fifth straight season with double digits in victories.

Leiter lost his two decisions taking losses in San Diego & Arizona. On August 23rd, he gave up two runs to the Astros & exited the game in a 2-2 tie, earning no decision in the 3-2 win. Matt Franco won the game with a 9th inning walk off RBI single.

The Mets entered September 28 games over .500, three & half games behind the Braves & four game lead in the wild card race. 

On September 4th, Al pitched into the 9th inning, as he beat the Rockies at Shea Stadium allowing just two runs in the 4-2 Mets win.

From September 10th to September 23rd, he lost his next three starts giving up a total of 13 runs in 16 innings as his record fell to 11-12. At that point the Mets went on a seven-game losing streak & now were trailing the Reds by a game & a half.

During the last week of the season Leiter broke the losing streak, beating Greg Maddux & the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium, allowing just two runs pitching seven innings. Although they lost their next game, the Mets won their last three games of the regular season, two of them in walk off style. 

They finished the year at 96-66 in a tie with the Cincinnati Reds for the wild card spot. A one game tie breaker was to be played in Cincinnati as the Mets lost a coin toss for the home field advantage.

Then he had his best outing of the year in the Mets biggest game of the year, after they ended the regular season tied for the wild card title.

Two Hit Shut Out in Wild Card Tie Breaking Win: Al Leiter stepped up & pitched one of the best, biggest games of his career. He was brilliant in tin front of 54,621 at Riverfront Stadium, as tossed a two-hit complete game shutout. He struck out seven Reds while walking four batters. The Mets scored five runs led by HRs from Edgardo Alfonso & Rickey Henderson.

The win got the Mets into their first post season in eleven years since the 1988 NLCS.

In the Mets 1999 wild card winning season Leiter went 13-12 with a 4.23 ERA, striking out 162 batters with 93 walks (6th in the league) in 213 innings making 32 starts. At the plate his 11 sacrifice hits were 8th best in the league.

At bat he batted .105 with six hits two doubles & five RBIs.

1999 Post Season-NLDS: In the NLDS win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Leiter would pitch one game of the series.

In Game #4 at Shea Stadium, he got the start against Arizona's Brian Anderson. Leiter pitched into the 8th inning with a 2-1 Mets lead.

With two outs, he gave up a walk to Turner Ward & a base hit to Tony Womack. He exited the game giving the ball to reliever Armando Benitez. Benitez served up a two run double to Jay Bell blowing Leiter's chance to earn a post season victory. The Mets came back & won the game on Todd Pratt’s Walk off HR, which won the Series advancing the Mets to the NLCS.

1999 NLCS: In the NLCS loss to the Braves, Leiter pitched in two games. In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, Leiter faced off against Tom Glavine. In the 1st inning, Leiter walked the leadoff batter Gerald Williams, then he made an error on a ground ball back to the pitcher. 

On a double steal, the Braves scored an unearned run after a Mike Piazza made an error allowing Williams to score. It was the only run scored in the game, as Leiter shut out the Braves the rest of the way, exiting after seven innings. He allowed just three hits, struck out five & walked three as he took the heartbreaking 1-0 loss. Glavine shut out the Mets thru seven, as Mike Remlinger & John Rocker finished off the shut out.

The Mets dropped the first three games of the series, then came back to win Games Four & Five.

In Game #6 at Turner Field, Leiter got the start against Kevin Millwood on four days' rest. But he never got past the 1st inning, as he hit the leadoff hitter, Gerald Williams with a pitch then walked Bret Boone. Williams stole third & an error led to the first Braves run. Leiter then hit Chipper Jones with a pitch as well, then gave up singles to Eddie Perez & Brian Jordan, putting the Mets in a 4-0 hole.

He was relieved by Pat Mahomes, who gave up a sac fly with the run charged to Leiter. The Mets eventually tied the game up & went ahead in the 8th inning on Melvin Mora's RBI single. But in the bottom of the 8th John Franco blew the lead as Brain Hunter hit an RBI single.

In the 10th inning, the Mets went ahead on Todd Pratt's sac fly but in the bottom of the inning, Armando Benitez gave up an RBI game tying hit to veteran Ozzie Guillen. In the 11th, the Mets lost the game when Kenny Rogers walked Andru Jones with the bases loaded.

Charities': In the off season he won the Branch Rickey Award for Leiter's Landing, a foundation he & his wife ran for children's education, health, social & community service issues.

2000 NL Pennant Season: In 2000 Leiter took a step back becoming the number two starter behind newly acquired Mike Hampton. After playing the first two games of the year at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, the Mets had their official home opener.

On April 3rd, Leiter got the start in the Shea Stadium home Opener, beating the Padres allowing just one run over eight innings. He struck out seven & gave up just five hits, walking no one.

In his next three starts, he earned no decisions.

From April 30th to July 1st, Leiter went 9-1 with aa 2.75 ERA & 83 strike outs in 85 innings over 12 starts. 

Complete Game Victory: On May 11th, he threw a complete game victory at Pittsburgh, he allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits while striking out eight Pirates to get to 4-0. 

He followed that up with an eight inning, two run win over the Rockies at Shea. On June 3rd, he battled the Rays, Steve Trachsel pitching into the seventh inning of a 1-0 at Met win at Shea Stadium. Todd Zeile drove in the only run of the game with an RBI double. 

Subway Series Win: On June 9th, Leiter opened up the regular season subway series holding down the AL New York team to two runs in seven innings in the Bronx. In the game Mike Piazza, the hitting star hit a grand slam off Roger Clemens. It was the third straight game he homered in while facing Clemens. Edgardo Alfonso & Derek Bell also homered in the 12-2 win. 

On June 16th, in Milwaukee he allowed just one run in eight innings of work, striking out seven as the Mets eased to a 7-1 win earning him his eighth victory.

On July 1st at Shea, he won his tenth game of the year, striking out a season high 12 batters in a 9-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves. It was the sixth straight season he had double digits in wins.

2000 All Star: He went into the All-Star break with a 10-2 record posting a 2.99 ERA, making his second All Star team. In the All-Star Game at Turner Field in Atlanta, he pitched the 4th inning giving up a two-run single to Derek Jeter. Leiter was the losing pitcher of record in the National League's 6-3 loss.

In July, he lost three straight games, including his first loss in a subway series game. On July 28th, he broke the losing streak with a 3-2 win over Pat Hentgen & the Cardinals at Shea.

On August 2nd, he battled the Reds Elmer Dessens at Shea Stadium for seven innings, as the Mets won a 2-1 thriller, highlighted by Robin Ventura's 1st inning two run HR.

12 K Game: On August 13th at Shea Stadium, he shut out the Giants for eight innings, striking out 12 batters to match his season high. After getting the final two outs of the 1st inning, he retired 19 batters in a row into the 7th inning. He gave up just two hits & a walk in the game, getting to 13-5 with a 3.11 ERA.

On the California road trip, he took a no decision in L.A. then in San Diego he pitched eight innings allowing just one run to earn his 14h win & lower his ERA to 3.08.

 He matched his season high with 12 strike outs for the third time on the season. He pitched into the 8th inning for the seventh time on the year, while giving up just one run for the sixth time pitching seven or more innings. 

Five Hit Shut Out & 15th Victory: On September 10th at Shea Stadium, he pitched a complete game 3-0 five hit shutout, over the Phillies striking out nine batters while walking two. He earned his 15th win of the year, reaching that total for the third tm in three years.

On September 20th, Leiter beat Tom Glavine & the raves in Altana, to win his 16th game of the season. 

The Mets won the wild card spot & headed to their second straight post season. 

Mets Victory Leader: Leiter led the Mets staff in wins with 16 (16-8) posting a .667 winning percentage. 

He struck out 200 batters (5th most in the NL) reaching that mark for the second time in his career. 

He posted a 3.20 ERA (6th best in the NL). He walked 76 batters pitching in 228 innings giving up 19 HRs. Leiter led the league with a perfect .1000 fielding %, for the first of three seasons.

2000 Post Season-NLDS: In the NLDS win over the Giants, Leiter started Game #2 in San Francisco. He held the Giants down to one run on five hits, striking out six pitching into the 9th inning. 

After allowing a leadoff double to Barry Bonds, he was relieved by Armando Benitez. Benitez blew the 4-1 lead, serving up a three run HR to J.D. Drew. The Mets came back to win the game on Jay Payton’s RBI single in the top of the 10th inning & John Franco finishing off the Giants.

2000 NLCS: In the NLCS win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Leiter got one start in the five-game series.

In Game #2 at Busch Stadium, Leiter gave up two 5th inning RBI doubles to Fernando Tatis & Edgar Renteria. He would pitch seven strong innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, leaving the game tied at 3-3. He struck out a personal post season best nine batters in 21 career games.

The Mets went on to win the game as once again, Jay Payton drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the top of the 9th inning.

2000 World Series: In the Subway World Series, Leiter would pitch in two games & get the start in the opener. 

In Game #1 in the Bronx, he shut down the AL New York team for five innings allowing just one run & a walk.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, Jose Vizcaino led off with a base hit. With one out he then walked Derek Jeter. David Justice then hit a two-run double making it 2-0. The Mets came back with four hits including a two-run pinch hit single from Bubba Trammell & an RBI single from Edgardo Alfonzo.

Leiter left the game in the 7th inning, with a 3-2 lead striking out seven batters while walking three.  In the 9th inning, Armando Benitez blew the lead & in the 12th, Turk Wendell got beat on Jose Vizcaino's Walk off hit single, as the Mets lost a heart breaker.

In Game #5 at Shea, with the Mets down three games to one, Leiter pitched his heart out trying to keep the Mets alive in the Series. 

Leiter gave up two runs on solo HRs to Bernie Williams & Derek Jeter. He would pitch 8.2 innings giving up two runs on five hits striking out seven along the way. 

In the 9th inning, after striking out the first two batters, he gave up a walk & base hit to Scott Brosius. Luis Sojo then singled & a Jay Payton throwing error caused both runners to score making it 4-2.

Unfortunately, the Mets offense couldn’t get anything going for him in the bottom of the inning. Mike Piazza flew out to deep centerfield to end the game & the series.

Leiter pitched two Subway World Series games going 0-1, allowing six runs (five earned) on 12 hits in 15.2 innings of work. He struck out 16 & walked six posting a 2.87 ERA.

Roberto Clemente Award: That off season he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award for all his charitable works. On top of his Leiter's Landing work, he had Microsoft donate computers to needy schools, helped feed the Elderly in Queens during Christmas & established a fund for high school students who volunteered.

After the Pennant: On Opening Day in Atlanta, he pitched a fine game facing Tom Glavine, going seven innings, allowing two runs & striking out six. He earned no decision as Robin Ventura hit a top of the 10th inning HR in the Mets 6-4 win. 

He then earned losses in his next three starts, including a game in Cincinnati where he only gave up a run in eight innings, as the Mets were shut out by the Reds Chris Reitsma 1-0.

On April 20th, he gave up a season high eight runs, including HRs from Barry Larkin & Aaron Boone, taking the loss to fall to 0-3.

He missed a month of action returning on in mid-May. He then won three straight decisions, first shutting out the Dodgers for six innings at Shea Stadium in a combined 8-0 shut out. He then took a wins on the road in Montreal & in South Florida to get to 3-3. 

From June 9th to July 6th, he struggled & lost five of six starts finding himself at 4-8 at the break. Two of those games were subway series losses. On July 6th, he gave up seven runs in the Bronx although just three of those runs were earned as Robin Ventura made a throwing error leading to four unearned runs in the 3rd inning.

The Mets were struggling too, falling into fourth place, thirteen games behind the first place Phillies.

On July 17th at Shea Stadium, Leiter shut out the Blue Jays for seven innings as he battled Chris Carpenter, in a 1-0 victory as Mike Piazza's RBI was the only run of the game.

In is next five starts he was 1-2 although he gave up just two runs in three of those starts.

From August 21st to September 5th, Leiter pitched his best winning four straight games pitching into the 7th inning or beyond three times. He posted a 2.48 ERA with opponents hitting just .202 against him, as he posted 24 strike outs in 29 innings.

On August 26th he pitched eight innings over the Giants allowing just three runs in the 6-5 Mets win. 

Tenth Victory & Hitting a Triple: On August 31st, he earned his tenth victory of the season (10-10), reaching double digits in wins for the seventh straight season. He pitched eight innings allowing just one run to & struck out seven Marlins. In the game he hit his only career a triple, driving in two runs off pitcher Brad Penny.

911: The morning of the 911 terrorist attacks, Leiter dropped his daughter off at school in lower Manhattan. He was scheduled to pitch in Pittsburgh that night & was at LaGuardia Airport as the attacks unfolded.

Leiter along with other Mets players helped out in the Shea Stadium parking lot as the area was used as a staging spot for supplies & rescue workers.

Twin Towers Fund: He was later appointed to the Twin Towers Fund board of directors by Mayor Rudi Giuliani & was vital in allocating more than $280 million in donations.

Return to Baseball: On September 17th, Leiter made the start in the first game played after the
911 attacks. The game was in Pittsburgh as the Pirates hosted the Mets. He allowed just one run in seven innings, walking one & striking out three exiting in a 1-1 tie. The Mets went on to win the game with John Franco getting the victory. 

In his next two starts, he allowed just one run to the Braves pitching eight innings in each outing, one in Atlanta & one at Shea, but he earned no decisions due to lack of run support as the Mets lost both games. 

The Mets won seven out of eight games after 911 & went from eight games back to three games back but fell out of the race the final week finishing up at 82-80 in third place.

In 2001 Leiter was 11-11 but pitched better than his record showed. He posted a 3.31 ERA (8th best in the NL) struck out 142 batters & walked 46 batters in 187 innings pitched in 29 starts.  

2002: On Opening Day, Leiter beat the Pirates at Shea Stadium pitching six innings of one run baseball in the 6-2 win. 

Two Hit Shut Out: On April 18th, he had his best game of the year, tossing a two-hit shutout in Montreal striking out eight Expos & walking two. After retiring the first 12 batters he gave up a double to Michael Barret, then another double to Jose Vidro the next inning.

First Pitcher to Beat all 30 Teams: On April 30th, Leiter defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 10-1 Mets win. The victory made him the first pitcher in MLB history to earn victories against all 30 teams.

On May 5th, centerfieldmaz traveled on a baseball trip to Houston to see the Mets play the Astros. Leiter was the Mets starting pitcher & gave up four runs on five hits through the first four innings. Then the bullpen gave up another eight runs in an embarrassing 12-1 loss. centerfieldmaz got his share of abuse being the lone fan wearing a Mets jersey in the stands along first base.

In his next start he gave up two HRs to the Rockies at Shea but still earned the win in the Mets 4-2 victory. 

RBI Hit & Victory: On May 16th in San Diego, Leiter shut out the Padres for seven innings, striking out six to earn his fifth win to get to 5-2 with a 1.74 ERA. In that game he drove in a run with an RBI single off Brian Lawrence for one of the Mets three runs.

In his next three starts, he gave up 16 runs in 13.2 innings including a season high seven runs to the Marlins in Florida.

By the All Star break he was 9-7 posting one of the leagues better ERAs at 2.95. He was just like that years Mets team bouncing around at the .500 level the rest of the way. 

On August 9th, he pitched seven innings, allowing a run to earn the victory in a 2-1 win over Andy Benes & the Cardinals. It was his tenth win of the year & his eighth straight year of double-digit wins.

He lost his next two starts fist giving up five runs to the Padres at Shea. On August 25th, he was on the losing end of a 1-0 game to the Giants & Jason Schmidt. The only run was unearned when Barry Bonds scored on an error by Mo Vaughn.

Shut Out On 911 Anniversary: On the first anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Leiter threw his second complete game shutout of the year, a five-hitter coming in the second game of a double header against the Braves in Atlanta.

 On the year he went 13-13 with 172 strike outs & 69 walks, pitching in 204 innings while posting a 3.48 ERA. The Mets finished fifth (75-86) under .500 for the first time in six seasons. Bobby Valentine was let go as a manager & a dark era was under way.

He lost his last two games of the season &the Mets finished fifth in Bobby Valentines last season as Mets manager.

2003: This season, the 37-year-old Leiter, took a back seat to the newly acquired Tom Glavine as the ace of the staff.

In the second game of the year, he beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2, allowing just two runs in 6.2 innings. Leiter would win his first three decisions, to get to 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA.

On April 13th, Leiter pitched six innings of shutout ball in Montreal but not getting a decision in a 2-1 loss.

On April 29th, he gave up a HR for the first of four straight games. He gave up five runs in the 13-3 loss to the Cards.

Giving Up Ten Runs: On May 15th, he had a horrific ten run, thirteen hit outing in San Francisco, where he gave up a pair of HRs to Barry Bonds & Marquis Grisson. His record went to 4-2 as his ERA rose to 4.62.

In June he went 3-3 giving up five runs or more in four of the six starts. On June 8th, he gave eight runs in a 13-1 loss to Seattle at Shea Stadium.  On June 12th, he gave up eight hits but shut out the Rangers & struck out six in a 11-0 combined shut out in Texas. In his next three starts he gave up five walks or more each time. On June 29th, he gave up three subway series HRs in the Bronx taking the loss.

17 Scoreless Innings Streak: From June 29th to August 5th, Leiter threw 17 scoreless innings. After the June 29th start, he went on the DL missing a month of action. On July 25th he returned & threw six scoreless over the Reds then six scoreless over the Brewers earning back-to-back wins. He bested his record to 10-5 reaching double digits in wins for the ninth straight season. 

From August 5th to September 7th, he gave up nine runs in 43 innings over seven starts, allowing two runs or less in all but one start. But in that time, he was just 4-3 although he posted a 1.88 ERA & batters hit just .205 against him.

On August 28th in Atlanta, he shut out the Braves on two hits for seven innings to earn his 13th win. On September 2nd he gave up one run to the Braves at Shea over five innings beating Mike Hampton to earn his 14th win. 

After a no decision & two losses he ended the season with his best outing of the year.

15th Victory & Complete Game Shut Out: On September 23rd, he shut out the Pirates at Shea Stadium beating Kip Wells in a 1-0 thriller where Mike Piazza scored the games only run on a Timo Perez ground out. Leiter gave up six hits, one walk & struck out six to earn his 15th win of the season. His 15 wins were his highest total in three years, since the 2000 pennant season. It was to be the last of his 10 career shut outs.

On the season, Leiter went 15-9 on the season, second on the staff in wins to Steve Trachsel who won 16 games. Leiter was ninth in the NL in wins that season. He struck out 139 batters while walking 94 (5th most in the NL) pitching 180 innings and posting a 3.99 ERA.

The dismal Mets finished fifth winning just 66 games under Art Howe.

2004: This would be Leiter's final Mets season as the 38-year old's career began to wind down. 

On April 10th, in his first start he pitched five shutout innings, but the Expos starter, John Patterson & relievers Chad Cordero & Rocky Biddle shut out the Mets in a 1-0 loss.

In his next start, he pitched into the 6th inning shutting out the Braves at Shea. Three other Mets pitchers help combine in the 4-0 shut out as he got his first win.

Over the next two months, he made six stats & gave up one run or less four of those starts but the poor Mets offense couldn't support him to earn even one win.

16 Scoreless Innings Streak: Starting on May 11th to June 12th, he threw 16 straight scoreless
innings. On June 1st, he shut out the Phillies in a 4-1 win at Citizens Bank Park. On June 6th he shut out the Marlins for 5.2 innings to collect his second victory. Thru his first nine starts Leiter was posting a 1.98 ERA.

The win started a streak of four straight personal victories for Leiter that went to July 6th. On June 26th he beat the AL New York team for the fifth time in his career in a subway series game. He was 5-4 in subway series regular season play.

After a loss in Florida where he gave up four runs, he didn't allow more than a run in each of his
next four starts, allowing three earned runs in 24 innings lowering his ERA to 2.12.

Bob Murphy's Funeral: On August 11th, Leiter attended & contributed to the funeral services for Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy at St. Patrick's Cathedral. 

On August 14th he notched his 14th victory but wouldn't earn another win until the end of September, six weeks later. On September 26th, in a 3-2 win at Shea Stadium he collected his tenth win. It was his last Mets career victory & his tenth straight season of double-digit wins.

On September 26th, Leiter earned the 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, giving him his tenth win of the year. He had won double figures, winning at least ten games, in each of the last ten years. With four seasons of winning 15 or more games.

He made his last Mets start on October 2nd, getting no decision in a 6-3 loss the Montreal Expos at Shea Stadium. 

In 2004 Leiter won ten games overall on the year, going 10-8 with a 3.21 ERA. He struck out 117 batters & walked 97 in 173.2 innings of work pitching in thirty starts.

Mets Career: In his seven-year Mets career he made 213 starts (6th on the all-time Mets list) winning 95 games (95-67) which is also sixth most wins on the Mets all-time list. 

He is seventh in innings pitched (1360) & eight in strike outs (1106) with a 3.42 ERA. He is tenth in winning % (.586) & losses (67). 

As a Met Leiter was in the league's top ten in ERA four times, wins three times, strikeouts twice and threw at least one shut out in four different seasons.

At bat he batted .084 (33-394) with seven doubles one triple & 14 RBIs.

Post Mets Career: In 2005 he went back to the Florida Marlins going 3-7 with a 6.62 ERA through mid-July when he was sent to the A.L. New York club to finish out his career. There he was 4-5 with a 5.49 ERA in 16 appearances (ten starts).

Career Stats: Lifetime over nineteen seasons he was 162-132 with 1974 strikeouts (98th all time)
1163 walks (61st all time), 16 complete games 10 shutouts & a 3.80 ERA in 2391 innings pitched in 419 games 382 starts.

At the plate he batted .085 (45-530) with 16 RBIs.

Retirement: Leiter began broadcasting games while still a player during the post season games on Fox. 

TV Analyst: In 2006 he began a ten-year relationship working on the YES Network, as a game analyst. He angered a lot of Met fans turning to the dark side & received Boo's at Shea Stadium during the 2008 closing ceremonies.

In 2009 he signed on for MLB Networks inaugural season as an in-studio reporter. He was on for the very first broadcast of the network. 

Honors: He received six Nation Sports Emmy Nominations for Studio Analyst & has won three
for Outstanding Studio Daily MLB Tonight segment Producer.

He also won three New York Sports Emmy's on YES network.

In 2016 he worked select games for the Florida Marlins on FOX Sports Florida.

In 2019 he was named a baseball Operations advisor for the Mets. He took a break from broadcasting to spend more time with his family.

Mets Honors: In 2008, Al was on hand for the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium & got a luke-warm greeting due to his ties with the cross-town rivals.

Piazza Hall of Fame Induction: Leiter was on hand when Mike Piazza was inducted to the Mets Hall of Fame.

2022 Old Timers Day: In 2022 Leiter attended the Mets Old Timers' Day extravaganza at Citi Field.

Politics In New York & New Jersey: Leiter has considered running for political office on the Republican ticket in the state of New Jersey. He was part of Governor Chris Christie's transition team.

He was also appointed to NYC & Co. tourism by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

New Jersy Native: Al Leiter was born in Bayville, New Jersey, a native of Berkley Township.

He was appointed as member to the NJ Sports, Gaming & Entertainment Committee. He has also been appointed to the New Jersey Hall of Fame Commission as well.

Music: Leiter is a big Bruce Springsteen fan & was seen at many Springsteen concerts during his Mets years. During the 2003 Tour, Al attended the shows at Shea Stadium. 

Family: Al & his wife Lori have four children. Lori Leiter has a law degree & is an attorney.

Al Leiter is of Austrian, Czech & British descent.

MLB Family: Mark Leiter, Al's brother has pitched for eight MLB team from 1990-2001. He posted a career 65-73 record with a 4.57 ERA.

Mark pitched for the A.L. New York team (1990) Detroit (1991-1993) California Angels (1994) San Francisco (1995-1996) Montreal (1996) Philadelphia (1997-1998) Seattle (1999) & Milwaukee (2001). 

In 2024, Al's son Jack Leiter made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers.