When Jack Leiter threw the first pitch in his major league debut on Thursday, Major League Baseball’s first family of pitchers made history: Former Yankees and Mets star Al Leiter and his older brother, Mark, became the first brothers to each have sons play in the big leagues.
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Chicago Cubs reliever Mark Leiter Jr. is part of that history.
“I know that [the dads] are both extremely proud,” Leiter Jr. told the Chicago the Sun-Times. “I know our whole family was proud of what they accomplished in their own right. It’s amazing, because it’s a privilege to get a chance to do this, it’s an honor to just make it to the major leagues, and then to kind of make it a tradition in our family is pretty insane, to be honest with you. It’s a major blessing.”
Leiter, who made his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies, has bounced from starter to bullpen, but over the past two seasons has become a reliable high-leverage reliever. He has yet to allow an earned run this season in 10 innings.
Jack Leiter, a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers and Al Leiter’s son, has struggled to live up to his potential and he struggled in his first outing, lasting 3.2 innings and yielding eight hits and seven runs. He walked three and struck out three.
Jack Leiter’s father won 162 games in 19 major league seasons. Jack Leiter was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Friday, one day after his major league debut.
Did Mark Jr. give Jack any advice going into his debut?
“I try to stay out of his way, but I couldn’t help myself to say at least a couple of little things,” he said. “Just kind of keep it light with him and just let him know how proud we all are of him and how happy we are.”
Mark Leiter Jr. is nine years older than Jack Leiter, who turns 24 this weekend.
“He was always a little kid for me,” Mark said, “and just to see the person that he became, and just the player that he’s built himself into — everybody sees he’s a second overall pick, but he’s really worked hard to get to that opportunity.”
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