Leo Kiely Explained

Leo Kiely
Position:Pitcher
Bats:Left
Throws:Left
Birth Date:November 30, 1929
Birth Place:Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.
Death Place:Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:June 27
Debutyear:1951
Debutteam:Boston Red Sox
Final2league:MLB
Final2date:June 20
Final2year:1960
Final2team:Kansas City Athletics
Debut2league:NPB
Debut2date:August 8
Debut2year:1953
Debut2team:Manichi Orions
Finalleague:NPB
Finaldate:August 30
Finalyear:1953
Finalteam:Manichi Orions
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Win–loss record
Stat1value:26–27
Stat3label:Strikeouts
Stat3value:212
Stat2label:Earned run average
Stat2value:3.37
Stat2league:NPB
Stat21label:Win–loss record
Stat21value:6–0
Stat23label:Strikeouts
Stat23value:32
Stat22label:Earned run average
Stat22value:1.80
Teams:

Leo Patrick Kiely (November 30, 1929 – January 18, 1984) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played between 1951 and 1960 for the Boston Red Sox (1951, 1954–56, 1958–59) and Kansas City Athletics (1960). Listed at 6feet,, Kiely batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Kiely entered the majors in the 1951 midseason with the Red Sox. He finished with a 7–7 record and a 3.34 ERA in 16 starts before joining the military during Korean War. In 1953, he pitched for the Mainichi Orions of the Pacific League to become the first major leaguer to play in Japanese baseball, while going 6–0 with a 1.80 ERA for Mainichi. It stood as the best record by a foreign rookie until 2005. He returned to Boston in 1954, after his military unit pulled out from Japan. Due to this, NPB banned teams from hiring foreign players who were serving in the military and played part-time from then on, and foreigners now had to play for the teams full time.

In 1957, Kiely was demoted to Triple-A. He finished with a 21–6 record and a 2.22 ERA for the PCL San Francisco Seals, leading the league in wins. 20 of them came in relief, including 14 in consecutive games, to set two PCL records. The 1958 TSN Guide also credited Kiely with 11 saves during the 14-game winning streak.

Kiely led the Red Sox with 12 saves in 1958 while going 5–2 with a 3.00 ERA in 47 relief appearances. He also pitched with the Athletics in 1960, his last major league season.

In a seven-season career, Kiely posted a 26–27 record with a 3.37 ERA in 209 games, including 39 starts, eight complete games, one shutout, 29 saves, and 523.0 innings of work. He went 63–36 during his minor league career. Kiely died from cancer in Montclair, New Jersey at age 54.

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