Ron LeFlore

Ron LeFlore
Center fielder
Born: June 16, 1948 (1948-06-16) Detroit, Michigan
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 1, 1974 for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 3, 1982 for the Chicago White Sox
Career statistics
Batting average	.288
Hits	1,283
Run batted in	353
Stolen bases	455
Teams
Detroit Tigers (1974–1979) Montreal Expos (1980) Chicago White Sox (1981–1982)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (1976)

Ronald LeFlore (born June 16, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played six seasons with the Detroit Tigers before being traded to the Montreal Expos, retiring as a Chicago White Sox in 1982. He stole 455 bases in his career, and was an American League All-Star selection in 1976. A movie and book were made about his rise to the major leagues after being an inmate at the Jackson State Penitentiary. One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story was a made-for-television movie starring LeVar Burton that aired on CBS in 1978. LeFlore is the cousin of former MLB outfielder Todd Steverson.

Early life

LeFlore was born in Detroit, Michigan and was involved in the criminal justice system at an early age. In the book Breakout: From Prison to the Big Leagues, LeFlore relates growing up in a crime ridden section of Detroit. Although his parents were married, his father was an unemployed alcoholic who rarely took part in family life. His mother was a hard working nurses' aide who held the family together financially and physically, even feeding Ron while a heroin addict and small-time drug dealer. He credits his mother’s compassion for his survival during this period.

At twelve, he began to have sex with local prostitutes and soon after he was introduced to shooting heroin in a neighbourhood 'shooting gallery'. He dropped out of school and spent many nights breaking into the Stroh's Brewery on Gratiot Avenue, stealing beer and getting drunk with friends. After dropping out of school, he played no organized sports and rarely followed the Tigers, although he had been to Tiger Stadium, sitting in the upper bleachers with his father, on one occasion as a child. First arrested at fifteen, he was ultimately sentenced to 5–15 years in state prison at the State Prison of Southern Michigan (usually called Jackson State Penitentiary) for armed robbery.

Prison discovery

Incarcerated, the first organized baseball league LeFlore played in was for inmates. Billy Martin, the legendary New York Yankee player and manager, then manager of the Detroit Tigers, was lured to Michigan State Prison by Jimmy Karalla, another inmate who knew Martin. The unorthodox Martin witnessed LeFlore's speed and strength, something that bloomed after LeFlore had given up drugs and drinking inside prison. Incredibly, Martin helped LeFlore get permission for day-parole and a try out at Tiger Stadium. In the summer of 1973, the convict impressed Tigers' management and the team signed him to a contract in July, which enabled him to meet the conditions for parole. Assigned to the Single A Clinton Pilots in the Midwest League, LeFlore held his own and hit .277 in his first taste of organized ball. Unfortunately Martin didn't fare as well and was fired in August of the same year (for telling Tiger pitchers to throw at opposing hitters). The next year LeFlore was demoted to the Lakeland Tigers in the Florida State League, but after hitting .331 with 45 steals in 102 games, he was promoted to the Triple A Evansville Triplets where he played nine games. The following season he made the major league club out of spring training and went north with the club for good.

Playing career

Almost a great catch at Tiger Stadium, 1977

Primarily known as a base stealer, LeFlore split time in centerfield in 1974 with veteran Tiger Mickey Stanley before taking over as the starter in 1975. LeFlore was largely known as a base stealer, but in his prime he also hit for average and moderate power. He, along with Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, were the primary reasons that the Tigers' attendance rose in 1976 by close to 5,000 per game over the previous year. Both players made the 1976 American League All-Star team, yet the team never finished higher than fourth in the American League East standings during LeFlore's tenure. In 1977, LeFlore hammered 16 home runs while batting .325 - both career highs. LeFlore had arguably his career year in 1978, leading the league in singles (153), runs scored (126), and stolen bases (68) and finishing second in hits (198), plate appearances (741), and at bats (666). He would also set career highs in games played, plate appearances, at bats, RBI, and walks. After the 1979, in which he hit .300 and stole 78 bases, LeFlore was traded in December to the Montreal Expos for promising young starter Dan Schatzeder. In 1980, he came closest to encountering play-off action as he stole a career-high 97 bases (becoming the first player to lead both leagues in steals in his career) to help the Expos finish the season in second place, only a game behind the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. In 1981, LeFlore signed with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent, but his career would go into decline and he would only play in only a combined 173 games over his two years in Chicago. After failing to make the White Sox roster in the spring of 1983, LeFlore was released by the team and he announced his retirement. Soon later, LeFlore revealed that he was actually four years older than he had previously admitted, thus raising his age at retirement from a still-young age of 30 to 34 and giving some explanation for his rapid decline while with the White Sox.

As of the end of the 2011, LeFlore's 1976, 1978, and 1979 seasons are 10th, 6th and 3rd respectively on the Tigers' all-time single-season stolen base list and his 294 steals are 4th on the Tigers' career list. LeFlore's 97 stolen bases for the Expos in 1980 are still a franchise record for the Expos and Washington Nationals. He also finished in the Top 10 in his league in Triples, finishing as high as 3rd in 1980 with 11. Despite his his speed and better than average bat, he was never adept in the field. In his career, LeFlore finished in the Top 5 in errors committed by outfielders every year except 1979, leading his league in outfield errors in 1974, 1976, 1980, and 1982 (despite only playing in 91 games). Highlighting his struggles with the glove, LeFlore was guilty of misplaying a ball into a four-base error. On August 1, 1982 in a game against the Boston Red Sox, LeFlore was in centerfield when in the 6th inning leadoff hitter, Boston catcher Gary Allenson hit a soft liner off Sox starter Jerry Koosman. Drifting back for the catch, the ball struck LeFlore in the forehead (or bill of his cap, reports differ), took a crazy bounce, and rolled away. By the time it was tracked down, Allenson had crossed the plate to score an unearned run. LeFlore also struckout plenty, finishing in the Top 10 in his league in strikeouts five times (finishing 2nd in the American League in 1975 with 139).

After playing career

In 1988 while working as a baggage handler for Eastern Airlines, LeFlore saw an ad for an umpire school run by MLB umpire Joe Brinkman. He attended the five week course in which top graduates are assigned to whatever openings exist on the minor league level, hoping to eventually make it as a major league umpire. He failed to finish high enough in his class to qualify for a job at the minor league level.

In 1989, LeFlore played for the St. Petersburg Pelicans and Bradenton Explorers of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. LeFlore batted .328 in 44 games with both teams; 11 games with St. Petersburg and 33 games with Bradenton. In 1990, he played for the Florida Tropics of the SPBA. He played in 18 games and had 2 home runs and 9 RBI. He also had the second-highest batting average with .403 when the league folded.

On September 27, 1999, ceremonies celebrating the final game played at Tiger Stadium brought LeFlore back to Michigan after many years of living in Florida. Before the game, he was notified of an open warrant for his arrest on charges of unpaid child support. The police agreed to let LeFlore participate in the on-field activities and then subsequently arrested him.

The case involved back orders of support for his estranged adult daughter and her mother, the person who had informed police LeFlore was planning to attend the festivities. He was quickly released from custody after agreeing to comply with the court order.

In 2000, LeFlore was hired as the manager of the now-defunct Cook County Cheetahs of the Frontier League. He also worked as a manager and coach in the Midwest and Northeastern leagues. In the spring of 2003, LeFlore was hired as manager for the Saskatoon Legends franchise in the fledgling Canadian Baseball League, a league that folded midway through their inaugural season.

On May 5, 2007, during an autograph signing, LeFlore was again arrested for failure to pay child support.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
• List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases

External links

• Ron LeFlore career statistics
• One in a Million at the Internet Movie Database

Preceded by Freddie Patek	American League Stolen Base Champion 1978	Succeeded by Willie Wilson
Preceded by Omar Moreno	National League Stolen Base Champion 1980	Succeeded by Tim Raines