José DeLeón, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for 13 seasons and led the National League in strikeouts in 1989, has passed away at the age of 63. His team in the Dominican Winter League, Los Leones del Escogido, announced that he died on Sunday evening at Cedimat Hospital in Santo Domingo. The team mentioned that DeLeón had been dealing with health issues but did not provide further details.
DeLeón had a career record of 86-119 with a 3.76 ERA in 264 starts and 151 relief appearances for various teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates (1983–1986), the Chicago White Sox (1986–1987, 1993–1995), the St. Louis Cardinals (1988–1992), the Philadelphia Phillies (1992–1993), and the Montreal Expos (1995). He struck out a total of 1,594 batters in 1,897 1/3 innings.
In 1989, DeLeón led the National League with 201 strikeouts. He also tied for the NL lead in losses in 1985 and 1990, with 19 losses each year.
DeLeón was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round of the 1979 amateur draft and made his MLB debut on July 23, 1983. He had a strong start, striking out nine batters over eight innings in a 5-2 win against the San Francisco Giants. In his rookie season, he finished with a 7-3 record and a 2.83 ERA in 15 starts, earning him seventh place in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.
DeLeón was traded to the Chicago White Sox in July 1986 in exchange for Bobby Bonilla. Bonilla went on to earn four consecutive All-Star Game selections with the Pirates from 1988 to 1991.
DeLeón’s only postseason appearances came in 1993, when he pitched for the White Sox. He allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings in two relief appearances during the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
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