It helps to be in the right places at the right time. It also helps be a very good pitcher. Al Leiter was both. Those circumstances helped him achieve a feat that, at the time, was unique only to him.
The left-hander went seven strong innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Bank One Ballpark, only allowing one unearned run. Thanks to the Mets offense quickly building a significant lead, Leiter was the winning pitcher in a 10-1 New York victory and became the first pitcher to beat all 30 active major league teams.
Leiter had the full backing of his hitters right away. New York put up all 10 runs in the first three innings. Most of the production, not surprisingly, came from Mike Piazza. Leiter’s batterymate slugged a homer in each of his first two at-bats. A third-inning RBI groundout was the sixth run Piazza drove in on the night.
That was plenty for Leiter, who was pretty much on cruise control from there. His only real slip-up came in the bottom of the third when he hit two consecutive batters. That led to an error by first baseman Mo Vaughn which allowed Arizona’s lone run to score.
By the time Leiter departed after the seventh, the last victory over a new team was all but assured.
His wait to go from team 29 to 30 was actually rather lengthy. He had checked off all but one franchise once he defeated his old club, the Florida Marlins, in June 1998. That was the 69th victory of his career. There were 50 additional victories in between his win over the Diamondbacks.
Several factors allowed Leiter to be able to notch a ‘W’ versus every club. Playing in both leagues as well as being in his prime during the advent of interleague play when four new franchises (Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Devil Rays) came into the fold were certainly added benefits. Success and longevity are also important, too. They almost always go hand-in-hand, and this was true in Leiter’s case.
He was primarily a starter as early as 1988 but it became a habit by 1994. And for the next nine years, Leiter averaged 13 victories. Twice he was an All-Star and twice he finished in the top-10 in Cy Young Award voting.
His career began with the New York Yankees and the first team he defeated was the Milwaukee Brewers on September 15, 1987.
After two-plus seasons in the Bronx, he moved on to Toronto in 1989 and later to Florida from 1996 through 1998 before landing with the Mets via free agency. In between, he was a significant piece for multiple World Series champions which frequently provided him numerous opportunities to come out ahead.
With expanded interleague play, the Astros changing leagues in 2013, and no additional franchises since 1998, there have been more opportunities for pitchers to beat all active clubs — in spite of wins being in shorter supply for starters.
In fact, since Leiter, 18 more pitchers have achieved this feat. One of those is Bartolo Colon. He completed the 30-team circuit in 2017 as a Minnesota Twin. The team he beat to do it? The Arizona Diamondbacks.
