Thursday, 6/5/97 Leary contributes years of experience to Bruins
BASEBALL: Pitching coach a valuable asset to UCLA’s success this
year
Tim Leary has been home for a year now and what a difference a
year makes. You may know Leary as the pitcher who was an integral
part of the Dodgers’ run for the World Series in 1988, or the
pitcher who played for seven different major league teams (the
Brewers, Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Mariners, Rangers and Reds), or
the pitcher who came close to losing 20 games in 1992. (That stat
isn’t really fair to Leary; his run support was among the worst in
the league.) Whichever way you know him by, you probably did not
know he used to pitch for UCLA. Leary graduated from UCLA in 1979
with an economics degree, and went 12-3 with a 2.72 ERA. And he
came back one year ago to serve as the pitching coach under his
former coach, Gary Adams. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re
thinking, "Oh, great. Here’s the guy who walked 16 batters and let
up seven runs in two straight losses." Well, shut up, smartass,
because Leary may well be one of the main reasons this year’s Bruin
squad made it to the College World Series. Consider this: This
year, their team ERA dropped to 4.52 in the league of world of
aluminum bats, while their Midwest Regional opponents averaged only
3.33 runs a game. This year, the Bruins were stronger in terms of
their control and their aggressiveness, points Leary made sure to
emphasize this year. "My focus is on pitching mechanics," Leary
said. "They’re essential to throwing strikes consistently." But
hard work spearheaded the Bruin attack this year and was a
trademark in Leary’s career. "I’m blessed with a hard-working
bunch," Leary said. "Guys like (John) Phillips (who underwent Tommy
John surgery and returned to action just 10 months later) and (Jim)
Parque exemplify that." It is also guys like Parque who have led
the resurgence of UCLA pitching. But Leary does not take full
credit for Parque’s success. "Jim’s been coached by his father his
whole life," Leary said. "It’s an honor to coach a guy like him but
I don’t have to do much because his concentration and work ethic is
so good. I mean, don’t fix it if it ain’t broke." * * * In 1987,
facing retirement at 3-11 with an atrocious ERA, Leary fled the
country. He pitched in Tijuana in a Mexican winter league and
emerged with a devastating split-finger pitch which led him to 17
wins in 1988. Dodgers’ general manager Fred Claire would one day
say, "Tim was the biggest reason for our turnaround and subsequent
victory in 1988." Leary hopes to bring a national championship to
UCLA. Though Leary is disappointed with the way UCLA’s second-ever
appearance in the College World Series turned out, he will now turn
his attention to next year and recruiting young pitchers. "I want
UCLA to be the school that pitchers want to come to," Leary said.
Toussi is a Daily Bruin sports writer and columnist. He can be
reached via e-mail at stoussi@media.ucla.edu. Sam Toussi Los
Angeles Dodgers Tim Leary, UCLA’s pitching coach, once threw for
the Dodgers. Previous Daily Bruin stories: Bruins slide into
second, Jan 22, 1997