Richard Leander

John Richard Leander (also listed as Rickard Leander and Rikard Leander)

• Bats Left, Throws Right

• Born July 1, 1984

Biographical Information

Richard Leander has been a two-way player for the Leksand Lumberjacks. In 2003, he went 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA. During the 2003 European Championship, he allowed 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings and saved one game. In 2004, Leander had a 1-1, 4.03 record and hit .301/~.379/.367 while playing primarily second base as a fielder. In 2005, his record was 4-2, 2.47; mostly a shortstop, he batted .356/~.440/.424. He was third in the Elitserien in average and OBP and 4th in slugging. He was 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in the 2005 European Championship, losing to Anthony Billisi and Italy. During the 2005 Baseball World Cup, he allowed 11 runs and 17 hits in 9 2/3 innings for Sweden, taking the loss against China in one of their closer games. He also played one game at second base and pinch-hit once, going 1 for 2 with a double, a time hit by pitch and 3 RBI. He spent some time in Australia in 2005-2006.

In 2006, Leander was 7-2 with a 2.42 ERA. He played six positions and hit .237/~.351/.281. He was third in the league in ERA, 5th in opponent average (.226) and second in strikeouts (73, 44 behind leader Will Rikard). He fell to 1-2, 9.00 in 2007 but hit .347/~.439/.576 while playing 7 positions, excluding only catcher and center field. In the 2007 European Championship, he went 1 for 10 with a walk and did not pitch.

Leander allowed one run in 8 innings in 2008, going 1-0; he hit .372/~.412/.585 as his club's top performer at the plate.

He is somehow related to David Leander.

Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• Elitserien stats
• 2003 European Championship
• Mister Baseball
• Wayback Archive of the 2005 European Championship site