Jersey Shore’s Own Al Leiter Makes It To The Mets Hall Of Fame!
First, It was the Central Regional Hall Of Fame. Next came the New Jersey Hall Of Fame. Now, Berkley Township’s favorite son, Al Leiter is part of the New York Mets Hall Of Fame class of 2023!
Al will join former infielder, and 1986 world champion, Howard Johnson, along with longtime Mets broadcasters Gary Cohen and Howie Rose in a special ceremony on June 3rd. The event will take place prior the the 4:10 Saturday afternoon matchup at Citi Field in Queens, with the team Leiter won 2 of his 3 World Series rings with, the Toronto Blue Jays.
Leiter, who played parts of 19 seasons for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, and Mets, was born in Toms River and was second round draft pick by the Bronx Bombers out of Central Regional High School in Bayville in June of 1984.
After toiling with the Yankees early in his career, Leiter was dealt to the Blue Jays in 1989, where he would go on to be part of back to back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993. From there it was onto the then Florida Marlins, where Al would have monumental success, pitching a no hitter on May 11, 1996, and taking the mound in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Leiter gave up 2 earned runs in that game, and got a no decision, but the Marlins would go on to win the game and the series, bringing Al his third world championship.
In 1998 Al Leiter returned to New York, to don the blue and orange of the Mets. It was his time with the Mets that Al had arguably his greatest success. Al posted double digit wins in all seven seasons with the Mets.
In addition, he was an All Star in 2000, on his way to leading the Mets to the World Series once again. Even though they eventually lost to the Jeter led Yankee dynasty of the late 90’s/early 2000’s, Al pitched a fantastic two games of the series, posting a 2.87 ERA, while striking out 16 Yanks in 15 and 2/3 total innings.
After finishing his career with another stop with the Marlins and Yankees, Al as become one of the preeminent baseball analysts in the sport, working for FOX, YES, and The MLB Network among others. In 2019 Al came home to the Mets, as he was named Baseball Operations Advisor.
It will most likely be a fun and emotional moment when Al steps up to the mic on June 3rd at Citi Field, as he is known for his colorful personality. Congrats Al! Jersey Shore boy done good!
