Editing Sam Leever (section)

==Professional baseball career==
Leever's first year in the Major Leagues was 1898 at age 26, making his debut on May 26 against the [[History of the Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Senators]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/1898/05/26/|title=Major League Scores, Standings, Box Scores for Thursday, May 26, 1898|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Of that debut, the ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'' wrote, "The interest of the 1,300 spectators was largely centered in the work of Leever, who had his first chance in a championship game. Leever is a big, strong fellow, who has plenty of speed and some good curves to help out in a pinch ... He is not afraid to put the ball over the plate."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/85460474 |title=27 May 1898, Page 6 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at |publisher=Newspapers.com |date= |accessdate=February 6, 2022}}</ref> That year he pitched in 5 games for the Pirates. However, the following year he led the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] in games pitched with 51 and in innings pitched with 379 as he posted a record of 21–23. In 1901 and 1905 he led the league in winning percentage (14–5 and 20–5, respectively), as well as in 1903, when he had his best season, going 25–7 with a league-leading 2.06 [[earned run average]] (ERA).<ref name="baseball-reference1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leevesa01.shtml|title=Sam Leever Stats|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

In 1903 Leever also led the Pirates to their third consecutive National League pennant. However he injured his shoulder late in the season and was ineffective in the first-ever [[1903 World Series|World Series]], losing both of his starts as the Pirates were defeated by [[Boston Red Sox|Boston]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1903_WS.shtml|title = 1903 World Series - Boston Americans over Pittsburgh Pirates (5-3)}}</ref>

Leever later went 8–1 for the 1909 Pirates, when they won their first World Series title. His lifetime ERA was 2.47, and he had a 194–100 record, 847 [[strikeout]]s, 39 shutouts, 241 complete games, 587 [[base on balls|walks]], and only 29 [[home run]]s allowed in 2,660.2 innings.

As a hitter, Leever posted a .184 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (183-for-993) with 90 [[run (baseball)|runs]], 17 [[double (baseball)|doubles]], 14 [[triple (baseball)|triples]], 2 [[home run]]s, 78 [[runs batted in]], and 49 bases on balls.<ref name="baseball-reference1"/>