Leon Boyd

Leon Boyd (born August 30, 1983) is a Canadian-born Dutch baseball player currently playing for Corendon Kinheim in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse.

[2] Despite his Dutch family ties and a strong desire to play baseball in the Netherlands, Boyd was not pursued by any Hoofdklasse clubs, even after numerous attempts to contact them after his college career was over.

Not only did he accumulate an 11–1 win–loss record with a 0.84 ERA and 156 strikeouts in just 96 innings pitched, but he also hit .421 with 2 home runs in 38 at bats for the Pioneers, who finished the season as the national runner up.

Following his strong season in Belgium, Boyd was picked up by the Dutch national team to play in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup in Taichung, Taiwan.

He was a finalist for the Pitcher of the Year Award, but lost to David Bergman in part due to missing a month of the season with a back muscle strain.

[citation needed] He had a solid game but received a no-decision against the Australian national team when closer Michiel van Kampen couldn't hold a 3–2 lead in the ninth.

[citation needed] Head coach Robert Eenhoorn selected Boyd to pitch for the Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

He returned to pitch the top of the 9th inning, and after yielding a leadoff single to Terry Tiffee, Boyd retired the next three batters, including Matt LaPorta by strikeout.

[6] During the first round of the tournament held at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Boyd entered three separate games during tense, late-inning pressure situations, including two of which he ended up as the pitcher of record.

In the Netherlands' first game of the tournament on March 7, 2009, against the heavily favored Dominican Republic, Boyd pitched the 9th inning and earned the save with a game-ending strikeout of José Bautista.

Two days later, he entered a game against Puerto Rico with the bases loaded and only one out in the 8th inning, only to give up a two-run double to Yadier Molina and an RBI-single to Jesus Feliciano.

According to Boyd, his release was affected by his high walk count and the Jays' trading of Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia Phillies in December 2009.