[1] Leach played college ball at Auburn University, and was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in January 1976, but the pick was voided.

With the Mets leading 4–2 over the Chicago Cubs, Leach surrendered a two-run home run to Mike Lum, tying the game.

A blister on his throwing hand forced Mets manager George Bamberger to start Leach in his place.

At the start of the 1984 season, he was dealt back to the Atlanta Braves for fellow minor-league journeyman pitcher Ron Meridith.

However, Dwight Gooden's stint in a drug rehabilitation center, coupled with Bob Ojeda's being out for season-ending surgery, opened a spot in the rotation for Leach.

In the 1988 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he pitched five innings without giving up a run.

He was released during spring training in 1994 and after a year away from the game he retired for good after a failed attempt to make the Detroit Tigers in 1995.

In 2000, Leach wrote his autobiography, Things Happen for a Reason: The True Story of an Itinerant Life in Baseball with Tom Clark.