Charlie Lea Stats & Facts

Player

Charlie Lea

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-4, 194lb (193cm, 87kg)
Born: December 25, 1956 in Orleans, France
Died: November 11, 2011 in Collierville, TN
Buried: Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis, TN
Draft: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 15th round of the 1975 MLB June Amateur Draft from Kingsbury HS (Memphis, TN), the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2nd round of the 1976 MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase from Southwest Tennessee Community College (Memphis, TN), the Chicago White Sox in the 4th round of the 1977 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase from Southwest Tennessee Community College (Memphis, TN) and the Montreal Expos in the 9th round of the 1978 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Memphis (Memphis, TN).
High School: Kingsbury HS (Memphis, TN)
Schools: Southwest Tennessee Community College (Memphis, TN), University of Mississippi (Oxford, MS), University of Memphis (Memphis, TN)
Debut: June 12, 1980 (14,323rd in major league history)
vs. SDP 8.0 IP, 8 H, 4 SO, 3 BB, 1 ER, W
Last Game: October 1, 1988
vs. CAL 5.2 IP, 8 H, 0 SO, 1 BB, 3 ER, W
Full Name: Charles William Lea
Pronunciation: \LEE\

Played For
Montreal Expos (1980-1987)
Minnesota Twins (1988)

All-Star Selections
1984 NL

An excellent young starter for the Expos for several seasons, Lea was the NL’s starting and winning pitcher in the 1984 All-Star Game, then saw his career ruined by arm problems that forced him to miss the entire 1985 and 1986 seasons. He began the 1980 season at Memphis (Southern League) for the third consecutive year, but after a 9-0, 0.84 start he was in Montreal by mid-season, where he went 7-5. Lea won only five games in the strike-shortened 1981 season, but one of them was a 4-0 no-hitter against the Giants May 10, and in 1982 he cracked double figures in wins for the first time in his pro career, finishing 12-10. In 1983 Lea won a career-high 16 games, and in 1984 he was 15-10, 2.89 to earn his All-Star Game start but was hurt shortly thereafter. He could not pitch at all in 1985 or 1986. Lea spent most of 1987 rehabilitating in the minors and endured one dreadful inning with the Expos before his comeback as a starter for the Twins in 1988, finishing 7-7 with a 4.85 ERA.

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