Through the first 11 games of the 2009 season, the big question surrounding outfielder Leon Landry was, “Where did that come from?”
With seven home runs in less than 50 official trips to the plate, the Baker, La., native was averaging a homer every six at-bats. The numbers were staggering, especially for someone who hit only five dingers the entire previous season.
“Last year I started out really hot, and I think I did kind of let that get to my head.” Landry recalled. “I started approaching the plate like I could hit any pitch out of the park.
“Then pitchers started exposing my weaknesses, and I dug myself a hole that I couldn’t get out of. Last year was really a rollercoaster ride for me.”
With the move of DJ LeMahieu to second base, Ryan Schimpf to the outfield and Austin Nola to shortstop, all of a sudden there were one-too-many bats in the LSU lineup. The defensive moves along with the emergence of freshman outfielder Mikie Mahtook meant a significant drop in playing time for Landry, whose average dipped into the lower .200s.
“Obviously, Coach Mainieri did the right thing by holding me back and letting me watch,” Landry admitted. “It took a lot of pressure off of me because I was putting a ton of pressure on myself, really for no reason.”
The new lineup proved to be beneficial for the Tigers, as the team rattled off four-straight conference series victories. Landry’s opportunities were scarce in that stretch as he earned only three starts, however, the last start proved to be a turning point in his rollercoaster season.
In the final regular season game of the season at Mississippi State, Landry went 5-for-6 with three homers and seven RBI. The win clinched a share of the SEC regular season title for LSU, and Landry’s effort earned him more opportunities in the postseason.
“Once Coach Mainieri started giving me those opportunities again I wanted to take full advantage of them,” Landry said. “I put in a lot of extra work after practice and before games, and that really paid off. I started being more selective at the plate and started laying off bad pitches.”
After celebrating the 2009 national championship, Landry, along with several other LSU teammates, traveled to New England to participate in the famous Cape Cod League. The summer league features the nation’s top college players looking to impress scouts and sharpen their skills during the offseason. Landry was no exception. He hit .364 for the Harwich Mariners with two homers, four doubles and 12 RBI in 24 games, en route to being named the league’s No.14 prospect according to Baseball America magazine.
“I carried the momentum of the way I finished last season with me to Cape Cod,” Landry said. “I kept the same mindset of laying off bad pitches and hitting the ball where it’s pitched instead of trying to yank everything out of the park.
“I ended up hitting .364 there, which is good for a wooden-bat league, which favors pitchers. It really signaled my transformation from a pull hitter to someone who could utilize all fields.”
Through the first 11 games of the 2010 season, Landry has not hit a single home run. Some would call this stat a drop-off after 12 dingers a year ago, including those seven in his first 11 games; Landry just calls it progress.
“I want to be a contact hitter,” Landry said. “I don’t want to try to flare it out of the park anymore. My approach is to sit on my pitch and hit it back up the middle.”
Through his first 11 games in 2010, Landry is batting .368 with two triples, two doubles, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored. He also has struck out only three times, the lowest of any starting position player.
“I’ve been doing a better job of laying off that pitch under my chin that I always used to hack at,” Landry said. “Same thing with those balls in the dirt that I can’t reach.”
The plate isn’t the only area Landry wants to improve this season. As athletic as he is, Landry stole only nine bases last season, a number he wants to increase this season. Through 11 games, he has already stolen six bags, including four in one game against William and Mary, which tied an LSU single-game record.
“I didn’t give myself the opportunity to steal many bases last season because I didn’t get on base enough,” Landry said. “I want to do a better job of getting on base, and once I’m there my goal is to get to second because I know I can score from there with big bats behind me like Matt Gaudet and Mikie Mahtook hitting balls in the gap.”
Landry’s offensive improvement this year complements his already sterling reputation as a vacuum cleaner in the outfield. LSU fans have enjoyed his acrobatic leaps against the wall to rob homers, as well as his superman-like dives to capture sinking liners. Most notably in 2008 during the NCAA Super Regional against UC Irvine, Landry’s catches were voted as ESPN’s “Top Play of the Day” two days in a row.
His outstanding defensive plays and his continuing offensive improvements are sources of pride for Landry, but another source of pride, according to him, is the opportunity to interact with fans in a unique way. Throughout the season, Landry will feature different designs cut into his hair, such as “LSU”, or the number “6”. While his hat covers the designs most of the time, Landry enjoys the way fans respond.
“Some people think it’s a superstition, but it’s not,” Landry explained. “It’s really just for the fans. I’ll take my hat off and show them as I’m walking out to sign autographs. It’s cool because it normally strikes up a conversation with people, and I enjoy that a lot and take pride in it.”
During his time at LSU, Leon Landry has gone from talented freshman to human highlight reel; wild-swinging slugger to precise contact hitter; relatively unknown kid to, as he says, “headstrong young man.”After being assigned so many different labels, it’s no surprise Leon Landry just wants to be remembered for one of them.
“I’d want people to know that I was a respectable young man that came to LSU and played my heart out, and I gave it my all even when times weren’t great,” Landry said. “Sure I’d want people to remember me as a great athlete, but more so than that I’d want them to think of me as a good kid.”