In his first summer with the semi-pro Menlo Park Legends, pitcher Alon Leichman is establishing himself as a force on the mound.

On break from Cypress College in the Los Angeles area, Leichman is playing in the summer league with the Legends, who play their home games this year at Canada College in Woodside.

Leichman is a stand-out. His 2012 earned run average (ERA) of 1.51 is the team's best for a pitcher in the regular rotation. That means his opponents scored an average of 1.51 earned runs per nine innings.

Leichman has pitched 41.2 innings and struck out 31, Legends statistician Alex Simon told the Almanac. He's won five games, lost two and saved two.

He's walked 12 and given up 28 hits, including eight runs, seven of which were earned.

Leichman grew up on an Israeli kibbutz founded by American Jews who brought their national pastime with them: they made themselves a baseball diamond. He's played since the age of 4 and is on the Israeli national team.

He hadn't been more than two months into his career at Cypress in 2011 when his elbow gave out, leading to Tommy John surgery and a period recovery that is still ongoing. At 23 with 19 years experience behind him, he may have thrown too many curve balls, he said.

Leichman has four pitches, Simon said, including an 85 mph fastball. The pitches, as characterized by Baseball-Pitching-Tips.com:

■ A two-seam fastball, also called a tailing fastball or sinker. The grip imparts movement to the ball at a slight cost in velocity. When thrown by a right-hander, the ball should break to the right and down when it reaches the strike zone.

■ A slider. Another breaking pitch, the slider should travel laterally across the strike zone while either rising or falling.

■ A cut fastball. The ball should break slightly, three to six inches, without little loss in velocity.

■ A changeup. An off-speed pitch that looks to the batter like a fastball, but takes longer to reach the strike zone because of the way the pitcher grips the ball.

The raw speed of a pitch is not as important as pitcher control and the ability to vary the ball's speed, Legends Pitching Coach Bill Ryan said. A changeup that is 10 mph to 12 mph slower than the fastball is ideal, he said.

"I want them to throw them as hard as they can and put dinner on the table," he said of his pitching staff. It's only natural, he added. "I believe we were designed to take a rock and hit a rabbit. This is a game that keeps basic instincts alive."

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