Lee Wheat

Who was Lee Wheat?

Leroy William Wheat was a right-handed pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954 and the Kansas City Athletics in 1955.

Prior to playing professionally, he attended Truman State University. He was originally signed by the Cleveland Indians prior to the 1948 season, however on February 19, 1954, he was traded with Bill Upton to the Athletics for Dave Philley.

Wheat began his major league career on April 21, 1954 at the age of 24 against the Washington Senators. Relieving Marion Fricano, Wheat pitched three innings, allowing six runs on five hits and five walks. In eight games with the Athletics in 1954, Wheat went 0–2 with a 5.72 ERA. He appeared in three games for the Kansas City Athletics in 1955, going 0–0 with a 22.50 ERA. On April 23 of that year, he pitched in his final major league game. Overall, he went 0–2 with a 6.82 ERA in 11 appearances.

On April 16, 1956, Wheat was traded from Kansas City with Tom Saffell and cash to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Tim Thompson, though he never appeared in the major leagues with them.

Wheat spent nine seasons playing minor league baseball, going 51–49 in 224 games. In 1949, his first professional season, he went 17–9 with a 2.77 ERA for the Dayton Indians.