ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chicago White Sox pitcher Jordan Leasure is thrilled to be coming home to Tropicana Field.
“Coming here as a kid, it’s special to get to be on the field and play after watching so many games here growing up,” Leasure said.
He’s a product of Riverview High School and the University of Tampa. He was picked in the 14th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2021 MLB Draft before being traded to the White Sox in the offseason.
“It was kind of crazy, but I looked at (being traded) as a new opportunity,” he said. “I’m grateful to the White Sox for giving me another opportunity and showing that they value me.”
Leasure will have a chance to pitch at Tropicana Field for the first time as a Major League Baseball player during Chicago’s three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
He did pitch at the Trop in 2016 as part of a high school all-star game. That’s just one of his many great memories at this stadium.
“I came to the game in 2010, Matt Garza’s no-hitter, with my Grandpa,” he said. “That was pretty memorable. We sat right up there in the club seats. There’s been so many games we went to growing up. All of them were fun. So many good memories coming here.”
He is only the ninth Tampa Spartan to make it to the big leagues, joining Lou Pinella, Ozzie Timmons, and Tino Martinez.
“It’s pretty cool,” Leasure said. “Going to school there, I never thought I would be part of that list. It’s not a long list, but it’s a special group of guys that have made it.”
His college coach, Joe Urso, said that Leasure has not forgotten his Tampa roots.
“We haven’t lost touch,” Urso said. “A lot of the players continue to follow him and he texts right back. It’s awesome. He takes a lot of pride being an alum of the University of Tampa and we are all real proud.”
Leasure will have plenty of friends and family at the Trop for the White Sox-Rays series. On Monday, the entire UT baseball team sat behind the Chicago bullpen.
“It feels really cool, and hopefully, these guys coming to watch look at me and realize that they can do it too,” Leasure said. “It’s not impossible for a D-II guy to make it this far.”
