Phil Nevin recently managed the Los Angeles Angels and Bob Boone managed the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds. Steve Leavitt of Huntington Beach coached both Nevin and Boone, when they were in high school, before his career as a scout, which he retires from this month.
The former catcher at Arizona State is culminating a 25-year career of locating potential professional talent by analyzing high school and college players, including sometimes going to two ballgames in the same day.
His employers have been the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, where he earned a World Series Championship Ring in 2019.
Even the Washington Post kept track of Leavitt’s career. “Veteran Scout Steve Leavitt has been hired by the Nationals to patrol Southern California,” the Post reported on Nov. 10, 2014.
And patrol, he did, logging thousands and thousands of miles going to games, talking with prospects and their parents and presenting reports to his bosses from San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield, south to San Diego. He has even gone to games in Hawaii.
Being a baseball enthusiast all his life, Leavitt developed a keen eye, especially during his playing days and as a coach at El Dorado High School in Placentia.
He saw future MLB All-Stars Nevin and Boone’s potential. Nevin, an infielder and outfielder, spent 12 years, including with the Angels, in the big leagues. In 2001, he hit 41 homers for the Padres.
Boone, also a former Angel, was the first third generation ballplayer in the majors. Both his father and grandfather preceded him. The 4-time Golden Glove catcher’s son, Aaron, is manager of the New York Yankees.
As a scout, Leavitt has discovered several terrific talents which his teams drafted, including Lucas Duda, who hit 3 homers in one game for the New York Mets in 2015.
“I look for players with raw power and usable power. It’s one thing to hit homers in practice but you need to do it in the game,” he said. “Duda did both. He caught my eye at USC, when in practice, he kept launching balls to the top of the parking structure outside the right field fence.”
The Mets drafted him and Duda went on to have 30 or more home runs several times. “I always say, ‘With hitters, it’s all about the bat. If you can hit, we’ll find a place for you,” Leavitt said.
“I’ve really been blessed. Even though I’m retiring, I love baseball and never get tired of it,” he said. “I told the Nationals, if they need a scout to fill in now and then, I’d try to help. But my wife, Carol, and I have a new grandson, Jackson, who I’m developing to be a ballplayer.”
“I had the profound pleasure of spending a day with Steve as he scouted a game at Long Beach State,” said Patrick Brennan, former executive director of the Bolsa Chica Conservancy. “As a lover of baseball, I was enthralled by his stories and insights into the game. Congratulations to Steve on spending 25 years, doing something he loved.”
