Justin Leone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Justin Leone**

San Francisco Giants — No. 21
Third baseman
Born: March 9, 1977 (1977-03-09) (age 31)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
July 2, 2004 for the Seattle Mariners
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Batting average	.214
Home runs	6
Runs batted in	13
Teams
Seattle Mariners (2004) San Diego Padres (2006)

Justin Paul Leone (born March 9, 1977, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a Major League Baseball third baseman in the San Francisco Giants organization. He is an alumnus of St. Martin's University.

Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 13th round of the 1999 MLB amateur draft, Leone made his Major League Baseball debut with the Seattle Mariners on July 2, 2004. Spent the 2006 season in the San Diego Padres Organization, making the Triple A All-Star team that year, in which he also participated in the home run derby. Was a part of the 2003 USA Olympic Qualifying Team.

In 2003, Leone was named Texas League Player of the Year by Baseball America, Mariners Minor League Player of the Year by the Seattle organization and Texas League Player of the Year by Topps while playing for Double A San Antonio. He started the season off the bench, but was picked to replace infielder Greg Dobbs after Dobbs went down with a season ending injury.

Leone was the first Mariner to hit the "Hit it Here" sign in left field during a game to earn a fan $1,000. He accomplished this two nights in a row.