April 30, 2002: The New York Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-1 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix. Mike Piazza hits two home runs, and Joe McEwing hits one. The winning pitcher is Al Leiter, who thus becomes the 1st pitcher to beat all 30 Major League Baseball teams.
Born in 1965 in Toms River, on the New Jersey Shore, and raised in nearby Berkeley Township, Leiter debuted in the major leagues with the New York Yankees in 1987, and went to the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989, pitching on their World Series winners of 1992 and 1993.
He went to the National League with the Florida Marlins in 1996, pitching the franchise's 1st no-hitter that season, and making his 1st All-Star Game. He was a member of their 1997 World Champions. Team owner Wayne Huizenga then broke the team up to save money, and sent him to the team he grew up rooting for, the New York Mets. In 1999, he pitched the NL Wild Card Playoff, beating the Cincinnati Reds. In 2000, he went 16-8, and made another All-Star Game, helping the Mets win the Pennant. But the Mets blew the lead he left them with in Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees, and he was left in too long in Game 5, and took the loss.
He remained with the Mets until 2004, and split his last season, 2005, with his former teams, the Marlins and the Yankees. He went 37-37 in the American League, but 125-95 in the National League, for an overall record of 162-132, with 1,974 strikeouts. The Mets have elected him to their team Hall of Fame. He has since broadcast for both New York teams.
Beating all 30 major league teams was theoretically possible before Interleague Play began in 1997, but it had never happened. Through the 2021 season, 20 pitchers have done it. After Leiter, it was achieved in 2004 by Kevin Brown, Terry Mulholland and Curt Schilling; in 2006 by Woody Williams; in 2008 by Jamie Moyer; in 2009 by Randy Johnson; in 2010 by Barry Zito, Javier Vázquez and Vicente Padilla; in 2012 by Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett; in 2013 by Dan Haren; in 2015 by Kyle Lohse and Tim Hudson; in 2016 by John Lackey and Max Scherzer; in 2017 by Bartolo Colón; in 2019 by Zack Greinke; and in 2021 by Gerrit Cole.
UPDATE: It was accomplished in 2023 by Justin Verlander; in 2024 by Charlie Morton and Lance Lynn; and in 2025 by José Quintana, Kevin Gausman and Michael Wacha, raising the total to 26.
Al's son Jack Leiter debuted in the major leagues in 2024. Al's brother Mark Leiter pitched in the majors from 1990 to 2001, going 65-73. Mark's son Mark Leiter Jr. debuted in the major leagues in 2017. Another brother, Kurt Leiter, played in the minor leagues from 1982 to 1986. All 5 Leiters were pitchers.
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April 30, 2002 was a Tuesday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-2 at Yankee Stadium. David Wells outpitched Barry Zito. Ron Coomer, a former Minnesota star in his only season with the Yankees, went 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Shane Spencer went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Darren Oliver allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-3 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.
* The Anaheim Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 21-2 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. The Angels were already up 9-1 going into the 8th inning, when they scored 10 runs. Troy Glaus went 4-for-6 with a home run, a walk and 5 RBIs. Jeff DaVanon came in as a pinch-hitter, and went 2-for-2 with a home run, 4 RBIs. Scott Spiezio went 2-for-4 with a walk and 3 RBIs. Darin Erstad, Bengie Molina and José Nieves each went 3-for-6 with an RBI, and Erstad also hit a home run and drew a walk.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-4 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-4.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 6-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Florida Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 5-1 at Enron Field (now Daikin Park) in Houston.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 10-0 at Coors Field in Denver. Mike Hampton, with Leiter the other major starting pitcher on the Pennant-winning 2000 Mets, pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Rick White and Mike James each pitched a perfect inning. Todd Zeile, another 2000 Met, and Todd Helton hit home runs.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Adam Dunn hit a home run, but Ken Griffey Jr. was injured and did not play.
* And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-2 at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. The aforementioned Vicente Padilla was the winning pitcher. Travis Lee and Jimmy Rollins hit home runs. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4.
Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The New Jersey Nets lost to the Indiana Pacers, 97-74 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. And the Charlotte Hornets beat the Orlando Magic, 102-85 at the TD Waterhouse Centre (formerly the Orlando Arena). Tracy McGrady scored 35 in defeat for the Magic.
There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders, 4-2 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.
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