A Lefty From the Groves : Willie Leighton Maintains Control by Throwing Fillmore Opponents for a Curve

Ed Leighton learned to pitch with control by throwing baseballs through a hole in the canvas that hung against the family barn in Maine. Leighton, 69, eventually became good enough to play semi-pro ball and once participated in an exhibition game at Fenway Park in Boston against players such as Jimmy Foxx and Lefty Grove.

Willie Leighton, Ed’s grandson, learned to pitch with control by participating in Little League programs and playing in the orange groves in Piru, eight miles east of Fillmore. It was among the trees that Willie practiced throwing juicy fastballs at--and dodging citrus spheres hurled by--his friends.

Leighton, 17, eventually became a good enough pitcher to go 10-2 and earn All-Southern Section honors last season as a junior at Fillmore High. This season, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound lefty from the groves has combined his fastball with the slow, looping “grandpa curve,” to continue his mastery over batters.

“If someone starts to hit me, I tend to get mad,” said Leighton, who improved his record to 6-0 with a win over Moorpark on Tuesday. “I don’t get frustrated or show any feelings, but I get mad at the ball and just throw hard and blow it by people.”

Two weeks ago, Leighton blew away Bishop Diego batters, finishing with a no-hitter and 11 strikeouts. It was the first no-hitter by a Fillmore pitcher since Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Kevin Gross threw one in 1979.

“It was pretty exciting, but I think I’ve pitched better games,” said Leighton, who has received recruiting letters from Tennessee, Duke and Loyola Marymount. “My best games are when it’s 2-1 or something like that. That’s where I really see who I am to see if I can hold them off.”

Leighton is one of the main reasons Fillmore is expected to win its second consecutive Tri-Valley League championship, which would be the 12th since 1975 for the Flashes.

“He’s sneaky fast and has good command of his pitches when he’s at his best,” Fillmore Coach Tom Ecklund said. “He’s worked very hard to develop himself.”

Leighton’s father, Bill, likes to say that Willie has been developing as a ballplayer almost from the time he was born. Bill Leighton has vivid memories of his son’s birth. He was coaching a Little League team in Ventura and was holding a practice at a field that was just across the fence from what was then the Leighton’s home. “I remember my wife was due with Willie,” Bill said, “and she walked over to the fence and said, “Bill, it’s time.’ ”

The Leightons moved to Piru in 1980. Willie’s exploits on the baseball field quickly garnered the attention of the community of 1,500 caught up in the Fernandomania that resulted from Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s success.

Leighton and Fillmore teammates Manuel Galindo and Jesse Lechuga spent their pre-adolescent years competing in sports, riding their bikes, climbing in the hills, river rafting and playing dodge ball in the orange groves.

“I remember we were out there and I was behind a tree,” said Lechuga, who plays right field. “I stuck my head out and Willie was 35 yards away. I thought, ‘There’s no way he can hit me.’ It’s a good thing the orange wasn’t hard, because he got me. It was pretty soft and messy.”

By the time Leighton got to Fillmore High, he was leaning toward making his hits on the football field.

“I always thought football was going to be my sport,” Leighton said. “My sophomore year, I wasn’t going to play baseball. I ended up playing after all, on the JVs, and we only lost one game.”

Last season, Leighton went 10-2 for the Flashes. He lost a no-hitter with two out in the seventh inning of a first-round win over Bishop in the 1-A playoffs. Fillmore was eliminated in the second round by Montclair Prep.

During the summer, Leighton attended a baseball camp at Duke University in North Carolina and returned with dreams of playing baseball in college, where he plans to study business management.

Leighton also enjoys working as a mechanic. He spends time between games working on his gray Chevy S-10 truck and participating in the activities of the Low Down Mini’s truck club.

Most of Leighton’s thoughts, however, are focused on finishing his career at Fillmore in a flourish.

“Every one is pretty much after me because of last year,” Leighton said. “I have to kick up the momentum.”

With increasing frequency, that means slowing things down with the grandpa curve.

“He’s throwing it a lot more and it’s become a very effective pitch for him,” said Galindo, the Fillmore catcher. “It sort of runs and then the bottom drops out.”

Ed Leighton is proud of Willie and says his grandson’s control of the pitch “is quite a bit better than it was last year.”

That’s bad news for Tri-Valley opponents who will finish out the season taking their swings against Leighton. Swings that have thus far been, and figure to remain, fruitless.