Brad Lesley of 'Little Big League' Dies at 54

The baseball player who starred in the 1994
film directed by Andrew Scheinman passed
away last weekend from kidney failure.
Major
League
Baseball
player
Brad Lesley die dat
the age
of
54 after
he was
rushed
to Marine Del Rey hospital on Saturday, April
27 night, TMZ reported. Lesley's ex-wife, Chiho
Svimonoff, told the site that Lesley had been
receiving dialysis due to his kidney problems in
a nursing home for seven months.
Lesley began his career as a pitcher for the
Cincinnati Reds in 1982 before he was
transferred to Milwaukee Brewers in 1984. He
then moved to Japan in 1985 to play for the
Hankyu Braves for two seasons. He became a
TV personality in Japan and appeared as
Ajimaru "Animal" Resry on the game show
"Takeshi's Castle" as well as an American hero
in movie "The Animal Goes to Japan."
He moved back to the U.S., retired from sport
and tried acting. He appeared alongside Tom
Selleck in a 1992 film "Mr. Baseball." In 1994,
Lesley became known for playing John
"Blackout" Gatling in "Little Big League." Later
in 1996, he played himself in Michael Jordan 's
"Space Jam."
After retiring from playing baseball, Lesley
remained being a pitching coach. In an
interview with L.A. Times back in 1997, he
credited baseball for everything he'd achieved.
He said, "Every door I've walked through in my
life has been a direct result of my success in
baseball, I can never repay baseball enough for
the doors it's opened for me. I've been truly
blessed. As much as I try to give back to the
game, it's never enough."