2024 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Candidate: Jim Leyland

This put up is a part of a sequence masking the 2024 Up to date Baseball Period Committee Managers/Executives/Umpires poll, masking candidates in these classes who made their best impression from 1980 to the current. For an introduction to the poll, see here. The eight candidates might be voted upon on the Winter Conferences in Nashville on December 3, and anybody receiving a minimum of 75% of the vote from the 16 committee members might be inducted in Cooperstown on July 21, 2024 together with any candidates elected by the BBWAA.

Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland was his period’s archetype of an old-school supervisor, as he went from trying historic firstly of his profession to really being historic, a minimum of in baseball phrases. Prematurely grey — at 42, he looked 20 years older — and identified for sneaking cigarettes between innings, he minimize an indelible picture within the dugout and in entrance of a microphone. His dry wit made him a media favorite, and regardless of a gruff exterior and a knack for getting his cash’s value from umpires when the state of affairs merited it, he earned a fame as a players’ manager reasonably than an old-school hardass. That typically labored in opposition to him, as he was susceptible to sticking with struggling gamers longer than most different managers — a vulnerability in a brief sequence. His success will garner him sturdy consideration for the Corridor of Fame, however his case could also be haunted by the variety of instances his groups got here up simply brief.

Born in Toledo, Ohio and raised within the suburb of Perrysburg, Leyland spent seven seasons as a light-hitting backup catcher within the Tigers’ minor league chain from 1964–70, topping out at Double-A. At 26 years previous, he graduated to managing the Bristol Tigers of the rookie-level Appalachian League, starting an 11-year run (1971-81) inside the Tigers’ group, throughout which he oversaw the likes of future stars Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson, and Dan Petry.

Within the American Affiliation in 1979, Leyland crossed paths with Tony La Russa, who was managing the White Sox’s Iowa affiliate. The subsequent 12 months, La Russa took over the White Sox, and Sparky Anderson moved from the Reds to the Tigers, bringing his complete teaching workers from Cincinnati, a transfer that successfully blocked Leyland’s path to Detroit. A sympathetic La Russa introduced in Leyland to function his third base coach. “Tony didn’t make me a supervisor,” Leyland recalled in 1997, “however he made me a significant league supervisor. He made me his third base coach, and it acquired me over the hump. It acquired me the publicity that I wanted.”

Leyland spent 4 seasons with the White Sox (1982–85) earlier than being tabbed to succeed Chuck Tanner because the supervisor of the Pirates. The crew improved from 104 losses below Tanner to 98 in his first 12 months on the helm, however the 21-year-old heart fielder whom he caught with as he hit .223/.330/.416 would develop as much as be Barry Bonds, who received a pair of MVP awards as he helped the Pirates win three straight NL East titles and common 96 wins from 1990–92. Teammate Bobby Bonilla, acquired from the White Sox in mid-1986, joined him within the prime three in MVP voting within the first two of these years, and Leyland himself received NL Supervisor of the 12 months honors within the two bookend seasons.

Alas, Leyland’s Pirates misplaced three straight Nationwide League Championship Collection, falling to Lou Piniella‘s Reds in six video games in 1990 after which to Bobby Cox‘s Braves in seven video games in every of the subsequent two seasons. The final 12 months was probably the most agonizing lack of all. Up 2-0 within the ninth inning of Recreation 7, Leyland caught with flagging starter Doug Drabek and nearer Stan Belinda lengthy sufficient to set off a three-run rally, with the final two runs scoring when Francisco Cabrera’s pinch-hit double plated each David Justice and Sid Bream.

Regardless of the Pirates’ standing as a powerhouse, they couldn’t maintain their core collectively resulting from cash. Bonds stewed about his contract as early because the spring of 1991; try this famously blue clip (it’s NSFW) of Leyland chewing him out on the batting cage:

Bonilla departed the Pirates in free company after the 1991 season, and Bonds and Drabek adopted after ’92. Although stripped of his stars, Leyland confirmed his loyalty to the group by remaining on the helm for 4 seasons, the beginning of the franchise’s 20-year run of sub-.500 futility.

Disillusioned by the continued exodus and lack of spending, Leyland resigned after the 1996 season. “It wasn’t a troublesome determination, but it surely was a tragic determination,” he said. Inside two weeks, he agreed to a five-year, $7 million contract to handle the Marlins, a 1993 enlargement crew whose basic supervisor Dave Dombrowkski had served as assistant GM of the White Sox throughout Leyland’s time there. Dombrowski was within the technique of jump-starting the Marlins by loading up on established stars corresponding to Bonilla, Moises Alou, Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, and Devon White. In Leyland’s first 12 months, they received 92 video games, the NL Wild Card, and an exhilarating World Collection in opposition to Cleveland, one which wasn’t determined till the eleventh inning of Recreation 7.

Alas, earlier than the champagne had dried, proprietor Wayne Huizenga ordered Dombrowski to dismantle the crew. By Might, many of the stars had been gone, and a disgusted Leyland resigned after a 54-108 season. The Marlins let him out of his contract to handle the Rockies, however after a 72-90 document in 1999, his first 12 months of a three-year deal, he conceded that his coronary heart wasn’t in it, and resigned once more.

“I by no means stated something concerning the ballpark, however I wasn’t a 9-8 supervisor, I wasn’t a 12-9 or an 11-10 supervisor,” Leyland told ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian. “It was like slow-pitch softball. I’d take a look at the frustration on our pitchers’ faces, and it pissed off me a lot. I believed, ‘I can’t undergo this once more.’”

Leyland spent six years away from the dugout, throughout which he served as a scout for La Russa’s Cardinals. Dombrowski, by this time the president/CEO/basic supervisor of the Tigers, employed him to handle following the 2005 season, their twelfth in a row beneath .500; they ran via six managers in that point, from Anderson via native legend Alan Trammell, dropping a near-record 119 video games below the latter in 2003. The turnaround below Leyland was nearly instantaneous. Spurred by the arrivals of rookie Justin Verlander and 41-year-old All-Star Kenny Rogers, the Tigers rocketed from 71 wins in Trammell’s ultimate season to 95 in Leyland’s first, together with a Wild Card spot — their first postseason look since 1987 — and their first pennant since ’84. Within the World Collection, the Tigers squared off in opposition to La Russa’s Cardinals, a matchup that highlighted the pair’s friendship at the same time as Leyland tried to downplay it. “All people is aware of I believe he’s the perfect,” said La Russa. “Moderately than robust, that is truly the best state of affairs you may think about, to be in a state of affairs with someone you respect as a lot.”

Although that they had gone simply 83-78 throughout the common season, the Cardinals and La Russa had been on an October roll. Capitalizing on a sloppy protection that made eight errors resulting in eight unearned runs, the Cardinals prevailed in 5 video games.

The Tigers completed above .500 in six of Leyland’s eight seasons on the helm, and proper at .500 in a single (2010). They received over 90 video games thrice, and made the playoffs 4 instances, three as division champions. For that eight-year interval, solely the Yankees, Pink Sox, Angels and Phillies had higher winning percentages than the Tigers’ .538.

Their 2009 season resulted in disappointment, as they blew a seven-game September lead and misplaced a Recreation 163 play-in on the heels of slugger Miguel Cabrera‘s arrest for an alcohol-related domestic violence incident that had occurred throughout the season’s ultimate weekend. Cabrera emerged as the sport’s prime hitter (although he additionally had another alcohol-related arrest), with three straight batting titles from 2011-13, and back-to-back MVP awards accompanied by a standard Triple Crown (2012) and a slash-stat one (2013). Verlander developed into a real ace, successful the MVP and Cy Younger awards in 2011, and Max Scherzer received the latter award two years later. Led by that pair, the Tigers had by far the best rotation in the game over that three-year span (the bullpen was one other matter) in addition to a potent offense; the powerhouse crew took three straight AL Central titles. After successful 95 video games in 2011, the Tigers beat the Yankees within the Division Collection, successful Recreation 5 within the Bronx thanks partly to light-hitting utilityman Don Kelly’s first-inning house run off Iván Nova. Afterwards, a query from this scribe (or reasonably, a “discuss” immediate — this was my first 12 months with a credential) about what went into his determination to play Kelly left Leyland a bit of watery-eyed:

The Tigers bowed to the Rangers in a six-game ALCS. The subsequent 12 months, after edging the A’s in one other five-game Division Collection, they swept the Yankees, holding them to 6 runs in 4 video games and heading again to the World Collection for the second time throughout Leyland’s tenure. Within the World Collection, nonetheless, it was the Tigers’ flip to be swept by scoring six runs in 4 video games in opposition to the Giants, who received the second of their three even-year championships below Bruce Bochy.

By the point the 2013 season began, the 68-year-old Leyland was the sport’s third-oldest supervisor behind 70-year-old Davey Johnson and 69-year-old Charlie Manuel, and he was going year-to-year along with his contracts. His Tigers received 93 video games and their third straight division title. Once more they beat the A’s in a five-game Division Collection, with Verlander’s 15 scoreless innings, together with eight within the decisive sport, the difference-maker.

Within the ALCS in opposition to the Pink Sox, the bullpen proved to be the Tigers’ undoing. The crew was 4 runs forward and 4 outs away from taking a two-games-to-none lead at Fenway Park when Leyland known as upon Joaquín Benoit — his fourth pitcher of the eighth inning — to face David Ortiz with the bases loaded. Ortiz hit Benoit’s first pitch into the Pink Sox bullpen for a game-tying grand slam as proper fielder Torii Hunter tumbled over the wall, and the Pink Sox received on a walk-off single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. In Recreation 6, with the Tigers getting ready to elimination, they clung to a 2-1 lead within the seventh inning, however Scherzer departed with two on and one out. The bases had been loaded by the point Leyland introduced in Jose Veras, who acquired forward 0-2 on Shane Victorino, then served up a grand slam. It was throughout however the shouting from the Fenway followers.

Two days later, Leyland announced his retirement, explaining that he’d knowledgeable Dombrowski in early September. Dombrowski in flip informed proprietor Mike Illich, however all three males stored the information from the gamers. “[T]he gas was beginning to get low,” he stated at his retirement press convention.

Brad Ausmus changed Leyland as supervisor, guiding the Tigers to a different AL Central flag with 90 wins in 2014, however the crew hasn’t been again to the postseason since then, ending at .500 or higher simply as soon as within the final 9 seasons. Leyland has remained with the Tigers as a special assistant to the general manager, outlasting not solely Dombrowski but additionally successor Al Avila. He did return to the dugout for yet one more stint, managing Workforce USA to a championship within the 2017 World Baseball Basic, its just one in 5 tournaments so far.

Like Piniella, his fellow Up to date Baseball candidate, Leyland received just one World Collection, however that’s not as large a detriment to a Corridor of Fame case as you may assume. 4 of the 21 enshrined managers whose careers came about principally or fully within the Twentieth and Twenty first centuries received just one, particularly Cox, Leo Durocher, Whitey Herzog, and Earl Weaver, whereas Al Lopez and Wilbert Robinson by no means received one. Of the 21, 5 received three or fewer pennants, particularly Durocher, Herzog, and Bucky Harris with three, and each Lopez and Robinson with two.

Growth and extra playoff rounds have made the trail to pennants extra sophisticated, with extra groups competing for a similar prize, but additionally in a position to slip into the October match with out having dominated the common season. For what it’s value, of Leyland’s eight playoff groups, six received their divisions, 5 with a minimum of 93 wins, however none of these groups received pennants. As an alternative it was his three Wild Card groups that did so — the 92-win Marlins in 1997, the 95-win Tigers in 2006, and the 88-win Tigers in ’12. Leyland’s complete of eight playoff appearances is tied for tenth total, and tied for seventh amongst these whose careers included substantial time within the Wild Card period, alongside Maddon, Dave Roberts, and Bob Melvin.

One cool side of Leyland’s Corridor case is that he’s one in every of simply 11 managers to win pennants in each leagues. 5 of the opposite 10 — Anderson, Herzog, La Russa, Joe McCarthy, and Dick Williams — are enshrined, whereas Dusty Baker and Bochy might be. Of the remainder, Yogi Berra is enshrined as a participant, whereas the jury continues to be out on Joe Maddon. The opposite supervisor among the many 10, Alvin Dark is justifiably at nighttime given not solely his low totals (he managed simply 13 seasons) but additionally his racist remarks relationship again to his days managing the Giants within the early Nineteen Sixties.

Past that, Leyland has longevity in his favor; even given his 2000–05 hiatus, he spent 22 seasons within the dugout, and ranks seventeenth all-time in video games managed, one notch beneath Candy Lou. He’s 18th in wins, which outdoes eight managers from among the many 21 Twentieth- and Twenty first-century enshrinees, together with trendy Corridor of Famers corresponding to Weaver, Williams, and Tommy Lasorda. Of the non-Corridor of Famers who outrank Leyland, three are contemporaries who might be elected by way of this committee in three years, particularly Baker, Bochy, and Terry Francona; the opposite two are Gene Mauch and Piniella. From amongst that group, Baker and Francona each received three pennants as nicely, whereas Piniella received just one and Mauch didn’t win any; Bochy, after all, has received 5. Like Baker and Piniella, Leyland received just one World Collection.

The massive knock on Leyland’s case moreover his single championship is his .506 successful share, laden by his sticking round Pittsburgh and Florida after these franchises had been stripped of their stars. Take away that 54-108 document of the 1998 Marlins and he’s acquired a .514 profession successful share. Take away that one and his 4 post-Bonds/Bonilla seasons from the Pirates — whereas nonetheless letting him put on his first 4 seasons after inheriting a 104-loss crew — and he’s as much as .529, roughly on par with Piniella’s .533 in case you ditch his Tampa Bay detour.

Whereas I don’t assume Leyland’s credentials definitively level to him as a Corridor of Famer the way in which these of La Russa or Bochy do (to call only a couple), to those eyes he stands out as the perfect among the many 4 on this poll (of whom I’ve coated Piniella and Davey Johnson however not Cito Gaston). I believe he’s an affordable selection who wouldn’t be in any respect misplaced in Cooperstown, and I’ve stumped for him for over a decade. If I had been sitting on this committee, I wouldn’t hesitate to place his title on my poll. I hope to see him in Cooperstown subsequent summer time.