Jim Leyland is Elected to the Hall of Fame

Today, Jim Leyland was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the lone inductee by the Contemporary Baseball Era Non-Players Committee. Leyland was on an eight-member ballot that included managers Lou Piniella, Davey Johnson, and Cito Gaston, executive Hank Peters, player/broadcaster/executive Bill White, and umpires Ed Montague and Joe West.

On a committee with 16 voting members, Leyland received 15 out of 16 votes (93.8%), easily putting him into Cooperstown. Piniella, for the second straight time, finished one vote short of the Hall of Fame, getting 11 out of 16 votes (68.8%) in an election requiring 75% (12 out of 16) for election. White received 10 out of 16 votes (62.5%) with the other candidates receiving “fewer than” five votes (which is the Hall’s way of not embarrassing anybody with a total of 0 or 1.”

Even as a rookie manager at the age of 41, Leyland looked like he had been there forever. From the moment he stepped into the dugout of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Leyland had the aura of a crusty old veteran. He was a profane, spitting, chain-smoking, tough SOB who could have easily been caricatured in a film featuring a Major League Baseball manager. He was hard-nosed, serious, and didn’t take crap from any of his players, even from one of the game’s biggest stars.

Leyland, who will turn 79 in 12 days, managed three teams into the World Series, winning once in 1997 with the Florida Marlins while capturing two A.L. pennants with the Detroit Tigers. He won more regular-season games as a manager than all but 17 men in baseball history. He also skippered Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, leading the Americans to their only victory in five iterations of the preseason tournament.

After a look at Leyland’s career in baseball, I’ll take a deep dive into his worthiness for a plaque in Cooperstown.

Cooperstown Cred: Jim Leyland

• As Manager: Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-96), Florida Marlins (1997-98), Colorado Rockies (1999), Detroit Tigers (2006-13)
• Career as Manager: 1,769-1,728 (.506) in 22 seasons
• 1,769 career managerial wins are the 18th most in baseball history
• Won the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins
• Won two A.L. pennants with the Detroit Tigers (2006, 2012)
• One of five managers to win 700+ games with two franchises
• Three-time Manager of the Year (1990, 1992, 2006)
• The third person to be named Manager of the Year in both the A.L. and N.L.
• Managed Team USA to victory in the 2017 World Baseball Classic

(cover photo: San Francisco Examiner)

This piece was originally posted on Tuesday, November 28th, 2023. It has been updated with the news of his election to the Hall of Fame.

Jim Leyland in the Bush Leagues

James Richard Leyland was born on December 15, 1944, in Toledo, Ohio. Jim, one of seven children for James and Veronica Leyland, grew up in the Toledo suburb of Perrysville. Nicknamed “Jimbo,” Leyland was a three-sport star at Perrysville High School, playing quarterback in football, point guard in basketball, and catcher in baseball.

Leyland’s father, Jim, a catcher for a semipro baseball team, taught his son how to play the game. In 1963, Leyland was signed by the Detroit Tigers. The 5’11”, 175-pound Leyland spent seven seasons in the Tigers organization as a backup catcher. In 446 games from 1964-70, Leyland hit .222 with 4 home runs and 102 RBI. Although the Toledo Mud Hens became the Tigers’ AAA affiliate in 1967, Leyland never got the opportunity to play for his hometown team.

In 1970, at the age of 25, just before he was released as a player, Leyland took a job offer from the Tigers to be a minor league coach. Leyland coached in Montgomery, Alabama, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina before being promoted to his first managerial job in 1971 as skipper for the Bristol (Virginia) Tigers in the Appalachian Rookie League.

Leyland managed in three different cities in the Tigers’ organization from 1971 to 1975 before settling in for a three-year tour in Lakeland (Class A in the Florida State League). Now 34 years old, Leyland was promoted to the Tigers’ new AAA affiliate (the Evansville Triplets) before the 1979 campaign. He spent three years in Evansville (Indiana), earning Manager of the Year honors in ’79. Leyland managed future MLB stalwarts Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris, Dan Petry, and Mark Fidrych during those years in the dugout.

After having spent 12 years (11 as a manager) in the Tigers’ organization, he joined the Chicago White Sox in 1982 as the third base coach for Tony La Russa. The future Hall of Fame manager had played against Leyland in AA ball and managed against him in AAA when he was the skipper of the Iowa Oaks.

After a four-year run in Chicago, on November 21, 1985, the 40-year-old Leyland was hired to be the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates by the team’s new General Manager, Syd Thrift.

Jim Leyland’s Early Years in Pittsburgh

With the Pirates, Jim Leyland took over a team that had just gone through the worst season for the franchise since 1954. Leyland’s predecessor, Chuck Tanner, had been with the club for nine seasons, including at the helm of the 1979 World Series Championship team. Only two players (pitchers Rick Rhoden and Don Robinson) remained from the “We Are Family” Bucs of ’79. The biggest star on the Pirates now was catcher Tony Pena, who had won three consecutive Gold Glove Awards. Veteran Rick Reuschel anchored the starting rotation along with Rhoden.

Given that the ’85 Pirates lost 104 games, expectations were low for Leyland’s first tour in the dugout. On May 30th, a skinny center fielder named Barry Bonds made his Major League Baseball debut. Bonds, the son of MLB veteran center fielder Bobby Bonds, had been the Pirates’ first-round pick (#6 overall) in the 1985 amateur draft. The 21-year-old Bonds was used mostly in the leadoff spot, thanks to his keen batting eye and speed. As a rookie, Bonds hit just .223 with 16 home runs in 484 plate appearances but had a .330 on-base percentage and stole 36 bases.

In July, Thrift traded for outfielder Bobby Bonilla, who would become another mainstay of Leyland’s early years in Pittsburgh. Overall, the Pirates went 64-98 in 1986, putting them in last place once again in the National League East and 44 games behind the New York Mets.

In the offseason, Thrift dealt Rhoden to the New York Yankees in a six-player deal that brought rookie pitcher Doug Drabek to Pittsburgh. Then, shortly before the 1987 campaign, Thrift made an even bolder trade, dealing Pena (a four-time All-Star) to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for right fielder Andy Van Slyke and catcher Mike LaValliere. Leyland installed Van Slyke in center field, moving Bonds to left and Bonilla to third base. The ’87 Pirates improved to an 80-82 record and then to 85-75 in 1988.

The Sporting News named Leyland as co-manager of the year with Tommy Lasorda in 1988. After the season, Thrift rewarded Leyland with a two-year contract worth $250,000 per year, but Thrift himself was replaced as GM by Larry Doughty. Thanks in part to injuries to LaValliere, first baseman Sid Bream, and shortstop Jay Bell, the 1989 Pirates regressed to 74-88. Bonds, in his fourth season, hit .248 with 19 HR and 58 RBI, although today’s analytics credit him with an 8.0 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), thanks to off-the-charts defensive metrics.

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1991 Pittsburgh Pirates

Everything came together for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990, Jim Leyland’s fifth campaign as the team’s skipper. Bonds became a superstar, winning the first of his seven Most Valuable Player Awards; he posted a stellar slash line (.301 BA, .406 OBP, .565 SLG) with 33 HR, 114 RBI, 104 Runs, and 52 SB. He made the first of his fourteen All-Star appearances, one the first of his eight Gold Gloves, and won the first of his twelve Silver Sluggers. Today’s analytics credit him with a 9.7 WAR and 170 OPS+.

Bonilla, now in right field, posted big numbers as well (32 HR, 120 RBI, 112 Runs), while Van Slyke won the third of his five consecutive Gold Gloves. Meanwhile, Drabek became a genuine ace, going 22-6 with a 2.76 ERA. The Pirates led the N.L. East for most of the season and won the division by four games with a 95-67 record.

The Pirates faced off against Lou Piniella’s Cincinnati Reds in the National League Championship Series (Piniella was also on this week’s Hall of Fame ballot). Game 1 was in Riverfront Stadium; the Pirates won 4-3 thanks to a tie-breaking 7th-inning double by Van Slyke. In Game 2, the Reds bested Drabek and the Bucs 2-1 behind Tom Browning, Rob Dibble, and Randy Myers. When the series returned to Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, the Reds won both Games 3 and 4. In Game 5, Drabek gave up two runs (one earned) in 8.1 IP to lead the Pirates to a 3-2 victory.

Decades before it would become a mainstream managerial tactic, Leyland used right-handed reliever Ted Power as an “opener” in Game 6. Leyland’s move involved some subterfuge, as he instructed left-handed starter Zane Smith to tell the press that he was going to start the game. Power and Smith gave up just 2 runs in 6.1 innings, but Danny Jackson, Norm Charlton, and Myers did better, holding the Pirates to just one run (and one hit). The Reds won the pennant and, eventually, the World Championship (over the Oakland Athletics). Bonds went 3-for-18 (.167 BA) with no home runs and one RBI in his first postseason appearance.

After the season, Leyland was named Manager of the Year, Drabek the Cy Young Award winner, and, of course, Bonds was the MVP.

1992 Pittsburgh Pirates

Now as defending champions and with Bonds a legitimate superstar, the player and manager classed in spring training. Bonds was boycotting the media and started yelling at coach Bill Virdon when a photographer got closer than Bonds would have liked. Jim Leyland had had enough.

Warning: this clip contains an extreme amount of profanity.

On the field, the favored Pirates easily won the N.L. East again in 1991, going 98-64. Bonds was brilliant again (25 HR, 116 RBI, 43 SB, 160 OPS+, 8.0 WAR). Lefty John Smiley was a 20-game winner (20-8, 3.08 ERA).

In the NLCS, the Pirates matched up against the Atlanta Braves and future Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox. The Braves went “worst to first” in the N.L. West, improving from 65 wins in 1990 to 94 wins in 1991. In Game 1 (at Three Rivers Stadium), Drabek and Bob Walk outpitched Cy Young winner Tom Glavine to lead the Bucs to a 5-1 win. The Braves came back to win Game 2 by a 1-0 score, with Steve Avery and Alejandro Pena besting Zane Smith and two relievers. In Game 3 at Fulton-County Stadium, the Braves pummelled Smiley and the Bucs for an 11-3 victory.

The Pirates won Game 4 in extra innings, winning 3-2 thanks to a LaValliere RBI single in the 10th. Then, in Game 5, the Pirates won 1-0, with Smith and Roger Mason combining for a shutout to beat Glavine and Pena.

With the Pirates just one win away from their first trip to the Fall Classic since 1979, Leyland turned to Drabek for Game 6. He and Avery matched zeroes for eight innings before an RBI double in the 9th by Greg Olson gave the Braves a 1-0 lead. Pena pitched a scoreless 9th to preserve Atlanta’s 1-0 victory.

In Game 7, John Smoltz tossed a six-hit shutout, leading the Braves to a 4-0 win and a date with the Minnesota Twins in the World Series. It was another bitter disappointment for Leyland and the Pirates and, in particular, Bonds, who hit just .148 (4 for 27) with no RBI in the series. Overall, the Pirates scored just one run in the final 27 innings of the series. Leyland finished second to Cox in the Manager of the Year voting, with Bonds the MVP runner-up to Braves’ third baseman Terry Pendleton.

1993 Pittsburgh Pirates

In the offseason, Ted Simmons (the Hall of Fame catcher) replaced Doughty as the Pirates’ General Manager. Bonilla departed as a free agent, signing with the New York Mets. Simmons irked Leyland by releasing relief pitcher Bill Landrum and trading Smiley to the Minnesota Twins for pitcher Denny Neagle and outfielder Midre Cummings, neither of whom came close to matching Smiley’s value.

Still, Leyland’s Pirates won the East again with 96 regular season wins. Bonds had another monster campaign (.311/.456/.624, 34 HR, 103 RBI, 109 Runs, 39 SB, 204 OPS+, 9.0 WAR) en route to his 2nd MVP Award. Van Slyke (6.0 WAR) and Drabek (2.77 ERA) had big seasons, and rookie knuckleballer Tim Wakefield went 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA.

Up against the Braves again in the NLCS, the Pirates lost the first two games in Atlanta before Wakefield outpitched Glavine in Game 3. The teams split Games 4 and 5 before the Bucs romped 13-4 in Game 6, with Wakefield going the distance and Bonds finally hitting a postseason home run with a solo tater off Glavine in the Bucs’ 8-run 2nd-inning outburst.

Game 7 was an all-time classic. Drabek started with eight scoreless innings, while the Pirates managed a pair of runs off Smoltz. Drabek had already thrown 120 pitches but Leyland stuck with him in the bottom of the 9th. Pendleton led off with a double; David Justice then reached on an error by second baseman Jose Lind.

After a four-pitch walk to former Pirate Sid Bream, Leyland brought in reliever Stan Belinda with no outs and the bases loaded. Ron Gant hit a sacrifice fly to score Pendleton. After a walk and a popup, Cox brought up pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera (who had only 11 plate appearances that season) to pinch-hit for reliever Jeff Reardon. On a 2-1 Belinda offering, Cabrera singled to left field, easily scoring Justice with the tying run. The slow-footed Bream chugged around third base and barely beat Bonds’ throw to score the winning run and send the Braves back to the World Series.

The bitter Game 7 loss was the last game in a Pirates uniform for Barry Bonds. Although he was establishing himself as one of the game’s great players, his performance in three postseason opportunities was something that hovered over him for another decade. In three LCS bids, Bonds slashed .191/.337/.265 with just one home run and three RBI.

Although he would have gladly traded it for a World Series berth, Jim Leyland was named N.L. Manager of the Year again.

Jim Leyland’s Final Years in Pittsburgh (1993-96)

1992 was the end of the road for the small-market Pittsburgh Pirates as a contending team. Bonds signed a free-agent contract with the San Franciso Giants, while Drabek signed with the Houston Astros. No team could withstand the loss of a talent like Bonds, but Drabek’s loss was nearly as significant. Wakefield and Zane Smith, key cogs in the 1992 rotation, both struggled mightily in 1993.

Even without Bonds, the Pirates actually scored 14 more runs in 1993 than they did in 1992, but the staff era rose from 3.35 (595 runs allowed) to 4.77 (806 runs allowed). The awful pitching resulted in a 75-87 record and 5th place N.L. East finish. The strike-shortened 1994 campaign was only slightly better; the team went 53-61 to finish 3rd in the newly formed N.L. Central Division.

The 1995 Pirates went 58-86, finishing 5th (out of 5 teams) in the Central. 1996 was no better. The Bucs went 73-89, finishing last in the division once again. Leyland decided that he was moving on from Pittsburgh. He received five standing ovations at the Pirates’ final home game.

Jim Leyland with the Florida Marlins (1997-98)

Despite four straight losing seasons, Jim Leyland was in big demand. He received managerial offers with the White Sox, Red Sox, and Angels before signing a five-year, $6 million contract to manage the Florida Marlins. The 1996 Marlins, in their fourth year of existence, went 80-82. They had a solid offensive core (right fielder Gary Sheffield, center fielder Devon White, left fielder Jeff Conine, shortstop Edgar Renteria, and catcher Charles Johnson), two ace starters (Kevin Brown and Al Leiter), and an elite closer (Robb Nen).

In the offseason, owner Wayne Huizenga went on a spending spree, authorizing General Manager Dave Dombrowski to sign multiple free agents, including pitcher Alex Fernandez, left fielder Moises Alou, and Bonilla, who reunited with his former skipper. (Conine was moved to first base to make room for Alou).

The Marlins were in the same division as the Atlanta Braves, who were in the midst of a run of 14 division titles in 15 seasons. Fortunately for Leyland and the Marlins, Major League Baseball was now in the Wild Card era. In Leyland’s first season with Florida, he led the team to a 92-70 record. That put them nine games behind the Braves but comfortably into the playoffs as the N.L.’s Wild Card entry.

In the National League Division Series, the Marlins were matched up against Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants, skippered by Dusty Baker. Playing at home at Pro Player Stadium, the Marlins won 2-1 in Game 1 on a walk-off RBI single by the 21-year-old Renteria. In Game 2, the Marlins were up 6-4 after six innings, but Bonds delivered an RBI double in the 7th and an RBI groundout in the 9th to tie the score at 6. In the bottom of the 9th, Alou stroked an RBI single to give Florida a 7-6 victory. A grand slam by White in Game 3 powered the Marlins to a 6-2 victory and series sweep.

Not surprisingly, the Marlins drew the Braves as their opponent in the NLCS. After the teams split the first four games, Game 5 (in Miami) featured a pitching matchup between future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and Cuban rookie right-hander Livan Hernandez. I was sitting in the press box behind home plate and all of us who were there couldn’t believe what we witnessed that afternoon. Home plate umpire Eric Gregg had one of the widest strike zones any of us had ever seen. Maddux struck out 9 batters in 7 innings, while Hernandez whiffed a whopping 15 Braves in a complete game 3-hitter, with the Marlins winning 2-1. Six of Livan’s strikeouts were “looking,” including the last out on a pitch to future Hall of Famer Fred McGriff that was about a foot outside.

The Marlins won Game 6 in Atlanta two days later, setting up a World Series date with the Cleveland Indians. After splitting the first two games, the Marlins won a wild Game 3 at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. The teams were tied at 7 after the eighth inning. Then, in the top of the 9th, the Marlins scored seven runs thanks in part to three errors by the Tribe. Nen gave up four runs in the bottom of the frame; the Marlins “held on” for a 14-11 victory.

The Indians won Game 4 easily. In Game 5, Florida had an 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the 9th, but Nen gave up another three runs before closing out the 8-7 win. The Indians won Game 6 by a 4-1 score, setting up the classic Game 7.

The Tribe struck first, with Tony Fernandez stroking a two-run single off Leiter in the top of the 3rd. Florida clawed back one run when Bonilla led off the bottom of the 7th with a solo blast off Jaret Wright. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, second baseman Craig Counsell tied the game with a sacrifice fly off Indians’ closer Jose Mesa. In the bottom of the 11th, the Marlins loaded the bases off Indians starter Charles Nagy, who had replaced Mesa in the 10th. Renteria delivered again, singling up the middle to bring home Counsell with the winning run.

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Florida’s Fire Sale

With the World Series Championship, the Florida Marlins went from expansion team to World Champion in a record five years. And, one year after spending the money to help build the championship squad, Huizenga decided to obliterate the team that he and Dombrowski had built. Robb Nen, Devon White, and Jeff Conine were all traded in November. Kevin Brown was dealt in December, with Al Leiter sent packing the following February.

With the core of the team gutted, the Marlins got off to a terrible start, losing 10 of their 11 games in the 1998 campaign. Incredibly, the Marlins were already 16 games out of first place in the N.L. East when four more of the ’97 players were traded. On May 14th, Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson, and Jim Eisenreich were dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, the team did get a future Hall of Famer (Mike Piazza) in return (along with Todd Zeile), but Piazza was moved eight days later (to the New York Mets) in exchange for rookie Preston Wilson and two minor leaguers.

The Florida fire sale resulted in a brutal 54-108 record in 1998, and Leyland resigned four days after the end of the miserable season.

1999: A Season in the Rockies

Jim Leyland, only 54 years old at the end of the 1998 campaign, was still very much in demand. He decided to go from one expansion team to another, signing a three-year, $6 million contract with the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies had a strong core of offensive players (right fielder Larry Walker, left fielder Dante Bichette, third baseman Vinny Castilla, and first baseman Todd Helton) but not much pitching. All in all, Colorado pitchers posted a 4.99 ERA in 1998, which was the second worst in the league only to Leyland’s Marlins.

Now, in fairness, Rockies pitchers are always near the bottom of the league’s statistics in ERA because of the mile-high air at Coors Field. Unfortunately for Leyland, Colorado’s mediocre pitching became downright awful in 1999. The team posted a brutal 6.01 staff ERA in ’99, the worst in the history of Major League Baseball. Colorado pitchers had a 7.14 ERA at Coors Field and a 4.84 ERA on the road.

Anyway, even though Walker won the slash-line triple crown (.379 BA, .458 OBP, .710 SLG), the Rockies finished with a 72-90 record, which was the worst in the N.L. West. Leyland chose to walk away from the final $4 million on his contract, essentially retiring as a Major League Baseball manager.

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From 2000-05, Leyland spent time with his family and worked as a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals. Finally, after six years away from the dugout, he was hired in October 2005 to manage the Detroit Tigers for the 2006 season.

Jim Leyland Joins the Detroit Tigers

Out of the four downtrodden franchises that Jim Leyland took over during his managerial career, none could match the Detroit Tigers, who had suffered through 12 consecutive losing seasons under six different managers. Future Hall of Fame player Alan Trammell sat in the dugout from 2003-2005 and compiled a woeful 186-300 record (.383) in three seasons. The 2005 edition went 71-91 to finish 4th in the A.L. Central.

As David Bilmes notes in his SABR bio about Leyland, it didn’t take long for the team’s new skipper to let the players know that he would not tolerate dissension on his team:

On April 17, the Tigers were trailing Cleveland 7-1 in the third inning when All-Star catcher Iván Rodriguez, with a runner on second, hit what he thought was an RBI single. But (Gene) Lamont, the Tigers’ third-base coach, held Placido Polanco up at third base. From across the diamond, a furious Rodriguez held his arms up and yelled at Lamont. After the game, a 10-2 loss, Leyland called a team meeting and said any player who showed up a coach like that would never play for him again. “He got the whole room’s attention,” said Detroit closer Todd Jones. “And he only had to do it once.”

— David Bilmes, Jim Leyland SABR Bio

The Tigers improved from 71 wins in 2005 to 95 in 2006, thanks to a greatly improved pitching staff: Justin Verlander was the A.L. rookie of the year, veteran Kenny Rogers joined as a free agent, and the team had a terrific bullpen with Jones (also a free agent acquisition), Joel Zumaya, and Fernando Rodney.

Detroit earned the A.L. Wild Card berth, putting the boys from Motown into the postseason for the first time since 1987. The Tigers easily advanced to the Fall Classic, defeating the New York Yankees 3 games to 1 in the ALDS, followed by a four-game sweep over the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS.

The World Series featured a managerial matchup between two old friends, Leyland and his former boss Tony La Russa. The magic ended for the Tigers as the Redbirds won the title 4 games to 1. After the season, Leyland joined La Russa and Bobby Cox as the only three skippers to be named Manager of the Year in both leagues.

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Although the offense was improved (veteran Gary Sheffield came aboard in a trade while Magglio Ordonez and Curtis Granderson had career years), the Tigers regressed to 88 wins in 2007, thanks to injuries to Rogers and Zumaya and subpar seasons by Jones and any starting pitcher not named Verlander.

In the offseason, General Manager Dave Dombrowski made a big move by acquiring slugger Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins, and Miggy did not disappoint (.292 BA, 37 HR, 127 RBI). Unfortunately, the rest of the offense sagged while the pitching was brutal (even Verlander went 11-17 with a 4.84 ERA); the Tigers only won 74 games, the only losing season in Leyland’s years in Motown.

The Tigers also missed the playoffs in both 2009 and 2010, with Max Scherzer joining the squad in ’10 after a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Jim Leyland’s Final Years in Detroit (2011-13)

In the 2010-11 offseason, Dombroski signed several free agents (shortstop Jhonny Peralta, DH Victor Martinez, and reliever Joaquin Benoit), and starting pitcher Doug Fister was added at the trading deadline to help Jim Leyland’s Tigers back to the postseason with 95 wins, and the A.L. Central title. Verlander was the key to Detroit’s return to October; JV went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and won both the Cy Young and MVP Awards.

The Tigers defeated the Yankees in five games in the ALDS, with Fister and closer Jose Valverde leading Detroit to a 3-2 win in Game 5. The Tigers fell to the Texas Rangers in 6 games, however, in the ALCS, with Scherzer getting pummeled in Game 6.

A few months before the 2012 season, Dombrowski signed free agent first baseman Prince Fielder, resulting in a move to third base for Cabrera. Fielder and Cabrera provided a dynamic duo reminiscent of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz in Boston. Cabrera became the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastremski in 1967; Miggy led the A.L. with a .330 BA, 44 HR, and 139 RBI.

Although the team won just 88 games, that was good enough in 2012 to win the A.L. Central. Thanks to two superb starts by Verlander (both wins, 1 ER in 16 IP), the Tigers defeated the A’s 3 games to 2 in the ALDS and followed that up with a sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS. Verlander, however, gave up two home runs to Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants in the World Series (the Kung Fu Panda would hit a third tater off Al Alburquerque), setting the tone for a four-game sweep by Bruce Bochy‘s Giants.

In 2013, Cabrera had an equally superb campaign (.348 BA, 44 HR, 137 RBI); he didn’t win the Triple Crown but did win his 2nd straight MVP (the third straight for a member of the Tigers). Meanwhile, right fielder Torii Hunter added to an already prolific offense while Scherzer emerged as an ace, going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA, making up for a middling campaign for Verlander (13-12, 3.46 ERA).

In the postseason, the Tigers once again defeated the Athletics in a five-game series, with Verlander and Benoit combining for a Game 5 shutout. In the ALCS, Leyland’s Tigers faced off against the Boston Red Sox. In Game 1 in Boston, third starter Anibal Sanchez combined with three relievers to keep the mighty Sox hitless through 8 innings. Benoit gave up a single in the 9th, but the Tigers won 1-0.

It was more of the same in Game 2. Scherzer was brilliant, holding the Sox to one run and two hits in seven innings with 13 strikeouts. Mad Max had thrown 108 pitches, however, and had yet to complete one game in six MLB campaigns, so Leyland went to the bullpen with the Tigers up 5-to-1. (As an aside, as a Red Sox fan, I was absolutely thrilled to see Leyland go to his bullpen).

You probably know how this particular movie ends. Three relievers (Jose Veras, Drew Smyly, and Alburquerque) loaded the bases. Leyland went to his closer (Benoit), and Ortiz hit the first pitch into the right field bullpen for a grand slam to tie the score. The Sox went on to win 6-5 and ultimately prevailed in the series in 6 games.

One day after the Tigers were eliminated, Leyland announced that he was resigning. The Game 6 loss in Boston was the last game Jim Leyland would manage in Major League Baseball. He finished with 1,769 regular season wins and eight postseason appearances in 22 campaigns.

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2017: The World Baseball Classic

The first World Baseball Classic was played in 2006. It was modeled after the World Cup and a response to the International Olympic Committee’s decision to remove baseball as an Olympic sport in 2005. Played every three to four years during spring training (March), the WBC is a team with 16 teams, made up of many Major League Baseball players and professionals from the other countries in the tournament. Japan won the first two tournaments (2006 and 2009), with the Dominican Republic winning in 2013.

In April 2016, Jim Leyland, who had been serving as a special assistant for the Tigers, was named the manager of the 2017 U.S. World Baseball Classic team. The 16-team tournament features four geographically aligned “pools” in the first round. In 2017, the USA was in Pool C with Canada, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Playing in the familiar (for Leyland) Marlins Park, Team USA went 2-1 in the first round, defeating Colombia and Canada while falling to the DR.

Team USA and the Dominican advanced to the second round, in Pool F against Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Playing at Petco Park in San Diego, Leyland’s squad defeated Venezuela and the DR but lost to Puerto Rico. Still, the 2-1 record in the second round was good enough for a berth in the semifinals.

Playing at Dodger Stadium, Team USA defeated Japan in the semis and then, in the finals, exacted revenge by crushing Puerto Rico 8-0, giving the USA its first (and only) WBC title. Marcus Stroman, a member of the Toronto Blue Jays at the time, carried a no-hitter through six innings before giving up a single in the 7th and yielding to the bullpen.

“He’s the man. I never played for such a down-to-earth, humble, confident manager. He is able to rile us up in the perfect ways. I feel like every word he says is calculated and perfect, and he knows how to get us going. It was an experience. I loved playing for him.”

— Marcus Stroman, Team USA starting pitcher (March 22, 2017)

“I got a chance to manage for our country. Coaches got a chance to coach for our country. The players got a chance to play for our country. But you know what? This is for the people who serve our country.”

— Jim Leyland, manager of Team USA (March 22, 2017)

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Jim Leyland’s Hall of Fame Qualifications

Today, Jim Leyland was on a Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in his career as one of the eight candidates for the Contemporary Baseball non-players Era Committee ballot. As previously noted, he was on the ballot with three other managers (Lou Piniella, Davey Johnson, and Cito Gaston) and four others. The 16 members of the Committee were able to vote for as many as three out of the eight candidates. Leyland got 15 out of 16 votes, easily making it to the Hall.

The question here is whether Leyland was the best choice. Although his career won-loss record (.506) is barely above .500, we’ve previously noted that he stuck around for the post-Bonds years in Pittsburgh and was still with the Marlins in 1998 after owner Wayne Huizenga completely dismantled the 1997 championship squad. He was the manager of the year three times (and in two different leagues).

Leyland is one of five managers to win 700+ games with two different franchises: the others are Tony La Russa, Sparky Anderson, Bruce Bochy, and Terry Francona. With three pennants, a World Series title, and the 18th most wins for any manager in baseball history, he was a legitimate choice for the Hall of Fame.

Actually, there are two questions here. The first is how Leyland’s career stacks up against the managers who have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The second is how he measures up against Piniella, Johnson, and Gaston, the candidates he defeated on the ballot.

It’s notable that the Screening Committee that chooses the candidates elected to bypass Leyland on the 2017 and 2019 ballots; Piniella and Johnson were on both of those ballots, with Sweet Lou coming within one vote of the Hall on the 2019 ballot (and again this year). Today was the third straight time that Piniella was the leading vote-getter among the candidates who fell short of Cooperstown. Johnson has been on four previous versions of what used to be known as the Veterans Committee ballot and has never gotten anywhere (and got “less than five” votes today).

Of the managerial candidates, Gaston won a pair of World Series titles. Leyland, Piniella, and Johnson won one each. Most Hall of Fame managers have won two or more. There are exceptions, however. Leo Durocher, Earl Weaver, and Whitey Herzog only won one title each. Leyland, overall, has a similar resume to Herzog’s.

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It’s pretty close between the two. Herzog has the edge on his career winning percentage, but Leyland has more longevity. The White Rat was also a respected General Manager, while Leyland has the unique credential of winning the World Baseball Classic.

Among the skippers with a pair of World Series titles, Leyland looks pretty good compared to both Tommy Lasorda and Dick Williams.

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When you consider that Williams managed a super-team (the Oakland A’s dynasty) and Lasorda spent his whole career in big-market Los Angeles, Leyland looks really good despite one fewer ring.

Comparing Leyland to Johnson, Piniella, and Gaston

Of course, Jim Leyland was not on the ballot with Herzog, Lasorda, or Williams. So how does he look when compared to the other candidates who were on the ballot?

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Gaston has the obvious edge with the two World Series titles (in 1992-93 with Toronto), but his longevity is clearly lacking. There are many other managers with a pair of championships who are not in the Hall of Fame: Ralph Houk, Tom Kelly, and Danny Murtaugh are among them. Plus, when you consider how many Hall of Famers Gaston had on those title teams (Rickey Henderson, Roberto Alomar, Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris), it’s hard to argue that Johnson, Piniella, or Leyland couldn’t have done the same with the same talent.

So, to me, it comes down to Leyland, Piniella, and Johnson. It’s entirely possible that some members of the Eras Committee voted for all three men and it’s clear that at least 10 out of 16 voted for both Leyland and Piniella.

If it’s a choice for one man, Leyland looks like the best bet to these eyes. To me, both Johnson and Piniella have some baggage with talented teams that underachieved their potential. Johnson’s 1980s Mets won their one World Series in 1986 but had too much talent not to win more than once. As for Piniella, he never was able to bring the Mariners to the Fall Classic despite rosters populated with Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, and Ichiro Suzuki.

It is fair to say that Leyland’s Pirates underachieved slightly by losing the NLCS for three straight years despite having the best player on the planet, Barry Bonds. Leyland and the Bucs lost to Piniella and the Cincinnati Reds in 1990 in 6 games and lost a pair of heartbreaking 7-game series to Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves. It didn’t help the Pirates’ cause that Bonds hit .191 with just 3 RBI in those 20 NLCS contests. That’s a knock on Bonds, not Leyland.

One final thing: in my piece about Davey Johnson, I highlighted a managerial ratings system created by sabermetric pioneer Bill James. It’s a “points system” (similar to his Hall of Fame monitor) that gives managers credit for wins, winning percentage, postseason appearances, and overperformance compared to their teams’ previous two seasons. All three of these managers were known as turnaround specialists. The system has 100 as a points benchmark for a Hall of Fame manager. For whatever it’s worth, all three skippers are over the line (Johnson rates the best with 111 points, while Piniella and Leyland get 102 each).

You can read all about the details in the Johnson piece, but the biggest takeaway (to me, anyway) is what is already obvious, that all three have strong Cooperstown credentials, and it’s not easy to choose between them.

But if I had to pick one, I would have picked Leyland, followed by Piniella and Johnson (and, as we now know, the Era Committee members concurred).

Fair or not, a Major League Baseball manager’s legacy is tied to his team’s performances in October. It’s why Bruce Bochy is a lock for the Hall of Fame despite a sub-.500 record in the regular season. The tiebreaker to me when it comes to Leyland, Piniella, and Johnson is that Leyland won three pennants while the others won just one apiece. Add in the fact that he is the only manager to lead Team USA to victory in the World Baseball Classic, and that makes Jim Leyland a Hall of Famer to me.

15 out of the 16 members of the Era Committee agreed. It didn’t hurt Leyland’s cause that Joe Torre (whose Yankees lost to the Tigers in the 2006 ALDS) was on the committee. It didn’t hurt either that Greg Maddux and Chipper Jones, who were on the Atlanta Braves in 1997 when they were defeated in the NLCS by Lyeland’s Marlins, were on the committee. And it didn’t hurt that Jim Thome, a member of the 1997 Cleveland Indians who were beaten in the World Series, was on the committee.

Congratulations on making it to Cooperstown, Jim!

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