Tigers Legend Expected to Be Emotional at Hall of Fame Induction
Legendary Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland will be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday as part of a four-person class.
On the field, Leyland’s emotions always ran hot. Off the field, they’re just as potent, but they run in a completely opposite direction.
He can be a bit of a crier, at least when it comes to his family.
So, according to USA Today, Leyland’s daughter, Kellie, attempted to prepare him by giving him a handkerchief. Inside it there will be a message if Leyland needs it, an iconic line from one of baseball’s indelible films, “A League of Their Own.”
That line? “There’s no crying in baseball.”
There may be on Sunday. Among the luminaries that will attend the Hall of Fame ceremony is Barry Bonds, who holds the record for most home runs for a career. He will be there to honor his first manager when the pair were in Pittsburgh. The same goes for Gary Sheffield, who won a World Series with Leyland in Florida.
The significance? Bonds and Sheffield have never attended an induction ceremony before.
Leyland will be inducted alongside Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer in a ceremony that starts at 1:30 p.m. eastern and will be broadcast on the MLB Network.
Leyland was voted in last year as part of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot, which is reserved for managers, umpires and executives who have contributed to the game. He was the only person on the ballot to get the necessary 75% of the vote to earn induction.
The other finalists were former managers Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson and Lou Piniella; umpires Ed Montague and Joe West; and executives Hank Peters and Bill White.
Leyland managed 22 seasons, starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986. He also managed the Florida Marlins, the Colorado Rockies and the Tigers. He compiled a record of 1,769-1,728.
With the Tigers, Leyland led the team from 2006-13 and helped them reach win the 2006 and 2012 American League pennants but lost in the World Series both times. The Tigers also reached the postseason in 2011 and 2013, losing in the American League Championship Series both times.
He is a special assistant to the Tigers in retirement.
Leyland is universally respected, as evidenced by both Bonds and Sheffield coming to Cooperstown for the first time, even though neither is in the Hall of Fame.
Dave Dombrowski, who runs the Philadelphia Phillies, was Leyland’s boss twice, including in Detroit. He couldn’t think of someone more deserving.
“Jim was just the total package you are looking for in a manager,’’ Dombrowski said to USA Today. “His knowledge of the game, his understanding of the communication of players and front office, and very much a people person. He understood every aspect of the game: development, winning, the growth of players, manager. He was so sincere and spoke from the heart. He was so respected, loved his guys. He had an unusual way that he could request players to play the game the right way.”
MATT POSTINS