Ex-Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland's Hall of Fame plaque will feature no logo

Former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who managed 3,499 games for four teams in his 22-year career, won't have a team logo on his Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown, New York.

The class of 2024 — Leyland is joined by players Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer — will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on July 21, with the ceremony scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. in Cooperstown. Leyland's Hall of Fame plaque will be revealed prior to his induction speech.

"I will always appreciate the teams that gave me the opportunity to be their major league manager," Leyland said Friday in a statement. "We had some great moments with every one of those ball clubs, and I'm proud that they all will be mentioned on my Hall of Fame plaque. I want to make sure I show each of those teams respect, and this does that."

THE DAY IT HAPPENED: Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland, his son Patrick and 'a special night for all of us'

The other three inductees will have caps with team logos on their plaques: Texas Rangers for Beltré, Colorado Rockies for Helton and Minnesota Twins for Mauer.

Helton and Mauer played their entire careers with the Rockies and Twins, respectively, but Beltré played for four teams during his 21-year career.

Here's what to know about the plaques, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame: "The Hall of Fame plaque, which serves to reflect the totality of a career, details an individual's accomplishments in the game in approximately 90 words, while listing each team on which an individual played or managed. An artist rendering of the individual being honored tops the Hall of Fame plaque, and in many instances, a cap, where a logo may or may not be featured, is included."

BEHIND THE PLATE: Alex Avila tells stories about Jim Leyland, Joe Mauer, others in 2024 Hall of Fame class

Beltré spent the final eight seasons with the Rangers, from 2011-18.

"I am grateful for the time I sept with all of my teams during my career," Beltré said in a statement. "Looking back, I played more years in Texas than anywhere else and I believe my time with the Rangers represents the peak of my career, individually and from a team standpoint. But I could not have made this journey to Cooperstown without the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and their fans, and I am proud that each of the teams I played with will be listed on my Hall of Fame plaque."

Leyland, though, didn't have such an easy decision, so he decided to skip the team logo altogether. He first suggested he would avoid the logo on his bronze plaque Dec. 4, just one day after he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era committee.

"I'm not really sure," Leyland said Dec. 4 at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. "I'm going to reassess that with the Hall of Fame committee. I'm going to take their advice on something like that. I've managed several teams. I do not want to disrespect anybody that I managed for. I'm hoping that the Hall of Fame will help me along with that, possibly with no logo. I'm not sure just yet."

[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ] 

Leyland managed the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-96), Florida Marlins (1997-98), Colorado Rockies (1999) and Tigers (2006-13). He won the 1997 World Series with the Marlins and secured Manager of the Year awards in 1990, 1992 and 2006.

He won 1,769 games in his 22 seasons: 851 wins with the Pirates, 146 wins with the Marlins, 72 wins with the Rockies and 700 wins with the Tigers. He took the Tigers to the World Series in 2006 and 2012, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and the San Francisco Giants in 2012.

Leyland ranks 17th in games and 18th in wins on MLB's all-time leaderboard for managers.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland's HOF plaque won't have logo