Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland, his son Patrick and 'a special night for all of us'

An anxious Jim Leyland walked out of the family room at his home in Pittsburgh and marched upstairs to his bedroom at 6:45 p.m. on a Sunday in December to gather his thoughts. He tried to come up with all of the reasons why he hadn't received the phone call, but deep down, he had given up hope.

It was a career-capping wait.

Leyland was told by the Baseball Hall of Fame — as one of eight candidates on the Contemporary Era ballot — to be prepared Dec. 3 for a phone call between 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. If the Hall called in that 45-minute window, then Leyland would be forever enshrined at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, joining close friends and fellow retired managers Tony La Russa and Joe Torre.

The phone rang at 6:50 p.m.

"It was the Hall of Fame," Leyland said. "I couldn't believe it. There was definitely a tear in my eye."

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Leyland's résumé for entry into the Hall of Fame covered 22 MLB seasons as a manager. He managed the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-96), Florida Marlins (1997-98), Colorado Rockies (1999) and Detroit Tigers (2006-13), as well as Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He is the only manager in baseball history to win a championship in both the World Series (with the Marlins in 1997) and the World Baseball Classic.

The 79-year-old managed 3,499 games and won 1,769 of them — ranking 17th and 18th, respectively, on MLB's all-time leaderboard — while winning three Manager of the Year awards (1990, 1992 and 2006).

The breadth of his work, and his winning ways, made him the 23rd manager to earn a Hall of Fame induction.

"It's the final stop, really, as far as your baseball career goes," Leyland said. "To end up there, to land there in Cooperstown, it doesn't get any better than that. That's the ultimate. I certainly never thought it was going to happen, but it did."

Waiting for that phone call from the Hall of Fame was a nail-biting experience for the entire family.

Patrick Leyland, who is following in his dad's footsteps as a manager in the Chicago White Sox organization, went upstairs to check on his father. Leyland was lying on his bed and dealing with racing thoughts about every possible scenario, so his son wanted to do whatever he could to help the situation.

"It was tense," Patrick said. "It was dicey there for a little bit."

A minute later, the phone rang and brought the rest of the family — wife Katie and daughter Kellie — to the bedroom, joining the boys. Katie handed the phone to her husband. Jim listened to the voice on the other end of the call and gave a thumbs up to indicate the result.

After the good news, family and friends in town flocked to the Leylands' house to celebrate.

"It was a special night for all of us," Patrick said.

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That stress, though, was something else.

Before Leyland walked upstairs, he spent time with his immediate family in the common areas of his home. The family cooked dinner together, shared a meal together and shared the pressure as the clock ticked.

Leyland wanted — so badly — to get into the Hall of Fame.

"He dedicated his life to the game," Patrick said.

Leyland was nervous all day.

"He absolutely smoked a few cigarettes," Patrick said, laughing. "It was definitely tense. The wait was very difficult, but certainly, it worked out well, and we're all very thankful."

It's a journey Patrick can only hope to replicate, as the former Tigers minor-league player — drafted in the eighth round of the 2010 draft — took over a full-season team of his own for the first time in 2023: Low-A Kannapolis in North Carolina.

His coaching career began as a development coach with the Baltimore Orioles from 2018-21 before joining the White Sox. He managed their Arizona Complex League team in 2022, then received a promotion to lead the Cannon Ballers.

Patrick spent six seasons as a catcher in the minor leagues, advancing to the Double-A level with the Seattle Mariners, but he didn't play another professional game after the 2015 season. He was sent home from spring training tryouts in 2016 and 2017.

As a high schooler, Patrick spent some summer nights sleeping in the conference room next to his father's office at Comerica Park. He talks to his father every day. They enjoy chatting about baseball but also discuss other things in life.

"I tried to pick up as much as I could," Patrick said. "There's only one of him. He's his own guy and so am I. I don't try to be him. You got to work with what you got, treat the players the right way and be there for them.

"It's not just him. It's guys like Gene Lamont, Lloyd McClendon, Tony La Russa, these guys I've been fortunate enough to be around. I've learned a lot from them, but you have to go out, experience it and do it. I love it."

The elder Leyland had a similar transition from playing to coaching. He signed with the Tigers in 1963, also as a catcher, and spent sevens seasons in the minor leagues. He stopped playing after the 1970 season and became a coach. Leyland received his first job as an MLB manager with the Pirates ahead of the 1986 season, at age 40.

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Patrick will return to the White Sox for the 2024 season.

"I love the work," Patrick said. "I think my father is the same way. I love being around the players. I love the coaches. I love everything about it. I hope to do it for a while."

Leyland likes his son's chances of sticking around as a baseball manager for a long time.

"I only went to three games," Leyland said. "I stay away. He's on his own, and he's got to earn it on his own. We talk a lot. He's a little more modern than I am when it comes to some of the strategies and stuff that goes on in today's game. I'm not going to brag about my son, but he's a baseball junkie like his dad. I think he's pretty good. He's going to have to earn his own way, and I think there's a possibility that he might."

Growing up in a big family — seven children and two parents — helped Leyland interact with the different personalities of his players throughout his managerial career, all while maintaining the same goal. One of his most important values as a manager was honesty with his players.

Before arriving in Detroit, Leyland managed some of the best players in baseball history, such as Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield and Larry Walker.

His teams with the Tigers showcased players such as Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordóñez, Victor Martinez, Iván 'Pudge' Rodríguez, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Among those Tigers, Cabrera, Scherzer and Verlander are expected to join Rodríguez, Walker — and now Leyland — in the Hall of Fame eventually.

Leyland touched the lives of minor-league players, too.

"I've gotten so many texts from so many great players," Leyland said. "But I can tell you this, I've got a lot of great texts from former minor-league players, and that means a lot to me. Guys that never made it. Guys that you had to tell them their career was over. That's not easy to do. ... So I have appreciated everything I've gotten, from Justin Verlander to Barry Bonds to — I could go on and on. But also Mark Wagner and some minor league guys that people might not know about today, that means something special, too."

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Leyland was one of eight candidates pondered by the Hall of Fame's Contemporary Era committee, a smattering of managers, executives and umpires. The ballot included three other managers: Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson and Lou Piniella. But he was the only candidate elected by the 16-member committee in early December, receiving 15 of 16 votes, three more than the 12 needed.

Piniella fell one vote short.

When Leyland saw the ballot for the first time, he said he "didn't really take it that seriously" because he didn't think he had a chance to get into the Hall of Fame. He knew the committee was voting on the first Sunday of December, and as the big day approached, the longtime manager experienced a combination of nerves and excitement.

The day of the vote was unlike any other day in Leyland's life.

"It was almost the fastest 12 hours or so during the day," Leyland said. "When it got to 6 o'clock, it seemed like the whole world stopped. I would look at the clock, and it seemed like it would be 15 minutes, but it was only one minute after 6. I never went through anything like this. Like I said, 6:30 went by, 6:35, 6:40, 6:45, and I figured it was over. My son felt it was over. My wife still believed there was a chance.

"When I finally got that call, believe it or not, I did cry a little bit. I had a few tears of joy. Is this the greatest moment in your life? I don't know. Was winning the World Series the greatest? Who knows what the greatest moment was, but I'm certainly proud to be here."

Leyland will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 21, 2024, in Cooperstown, New York.

"I never had any thoughts of going to Cooperstown, unless my son was playing at the Field of Dreams place out there," Leyland said. "It's a remarkable accomplishment. I guess I'm bragging a little bit, but I am extremely proud to have gotten that call. Not many people get that. It's hard to get that call."

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

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland and 'a special night for all of us'