Jim Leyland's sneak peek of Hall of Fame speech: The best lesson I ever learned as manager

LAKELAND, Fla. — Jim Leyland stood on a patio near the stands at Publix Field before the Detroit Tigers played a Grapefruit League game.

“Mr. Leyland!” a fan said loudly.

Leyland, the former legendary Tigers manager, looked up at the fan.

“Mr. Leyland!” another screamed even louder.

Leyland remains a beloved figure for Tigers fans.

“Could you sign?” a fan asked.

Leyland nodded, and the fans tossed a couple baseballs down to him, as well as a pen.

“And could you put HOF?”

Woah — an autograph with a “Hall of Fame” line? Leyland is still getting used to that. In fact, he called the Hall of Fame to make sure he could include it with his signature before the official ceremony.

“As soon as you get voted in,” Leyland said, “you are in.”

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Skip's view of Tigers

A few days later, I sat next to Leyland in a dugout before the Tigers played the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota.

He was talking on the phone, as Parker Meadows walked by. "Just sittin' here with a Hall of Famer," I said, softly.

"No big deal," Meadows said, sarcastically.

Leyland still works for the Tigers as a special assistant, and his job is to watch and offer his opinion, whether it’s what he sees in the minor leagues or on the big league club.

His opinion matters. His observations matter. So, when he got off the phone, I asked him what he thinks about this team.

“Oh, I'm really happy with the talent here,” Leyland said. “There's a lot of it. It's just a team that needs to continue to grow and I think they definitely will, and I think they'll do very well this year. They got some really talented position players, and they got some really talented guys on the mound.”

“What do you think of the pitching?” I asked.

“I think they've added some depth,” Leyland said. “I think they did a smart move, bringing in (Kenta) Maeda and (Jack) Flaherty, a couple of veterans. Then, it’s just a matter of, how's the health gonna play out? Casey (Mize) is coming back, and (Matt) Manning had the foot and ankle last year. If that all goes well, we'll be in pretty good shape.”

“You’ve been around a lot of young guys,” I said. “But development is never a straight line. What do you see in Riley (Greene) and Tork (Spencer Torkelson) and even Carp (Kerry Carpenter) this year?”

“I don’t think anybody needs to put too many expectations on them,” Leyland said. “Just let them continue to grow. I mean, they're good right now. Just let them continue to get better and better and they're gonna get that with experience. I just would say, ‘hey, come here each and every day to get better, so that you can max your ability out at some point in your career.’

“Is it gonna be this year or next year? I don't know. But those guys are blue-chip guys, so there's a lot of potential here. And the Meadows kid has a lot of potential.”

“I know you have seen some of the youngsters in the minors,” I said. “What do you think of Colt Keith?”

“He's the real deal,” Leyland said. “He's another blue chipper and probably still in the prospect category. I really like this (Jace) Jung kid. That's another guy that's going to be knocking on the doorstep soon. This organization is full a lot of ability right now, and A.J. (Hinch) has the perfect temperament to bring this team along.”

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A glimpse into HOF speech

When Leyland is not traveling around the Grapefruit League watching the Tigers, he has been busy writing his Hall of Fame speech — he will be inducted July 21 in Cooperstown.

“I'm gonna do it myself,” he said.

He scribbles thoughts on a legal pad but has found the hard part is making it all flow together. He has watched several Hall of Fame speeches and doesn’t want it to sound like a telephone book, just reading a long list of names.

“Somebody told me one time when you make a point, you want to make a point and then give a little story with it,” he said.

Then, he offered one of those stories he intends to tell.

“I started managing in 1971 in the rookie league,” he said. “But the second game I ever managed, I learned the most valuable lesson that I took with me for the next 33 years about being a manager. It was the second game I ever managed in professional ball. It was the fifth inning, and we had an old, roving pitching instructor that came in to watch all the pitchers. In the fifth inning, I noticed my pitcher was dropping his elbow and his control wasn't quite as good, and I was just a baby manager.”

Leyland turned to the pitching instructor. “Do you think I outta take him out?” Leyland asked. “He stood up, looked me right in the eye said, ‘you're the (gosh darn) manager.’

“And he walked to the other end of the dugout,” Leyland continued. “That was the best lesson I ever got. Because I learned right then, managers are paid to make decisions, right, wrong or indifferent, but that's what you have to do. I never had a pitching coach take a pitcher out. I always took that responsibility. It’s on me. I'm gonna make the decision. I learned that the second game I ever managed.”

We were done talking and Leyland sprang up and marched down the dugout, hoping to watch some batting practice.

But several fans started screaming: “Mr. Leyland, can we get an autograph?”

He stopped and started signing.

Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

To read Seidel's recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jim Leyland Hall of Fame sneak peek: Best lesson I learned as manager