What logo for Jim Leyland's Baseball Hall of Fame plaque? 'I'm not really sure'
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland will be the 23rd manager in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
His managerial career covered 22 seasons, 3,499 games and 1,769 wins for four franchises, plus coming out of retirement and managing Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. For his historic career, Leyland was selected for the Hall of Fame on Sunday after receiving 15 of 16 votes from the Hall's Contemporary Era committee.
He knows he is headed to the Hall of Fame, but he is still trying to figure out what team — if any team — will be represented on his bronze plaque in Cooperstown, New York.
"I'm not really sure," Leyland said Monday at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center 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."
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Leyland — the only manager in baseball history to win a World Series and WBC championship — accomplished greatness at three of his four managerial stops.
Leyland managed the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-96), Miami Marlins (1997-98), Colorado Rockies (1999) and Tigers (2006-13). He earned his first opportunity manager and secured two of his three Manager of the Year awards with the Pirates. He won his only World Series in 1997 with the Marlins.
"I left Colorado because I didn't feel like I could make a difference," Leyland said. "I stepped away for six years. ... When I left Colorado, I really did not think I would manage again, but I thought I might want to try this again."
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Leyland, who worked as a Pittsburgh-area scout for the St. Louis Cardinals when he wasn't managing, returned to the managerial seat with the Tigers in October 2005. The Tigers won 95 games in his first season.
He won 700 of his 1,769 games with the Tigers and guided the franchise to the World Series in 2006 and 2012, only for the Tigers to lose in both appearances. He also added the third and final Manager of the Year award to his resume.
Leyland remains haunted by a decision in Game 2 of the 2013 American League Championship Series. With the Tigers leading 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning in Boston and the bases loaded, Leyland opted to bring in right-hander Joaquin Benoit to face left-handed designated hitter David Ortiz.
Ortiz launched the first pitch from Benoit into the Red Sox bullpen for a tying grand slam, as right fielder Torii Hunter flipped over the short fence at Fenway Park in an attempt to make the catch.
The photo of Hunter's legs juxtaposed with a celebrating Boston police officer in the bullpen became an iconic image as the Red Sox won in walk-off fashion in the next inning to even the ALCS at one game apiece. Boston went on to win the series — Leyland's final series with the Tigers — in six games, then won the 2013 World Series over the Cardinals.
"That's the one I've tossed and turned a little bit about," Leyland said. "I'm not sure today if I made the right decision or not. I think I did because I went to my best relief pitcher, the guy who I felt had the ability to make the best pitch, but it could be a question."
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Leyland won three straight division titles twice in the National League East — with the Pirates in 1990-92 and in the AL Central with the Tigers in 2011-13. Both the Pirates (851 wins) and Tigers (700 wins) would make sense as the most likely logos for Leyland to choose between, but he might avoid the logo altogether.
After several controversies over players choosing between teams, the Hall of Fame has created several plaques with blank caps recently, including the one belonging to Leyland's close friend, Tony La Russa.
La Russa, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014, managed the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and Cardinals during his 33 years as a manager. He won the World Series in 1989, 2006 and 2011.
"That's a bridge we'll cross a little later," Leyland said. "One thing I won't do is I won't show disrespect to any team I managed, so we'll see how that plays out. I haven't decided yet."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ex-Detroit Tiger Jim Leyland unsure about Baseball Hall of Fame logo
