It seems everybody had an opinion on Detroit manager Jim Leyland after the Tigers were beaten by the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.
From my perspective it seemed as if the majority of Tigers fans didn’t want Leyland to return as manager next season.
Well, all that speculation was put to rest on Monday when Leyland announced his retirement, at least from managing.
I might be in the minority on this one, but I am sad to see the Old Skipper walk away.
As a life-long Tiger fan, I couldn’t have been happier that October day in 2005 when general manager Dave Dombrowski hired Leyland.
The Tigers were coming off possibly the worst stretch in franchise history, averaging 100 losses from 2001-2005, including the infamous 2003 season when they lost an American League record 119 games.
For the first time in my life, I really became disenchanted with the Tigers.
Yes, I was a huge Alan Trammell supporter and hated to see him fired before Tigers owner Mike Illitch opened up his wallet.
But Illitch gave Leyland the tools and he got the job done, getting the Tigers to the World Series in his first season and winning consistently since then.
We’ve just completed one of the most successful eras (if not the most successful) in Tigers history, thanks in large part to the old man.
Even a loss to the Cardinals in five games in 2006 didn’t damper my renewed love for my Tigers, and that continued throughout the eight seasons under Leyland, in which the Tigers went 700-597 (.541) in the regular season.
There were three straight trips to the American League championship series and another trip to the World Series in 2012 when they were swept in four games by the San Francisco Giants.
Leyland also had a hand in shaping the last great Tigers era, as well.
People forget (or are not old enough to know) that Leyland helped develop the likes of Lou Whitaker, Trammell, Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish and Jack Morris, all members of that 1984 world championship team, in their formative years, while a minor league manager in the Tigers system.
The disappointment of losing a second World Series in six years resonated with me last winter, but my passion was renewed this year with another great season.
It was magical summer watching Miguel Cabrera once again show why he is the best player on the planet, while watching a starting pitching staff that is as dominant as some of the best rotations of the past 50 years.
I know there are many Leyland haters out there who questioned his every move.
Yes, he was loyal to a fault with players like Don Kelly and Ryan Raburn, and on many occasions I questioned his bullpen moves and the resting of his regulars.
That was magnified in the recently completed series with Boston.
But the overwhelming positive results of the past eight seasons can’t be ignored.
Yes, the pain of the Boston series is still fresh in all our minds.
But he won two American League pennants, three AL Central titles and made the playoffs four times.
Say what you want about Jim Leyland and his retirement, but he brought legitimacy back to the Tigers and that is something I will never forgot.
So, enjoy retirement Skip, and thank you for making our Tigers relevant again.
Excellent column, Shawner.
Thanks Ron
Well said! They have come so far in this past decade and baseball fans everywhere have taken notice. So proud of our Tigers. Thanks, Shawn, for your comments. We feel the same way.
I agree that he was a big "piece" of getting the Tigers back to a winning team. But Illitch buying players like a fat guy buys $5 Little Caesars pizzas was the key. It's not too tough to look like a genius with Miggy, Martinez, Peralta, Hunter and sometimes even Prince hitting the ball.. Even easier when you have Verlander, Scherzer, Sanchez and Fister as your starting rotation. It's not like he was winning with the smallest payroll in baseball. He did his job, his evaluation to me would be "satisfactory". I appreciate what he did, but I won't say I'm sad to see an almost 70 year old man retire.
But I did appreciate reading the article.. Nice job Shawn ;)
He did what he had to do , some players let him down.
Yes, don't we know it!! He will be missed!!
Kenny, hitting a baseball isn't like eating a pizza. It's pretty tough and keeping guys on the right mental path isn't like eating a pizza either. Getting good players to buy into a system is not like eating a pizza. Winning enough games to make the playoffs during a 162 game season isn't as easy as eating a pizza. Seeing Jimmy Smokes leave is not as easy as eating a pizza. I am glad that Illitch made pizza so we could have a good ball club though.
I was comparing the amount of money that Illitch spent getting good players to the amount of pizza a fat guy consumes… It was my sense of humor, I'm sorry that you don't get it.
Agree with that article 100%, money doesn't quarantee anything, look at the Angels the past two seasons and the Yankees over the past 5 years or so, you still need a good manager and Leyland was a very good one. Everything is just speculation on if we would've done better with different moves but no one will ever know, but I do know things could've been much worse the last 8 years, you will be missed Jimmy
Guess I have higher standards, winning a World Series. Winning divisions and playoff games are nice, Atlanta won a whole bunch of those and they did finally come through with a World Series, otherwise Braves' fans might not have looked at Bobby Cox in such a positive way.
Give 'ole Jimmy a carton of smokes and a swift kick in the ass!! Play your best players everyday at the beginning of the year, they get paid big bucks to stay in shape and play with pain. We bluecollar boys have to do it day in day out for a lot less $$$. See if Torii would do what we do everyday to bring home the bacon. Just using Mr. Hunter as an example here, but 38 and can't play a game every 6 out of 7 days…. Now he has more talent in his little toe than I do in my entire body. Yet at that age I was throwing two hours of BP to little leaguers 4 days a week in spring, running the court with them in winter and running around throwing a football and teaching them to block in the fall and working a physical job on top of it all. All for the love of the game. Jimmy, you would have sat me….