James Richard Leyland (born December 15, 1944, in Perrysburg, Ohio) is a Major League Baseball manager for the Detroit Tigers. He led the Florida Marlins to a World Series championship in 1997. With the Tigers' victory in the 2006 American League Championship Series, Leyland has become the seventh manager in history to win pennants in both the National and American Leagues. He is a 3-time Manager of the Year Award winner, twice in the National League (1990 and 1992), and once in the American League in 2006.

Contents

    * 1 Early career
    * 2 Pittsburgh Pirates
    * 3 Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies
    * 4 Detroit Tigers
    * 5 Trivia
    * 6 External links

Early career

Jim Leyland began his baseball career with the Tigers when they signed him as a catcher on September 21, 1963. He spent six seasons as a minor leaguer in the Tigers organization (1964-69) before serving as a coach with the Montgomery Rebels in 1970. Leyland then served as a coach for the Rocky Mount Leafs in the first half of the 1971 season before receiving his first managerial experience with the Bristol Tigers the same season. He managed for 11 seasons at the minor league level in the Tigers organization (1971-81), advancing to the postseason six times and claiming his respective league championship three times. Leyland was selected as the manager of the year in the Florida State League in both 1977 and 1978 and in the American Association in 1979.

Leyland left the Tigers organization for the first time in 1982 when he became Tony La Russa's third base coach for four seasons (1982-85) with the Chicago White Sox, including the team's 1983 AL West division title, before being named the 33rd manager in Pittsburgh Pirates history on November 20, 1985.

Pittsburgh Pirates

He was the manager of the Pirates from 1986 to 1996. He won two Manager of the Year trophies with the Pirates in 1990 and 1992, and developed such All-Stars as Bobby Bonilla, Jay Bell, Tim Wakefield, and Barry Bonds in Pittsburgh before a fire sale in the mid-1990s soured him with local management. Under Leyland, the Pirates went to the National League Championship Series in three straight seasons (1990, 1991, and 1992). The Pirates lost all three of those NLCS series, however, with the latter two going the full seven games. Although he has moved on in his career, he still keeps his home in Pittsburgh 1, where he has raised two children.

edit Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies

Jim Leyland following the Florida Marlins' Game 7 victory in the 1997 World Series

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Jim Leyland following the Florida Marlins' Game 7 victory in the 1997 World Series

In 1997, he was hired by Wayne Huizenga to manage the Florida Marlins and promptly led them to the franchise's first championship. The Marlins, in only their fifth year of existence, became the fastest expansion franchise to win a World Series (a feat that has since been broken by the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks).

In the offseason, Huizenga dismantled the team in what became known as "the fire sale." After Game 7, when asked about rumors that he may retire if Huizenga sold the team off, Leyland quipped, "My wife doesn't like me that much. I can't retire." Leyland indeed remained as the manager, but resigned after a terrible 1998 season. At his press conference, Leyland remarked that he thought his job was to win championships, but that apparently wasn't what Huizenga wanted. Leyland was subsequently hired by the Colorado Rockies for the 1999 season.

When he left managing after the 1999 season, he became a Pittsburgh-based scout for the St. Louis Cardinals; he was often seen sitting in the stands at PNC Park with fellow ex-Pirates manager Chuck Tanner.

Detroit Tigers

In 2005, Leyland returned to the franchise with which he spent the first 18 years of his professional baseball career, managing in the AL for the first time. Following the release of Alan Trammell as the manager of the Tigers on October 3, 2005, Leyland was immediately named a top contender to replace him for the 2006 season. "It's well known that I interviewed with Philadelphia last winter, and I'd like to manage again," Leyland said in September 2005. He was announced as the new Tigers manager just one day later.

In the 2006 regular season, Leyland guided the Tigers to a 95-67 record, the Tigers' best season since 1987. The Tigers entered the playoffs as a wild card, and went on to defeat the New York Yankees and sweep the Oakland Athletics on their way to winning the American League pennant. Many people chose the Tigers to win the 2006 World Series, although they ultimately lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. In leading the team to the AL pennant, he became the seventh manager to win pennants in both major leagues, joining Joe McCarthy, Yogi Berra, Alvin Dark, Sparky Anderson, Dick Williams, and Tony La Russa. After the 2006 season ended he was recognized with the Manager of the Year award for the third time in his carrer. Leyland also became the third person to win the award in both leagues, joining Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox. As of the end of the 2006 season, Leyland's career managerial record is 1164-1198, a .493 winning percentage.