The Detroit Tigers retired Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland’s No.10 at home on Saturday before the third game of their four-game series against the Kansas City Royals.
The Tigers won 6-5 in the bottom of the 11th inning over the Royals, courtesy of outfielder Wenceel Perez’s game-winning single to right field off relief pitcher James McArthur. Center fielder Parker Meadows scored the winning run.
“Mrs. llitch and your husband Mike, and the entire Illitch family have given me the greatest honor that anyone could ever get. When I look on this wall and see my name with the Tiger greats it’s hard to believe,” Leyland said while he opened his team induction hall of fame speech on Saturday.
Gene Lamont, Miguel Cabrera, Lou Whitaker, Dan Petry, Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish, Willie Horton, Todd Jones, Vance Wilson, Andy Dirks, Brandon Inge, and Alan Trammell were all in attendance and were managed or played with Leyland in the minors and Detroit in his 24 seasons with the organization.
Dan Dickerson, the Tigers Radio Play-By-Play Announcer, was the Master of Ceremonies during Leyland’s number retirement ceremony.
Leyland made his entrance coming out of the right field gate in a white 2025 Corvette ZR1 before his induction speech into the Tigers Hall of Fame.
During the pregame on Saturday evening, Leyland handed the lineup card out to the umpiring crew with current manager AJ Hinch and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Leyland, 79, was born in Perrysburg, Ohio, and managed Detroit from 2006-13 and is 18th all-time in Major League Baseball with 1,769 managerial wins.
Leyland’s time with Detroit dates back to September 1963, when he was signed by the organization as a catcher after his senior season at Perrysburg High School.
He played his entire professional career in the minor leagues with the Tigers from 1964-70 before becoming a manager with the organization.
During his minor league career, Leyland played with the Tigers organization in Class-A Lakeland in 1964 and 1969 in the Florida State League, the Tigers Rookie Level in the Cocoa Rookie League in 1964, the Class-A Jamestown Tigers in the New York-Penn League in 1965, the Class-A Rocky Mountain Leafs in the Carolina League in 1966, the Double-A Montgomery Rebels from 1967-1970 and the Florida Instructional League Tigers in 1967 before he decided to go into coaching before the start of the 1971 regular season.
In 1971, Leyland coached for the Rocky Mount Leafs before being offered a salary of $6,000 to manage down in Virginia with the Bristol Tigers in the Appalachian Rookie League.
Leyland managed in the Detroit organization with the Class-A Clinton Pilots from 1972-73 and 1975, the Double-A Montgomery Rebels in 1974, and the Triple-A Evansville Triplets from 1979-81.
Leyland made $7,200 in his first year managing in professional baseball before stepping into an MLB dugout in 1982.
Leyland was the third base coach for the Chicago White Sox under Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa from 1982-85 before heading to the Steel City.
Before his career as the manager of the Tigers, Leyland managed the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986-96, the Florida Marlins from 1997-98, and Denver in 1999 before returning to Detroit.
Leyland helped Pittsburgh reach the National League Championship Series in 1990, losing to the Cincinnati Reds in six games and the Atlanta Braves in seven games in 1991.
Leyland helped Florida win their first World Series title in 1997 and beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games. Colombian shortstop Edgar Renteria hit a bases-loaded game-winning single into center field off of relief pitcher Charles Naggy in the bottom of the 11th inning.
He joined the Tigers organization after being a St. Louis Cardinals scout in the Pittsburgh region before walking away from managing the Colorado Rockies after the 1999 regular season.
During his time in the Motor City, Leyland helped the Tigers reach two World Series in 2006 and 2012.
In his first season with Detroit, Leyland helped the franchise reach the playoffs with a Wild Card Spot with their record of 95-67 and one game back of the AL Central Division winner, the Minnesota Twins.
Leyland helped the Tigers beat the New York Yankees in four games during the 2006 AL Division Series before Magglio Ordonez hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game Four of the AL Championship Series off of Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Huston Street to help Detroit win their 10th pennant.
The Tigers had not made the World Series since 1984 when they won their fifth and most recent championship in five games against the San Diego Padres under Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson.
Detroit lost to the 2006 National League champion St. Louis Cardinals in five games during the Fall Classic.
In the 2012 season, Leyland helped the Tigers win the AL Central Division with their record at 88-74.
Detroit beat Oakland in five games in the best-of-five ALDS and swept the Yankees in the best-of-seven ALCS before being swept by the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 World Series with only scoring six runs.
Leyland managed his final season in the MLB in the 2013 season in the Motor City after the Tigers brought him back for a one-year contract that he accepted on October 30, 2012.
He won his 700th game with the Tigers on September 25, 2013, against the Minnesota Twins in a 1-0 win on the road.
Detroit won the AL Central Division Title with a 93-69 record, one game ahead of the Cleveland Indians.
The Tigers won in five games of the ALDS against the Athletics and lost in six games to the 2013 World Series champion Boston Red Sox in the ALCS before Leyland stepped down.
Leyland announced his retirement from managing on October 21, 2013, after being in the dugout at the MLB level for 22 seasons.
Leyland won the Manager of the Year Award in 1990, 1992, and 2006 in his Hall of Fame career.
He was also inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame on May 21, 2024, with Barry Bonds and Manny Sanguillen, prior to being inducted in Cooperstown.
Leyland is the last manager to manage the last Triple Crown Winner in the last 55 years, recently retired 12-time All-Star and World Series champion, Venezuelan-born player Miguel Cabrera accomplishing that feat in 2012.
Leyland joins a prestigious group to ever wear the Old English D with Willie Horton, Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Sparky Anderson, Charlie Gehringer, Hal Newhouser, Al Kaline, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Heinie Manush, Hughie Jennings, Sam Crawford, Mickey Cochrane, and broadcaster Ernie Harwell.
Leyland did not associate with going in with any MLB organization on his Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown.
He was inducted with Joe Mauer, Todd Helton, and Adrian Beltre during the 2024 Class for the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 21.
Leyland has left his mark in international baseball history during his managerial career. He helped the United States win its first and only World Baseball Classic gold medal in 2017 and beat Puerto Rico at Dodger Stadium 8-0 in the finals.
“In 2017 I got a call from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and Joe Torre asking if I would like to manage the United States team in the World Baseball Classic. Joe put together a tremendous group of players, and I added a special guy in Hall of Famer, Alan Trammel, to be my bench coach. I never saw a group of guys get so close in such a short period. For the first and only time the United States won the WBC, that accomplishment is one of my greatest memories as a manager,” Leyland said during his Hall of Fame speech.
Leyland is the only manager to win a World Series title and WBC championship since the tournament began in 2006.
Leyland and Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda are the only managers to win a World Series title and an international tournament in MLB history. Lasorda helped the United States win the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, beating Cuba 4-0 at Sydney Baseball Stadium.
Family Tree Notebook: Leyland’s son, Pat Leyland, is currently the manager of the Low-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers of the Chicago White Sox in the Carolina League in his second season with the franchise.
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Photo Credit: Former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland poses with his #10 jersey, which was retired during a ceremony before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park on August 3, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
