DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers retired Jim Leyland’s No. 10, placing the Hall of Fame manager’s name and number in white on a brick wall alongside World Series winner Sparky Anderson.
“It’s hard to believe when I see my name with the Tiger greats on that wall,” Leyland said during a pregame ceremony before Detroit played the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.
Leyland made his way to the on-field presentation in a white Corvette, waving to fans from the right-field foul pole to the dugout on the third base line.
He was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame last December, just before his 79th birthday, and became the 23rd manager to be inducted last month. Over his 22-season career, Leyland won 1,769 regular-season games, including a 700-597 record with the Tigers from 2006 to 2013. He led Detroit to the World Series in 2006, his first season, and again in 2012, when the team won its second of four consecutive AL Central championships. Leyland’s managerial career began in 1971 with the Appalachian League’s Bristol Tigers.
“Jim Leyland came to the Tigers at the perfect time,” said Todd Jones, the Tigers’ career saves leader and Leyland’s closer in 2006. “The city was rising culturally and economically, and the team mirrored that thanks to Mr. (Mike) Ilitch’s investments in Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez. Leyland brought it all together for a group of players who hadn’t won much before. He was the calming presence we needed in the locker room.”
However, early in the 2006 season, Leyland felt the team needed a wake-up call.
After a home game loss and before a road trip, Leyland was so upset that he unleashed a tirade loud enough for reporters outside the clubhouse to hear.
“Guys were disrespecting other coaches, and he wasn’t going to tolerate it,” Jones recalled. “He told them, ‘You guys have the money and fame, but I have the lineup card, and you won’t play if you disrespect my coaches or the game again.’” The three-time Manager of the Year also led Pittsburgh, Florida, and Colorado, winning the World Series with the Marlins in 1997. He managed the U.S. team to its only World Baseball Classic title in 2017.
The Tigers have also retired numbers for Lou Whitaker (1), Charle Gehringer (2), Alan Trammell (3), Hank Greenberg (5), Al Kaline (6), Hal Newhouser (16), Willie Horton (23), and Jack Morris (47). Whitaker and Trammell played for the Bristol Tigers, while Horton was born in Wise County, Virginia.
Jackie Robinson’s number 42, retired throughout the major leagues in 1997, is displayed alongside Anderson’s and Leyland’s beyond the right-field seats at Comerica Park.
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