Jim Leyland Retires As Tigers Manager; Now What?

By Charlie Portelli

Jim Leyland announced yesterday that he is retiring as Detroit Tigers manager after reaching the ALCS for the third straight year. Leyland stated this morning that he was "running low on fuel"  and decided it was time to end his eight year tenure with the Tigers. Whether you liked Jim Leyland as Tigers manager or not, he was very successful in Detroit despite falling short of the ultimate goal; winning a World Series Championship.

Jim Leyland was beloved by many in Detroit. He was also disliked by many and most others fell somewhere in between. But his success in Detroit should not be taken for granted nor should it be unappreciated. In fact, Leyland was one of the greatest managers the Detroit Tigers have ever had in their history rich franchise. To put his success into perspective, consider this. He managed the Tigers for 8 seasons, but before looking at his time as Tigers manager, lets reflect on the 8 seasons before Leyland arrived in Detroit. The winning percentage over those 8 years? A lowly 40%. The 8 years with Leyland as manager? A much more impressive 54%. Also, Leyland took over a dumpster fire of an organization. Just three years prior to taking over in Detroit, the Tigers had posted one of the absolute worst win/loss records in the history of baseball, winning just 43 ball games and losing a whopping 119 (the worst in Tigers history). Jim Leyland turned the ball club around overnight and led the Detroit Tigers to the World Series in his very first year as the manager in 2006. It was the first time the Tigers had even made the postseason in 19 long, dreadful years on the baseball diamond. Although Leyland never brought a World Series Championship to Detroit, it would be asinine to say he failed in Detroit. During his 8 year term as Tigers manager, the Tigers reached the ALCS or better 4 times. That is success. Most franchises long for that kind of run. To sum up Jim Leyland as a baseball manager, just talk to his players. His players loved him and Leyland loved his players. His players would run through a wall for him if he asked them to. Leyland is the epitome of a "players manager". Towards the end of his run in Detroit his true personality showed more. He wore his heart on his sleeve and showed a lot of raw emotion, in which the fans really responded to. Leyland will be missed in Detroit by players and fans alike for his humor, down to earth attitude, hard-nosed persona, but most of all, his part in bringing Detroit Tigers baseball back to relevance.

Moving On

With an end of era in Detroit, a new one is born. So here we sit with a dream roster consisting of two different MVP's still in their prime, multiple Cy Young candidates, and incredible talent filled in everywhere else on the field, with a large vacancy at the helm. Many are sad that Leyland would leave at a time like this, so close to completing our mission of winning a World Series for the first time since 1984. Others are worried how this team will respond to a new manager after playing for one who was universally loved in the clubhouse. But the fact of the matter is that Leyland left at an opportune time. He had his chances at a ring, but fell short. The foundation is set for a new manager to step in; whomever that may be. Sometimes, after a lengthy stay as manager for a team, players get a little too comfortable. The team has lacked a little bit of that healthy edge in the clubhouse, dugout, and on the field and that could all return with a new voice. When there is talent in place, it makes for a much easier transition. A current example of this is with Andy Reid. Andy Reid is a football coach, but the similarities of the situation are there nonetheless. Andy Reid had been very successful as a football coach for the Philadelphia Eagles for many years but after a long reign, his voice was not heard in the same way that it once was due to the players being too comfortable. The Eagles ran Andy Reid out of town despite his overall success there. Andy Reid was still a very capable coach, just not in Philly any longer. Reid was unemployed for all of five minutes. He promptly took over the Kansas City Chiefs as head coach following their season as the league's worst team. He now has them 7-0 and in first place. I don't blame Philly for firing Andy Reid, it was time to move on. Philly had grown tired of Reid, and the Chiefs were looking for a new voice. I am not saying that Detroit has grown tired of Leyland, because that's not it at all. What I am exemplifying here is that it was a good time for Leyland to walk away from the Tigers managerial position. He had grown older and tired and the Tigers need a change, a splash of water in the face if you will.

Leyland had a knack for managing young and unproven ball clubs and getting the very best out of them. Look no further than Leyland's very early success of leading the Tigers to an AL pennant in his very first year as their manager. The team was littered with young talent. With the state of the current, veteran laden Tigers team, Leyland had gotten the most out of them as he probably ever would have.  It takes some real guts and courage to be able to walk away from a team as talented and as built to win as this Tiger team, and I commend him for doing so.

Who is Next?

General Manager Dave Dombrowski has the difficult task of finding a replacement for this legendary manager. He has big shoes to fill but I think the key is to find an even keeled, younger type of manager. The last thing that you want is someone with too strong of a personality that might ruffle the feathers of this group. The team is full of experienced talent. They have all played under the brightest of lights and tasted the success. They were a mere 6 wins away from a World Series ring, so too much of a change could cause an epic collapse. 

Its very early in the process yet to properly consider names to replace Leyland. There are a few managers I know that I do not want. Among them are Don Mattingly, Manny Acta, Ozzie Guillen and to a lesser extent, Dusty Baker. I am certainly intrigued by the idea of Brad Ausmus. The main turnoff with Ausmus is the fact that he does not have any managerial experience, whether it be at the major or minor league level. An example of a manager currently in the league that took a high profile job without any managerial experience, look no further than Mike Matheny who is the manager for the St. Louis Cardinals and will be managing the Cardinals in the World Series starting tomorrow. He is also the youngest manager in the game at 43 years old. Other than having no managerial experience before taking the Cardinals job, Matheny and Ausmus share some similarities. Both are young. Ausmus is 44. Both were catchers, and catchers are very cerebral baseball players, they understand the game. Matheny was a catcher for the Cardinals, now manages them. Ausmus was a catcher for the Tigers in '96, '99, and '00. Matheny's experience in the game after his playing career was finished came with being a special assistant in the front office for the Cardinals for a couple years before being named their manager after Larussa retired. Ausmus is currently a special assistant with the San Diego Padres. Ausmus has interviewed for other managing vacancies and thinks he has what it takes to be a successful manager in the big leagues. 

He might just get his first crack with the Tigers next year.