Jim Leyland Leaving Detroit Tigers
21 Oct, 2013
Jim Leyland announced Monday he is stepping down as manager of the Detroit Tigers after eight seasons that included three division titles and two trips to the World Series.
Leyland announced his departure two days after the Tigers were eliminated from the AL championship series by Boston in six games.
“I’m going to be 69 years old,” he said at a news conference. “I’m not ashamed of that. I’m proud of it. The fuel’s getting a little low.”
Leyland was 700-597 with the Tigers. He led them to the World Series immediately after taking over in 2006, losing to St. Louis in five games. The Tigers went to the World Series again in 2012 but were swept by San Francisco.
He is 1,769-1,728 overall during stints with the Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies. He won the World Series in 1997 with Florida.
When he took over the Tigers, they had gone 12 years without a winning season. Under Leyland, they finished under .500 only once.
“What’s gone on here has been unbelievable. We’ve won a lot of games, we’ve had a lot of seats filled,” Leyland said. “I came here to make talent a team, and I think we did that.”
AP
Mentioned In This Post:
