Former Pirates manager Jim Leyland wins election to baseball's Hall of Fame

On the night he was immortalized as a Hall of Fame manager, Jim Leyland had given up hope.

The former manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates was told by National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum officials that — if he was voted in by the Contemporary Era Committee — he would get a call between 6:30 and 7:15 Sunday night.

Seated with his family in the living room of their home, he looked at the clock, and it was 10 minutes to seven.

“I felt like I was not going to get the call,” he said. “I felt like I wanted to get away a little bit and be by myself.”

One call changed it all.

The moment Jim Leyland and his wife Katie heard he was elected to the Class of 2024! pic.twitter.com/V8o9UL35DK

— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) December 4, 2023

So he went upstairs to his bedroom to lay down and collect his thoughts, built up after 22 seasons as a major-league manager.

His son, Patrick, walked into the bedroom and told him, “Don’t worry about it. You still have a little bit of time left.”

“About 2 seconds after that, the phone rang,” Leyland said Sunday night during a conference call with reporters. “It was the Hall of Fame. I was shocked. I was surprised. I was flattered.

“When my son came up, and the phone rang and it was the Hall of Fame, I couldn’t believe it. There was definitely a tear in my eye. I didn’t really expect to get in or not get in. I really am not familiar with it. I can’t thank baseball enough. It’s been my life.”

Leyland managed the Pirates from 1986 to 1996, winning three consecutive National League Eastern Division championships and earning three berths in the NLCS from 1990-92.

He was one of eight candidates on the Era Committee’s ballot, including managers Cito Gaston, Lou Piniella and Davey Johnson; umpires Ed Montague and Joe West; and executives Hank Peters and Bill White. Leyland was the only one elected.

“It’s the highest honor you can get in our business,” he said.

While he was growing up, Leyland never wanted to be a manager.

“I wanted to be a player,” he said.

When he discovered he wasn’t good enough — after signing with the Detroit Tigers in 1963 — he settled for what he called “the next-best thing.”

He said his chief objective as a manager was to teach his players “how to be a professional.”

“I believe young players are searching for discipline. Sometimes, they may not act like it, but they really seek it out and always appreciate it. I actually think veteran players like that.

“I tried to communicate with everybody. Communication is a necessity if you’re going to be good at what you do.”

Leyland will be the 44th former player, manager or executive named to the Hall of Fame who spent some of his career with the Pirates. A total of 14 spent most of their time with the Pirates, including Jake Beckley, Max Carey, Fred Clarke, Roberto Clemente, owner Barney Dreyfuss, Ralph Kiner, Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell, Pie Traynor, Arky Vaughan, Honus Wagner and brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner.

Leyland’s 851 victories with the Pirates rank third on the team’s all-time list, trailing Clarke and Danny Murtaugh.

Leyland, 78, managed the Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies and Detroit Tigers over 22 seasons, winning 1,769 games (18th all-time) and finishing in first place six times. He led the Marlins to the 1997 World Series championship. Manager of the Year in 1990 and 1992 with the Pirates and 2006 with the Tigers, he managed in the postseason eight times and led his teams to three league pennants.

“I did not do a good job in Colorado,” Leyland said, “which I apologized for many times.”

He also managed Team USA to the 2017 World Baseball Classic title. He is the only manager in history to win World Series and WBC titles.

Leyland was Barry Bonds’ first major-league manager and also helped develop such Pirates stars as Jay Bell, Tim Wakefield, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla. The Pirates averaged 96 regular-season victories during the ‘90, ‘91 and ‘92 seasons, but lost all three NLCS: once to the Cincinnati Reds (four games to two) and twice to the Atlanta Braves in series that went the full seven games.

“The Pittsburgh Pirates will always have a special place in my heart because they gave me my first opportunity to manage a major-league team,” said Leyland. “I’m going to the Hall of Fame because of the players like every other manager does. It’s all about the players. The players in Pittsburgh uplifted me. I’ve been blessed with a lot of great players and that’s why I’m on the phone with you guys tonight.”

Said current Pirates chairman Bob Nutting in a statement: “The entire Pirates organization is elated to hear the news of Jim Leyland being voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We take great pride in having hired Jim for his first Major League managerial position in 1986. During his 11 seasons with the Pirates, he led our club to three straight division, titles, was twice named manager of the year and his 851 wins rank third all-time in team history. A long-time Pittsburgher and a true baseball man, we look forward to celebrating this historic achievement with Jim as he enters the hallowed halls in 2024.”

Next up for Leyland is responding to the dozens of messages he received after word of his election started to spread.

“I got 84 text messages,” he said, “and I don’t even know how to text.”