Today, Detroit Tigers Manager, Jim Leyland, officially announced he will step down. He said he would know when it was time, and the end of the 2013 season marked that time. Leyland said he had coffee with Tigers President and General Manager, Dave Dombrowski, on September 7, to inform him that he wouldn't be back next season, a decision he started thinking about in June. He sited being travel weary and not having the fuel left in the tank to continue. Leyland, despite his success, was constantly under criticism from fans on the way he managed games. Personally, I think it was unfair. A lot of Tigers fans have had short memories and have not taken time to enjoy what Leyland has built in his 8 years in Detroit. He turned around a team that had 12 losing season from 1994-2005, into a perennial contender throughout his tenure. In 2006, his first year in Detroit, he lead the team to a Wild Card berth, exciting playoff wins against the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics, and to their first World Series appearance since 1984 (they would lost to St. Louis 4-1 in the series). In 2011, the Tigers would win their first Division Championship since 1987, and go on to win the Central Division in 2012 and 2013. They made their second World Series appearance in 2012 (a loss to San Francisco 4-0), and reached the American League Championship Series this year against Boston. In all, Leyland and the Tigers made four postseason appearances, three straight Central Division titles, two American League Pennants, and two World Series appearances. He said this year's defeat to Boston stung the most because he felt that the entire team, coaches and players, "Let one get away".
I hope when Tigers fans look back on Jim Leyland's time with Detroit, now that he is gone, that they will appreciate all he did in bringing back the passion for the Tigers and Baseball in Detroit, as it showed every night in Comerica Park. He did more in his 8 years, than any other Manager in Tigers history outside of Hughie Jennings who lead the Tigers to three straight World Series appearances from 1907-1909.
Love or hate the way he managed, you have to respect the fact he brought the team back to prominence, and left them with a very bright future ahead.
