NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Whenever the conversation turned to Jim Leyland, Hall of Fame manager and former Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa had his go-to phrase, as ready-made and quick-draw as “tied for first†or “men not machine.†La Russa would set the premise – if Leyland had the same good fortune, the same owners, the same opportunity, and the same talent-laced rosters as he did – and then deliver the line.
“He would have more wins,†La Russa said.
Nearly 20 years ago, La Russa had offered that phrase up to a reporter, and he was approached by longtime manager Don Zimmer.
“(He) came up to me and said, ‘I really respect what you said,’†La Russa said. “‘And you’re right.’â€
As La Russa retold that story Tuesday at Opryland Hotel & Convention Center, Leyland stood a few feet away, wearing his brand-new jersey with the most exclusive script in baseball across its front: “Hall of Fame.†Leyland, a three-time league champion and 1997 World Series champion, was officially introduced Tuesday afternoon as the newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Seated close to one another at the press conference were La Russ and Joe Torre, two Hall of Fame managers who shared the induction stage in 2014.
Torre was on the 16-member Contemporary Eras Committee that elected Leyland for induction on Sunday. The committee also included Hall of Famers Ted Simmons, Tom Glavine, Jim Thome, Jeff Bagwell, and Chipper Jones. Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., a regular on such Hall of Fame committees, was also a member. Leyland appeared on 15 of the 16 ballots, far surpassing the 12 votes needed for induction.
“There’s nobody like Jim,†La Russa said. “The history. The personality. The sense of humor. In our generation he is the best. … The way he would communicate with players. His love for the game. Strategies. That’s why it’s so meaningful for all of us who know him. He’s exactly what the Hall of Fame is all about.â€
And he likely would not have been elected if not for a stint with the Cardinals.
Leyland won two American League pennants in Detroit, a National League pennant and championship in Florida, and in between those two stops he was a scout for the Cardinals.
Friends La Russa and Walt Jocketty, the general manager of the Cardinals at the time, offered Leyland a spot on the staff for him to define after he abruptly left the Rockies. Leyland signed a multi-year deal with Colorado and, convinced he could not be the manager that club needed, left $4 million on the table after the first year, 1999. He accepted a $50,000-a-year job from the Cardinals soon after. In 2000, Leyland came to the Cardinals’ spring training as a special assignment scout and, when needed, a fill-in manager for split-squad games.
He was offered a jersey with his usual number – the same number La Russa wore, No. 10 – and turned it down for the optics that would create.
During spring training, Leyland saw the arrival of Albert Pujols and the creation of the core group that would win 100 games in 2004 and 2005 and National League pennants in 2004 and 2006. What he watched with the Cardinals turned his eyes back to managing.
“I saw the St. Louis Cardinals in the clubhouse, the camaraderie,†Leyland said Tuesday when asked how those years reinspired him and changed him as a manager. “I knew what kind of ship Tony ran. I got anxious again. I saw they were having fun. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were good. They practiced hard. They played hard. There was good spirit in the clubhouse. I said, ‘I might want to try this again.’ When I left Colorado, I did not think I would manage again. But I thought I might want to try this again.â€
Leyland interviewed for at least the Phillies position, and then in 2006 he was hired to manage the Detroit Tigers. He took a 91-loss Tigers teams and turned it into the 95-win American League champion that faced the Cardinals and La Russa in the 2006 World Series.
The manager of the 2005 Tigers, Alan Trammell, asked La Russa on Tuesday when he first saw the baseball acumen in Leyland that so many of his peers rave about.
“In 1979, when you’re a minor-league manager, a lot of the times you go out early and you watch the other guy and that’s when it started for us,†La Russa said. “The first time we competed with each other we had a lot of love for the game, and we started talking and, to this day, we probably talk, ‘You see that game? What would you have done?’ It was obvious.â€
La Russa added Leyland to his staff with the Chicago White Sox, and it was there that Leyland believes he first got attention as a potential major-league manager. When La Russa brought Leyland onto the staff with the Cardinals, it was there that Leyland saw the potential of being a major-league manager again. Before joining the Cardinals, Leyland had his World Series ring with the Marlins and his run of three consecutive playoff appearances with Pittsburgh. He had a good career as manager, but it’s debatable whether he would have reached a ballot for a Hall of Fame committee.
After the Cardinals, Leyland managed teams to two American League pennants, and his Tigers teams appeared four times in the postseason. Of his 1,769 wins as a manager, 700 of them came after that stint as a scout with the Cardinals.
On Tuesday, one of the last questions Leyland fielded at his press conference was about his Hall of Fame plaque and the logo he’ll wear on his cap. La Russa elected to wear a blank cap on his cap in Cooperstown. Leyland said that is a possibility for him, too. He wanted to consult with officials at the Hall of Fame and lean on them for a decision. The Tigers' logo gives his career a tidy bracket – he was signed as a player by the Tigers in 1963 and he likes to joke how he finally made it to the majors with the Tigers in 2006.
He wanted to find a way to “show respect†for all the teams that hired him as manager. He has four to choose from, and on his Hall of Fame plaque all four will be listed.
The Cardinals won’t be.
But, even unmentioned in Cooperstown, the Cardinals played a significant part getting Leyland there, where his plaque forever hangs.
Leyland, who led three different franchises to the World Series and thrice won the Manager of the Year award, was elected to the Hall of Fame by an Eras committee Sunday.
In 2006, Cards manager opted not to make a show of a smudge on opposing pitcher's hand. Fast-forward 15 years, and a Cardinals' cap takes centerstage.
After walking away from $4 million per year with Rockies, long-time manager took $50,000 job as a scout for La Russa and Jocketty.
