Leyland Steps Down As Tigers’ Manager

By Lucas Frankel 10-21-13

© AARON JOSEFCZYK/Reuters/Corbis

© AARON JOSEFCZYK/Reuters/Corbis

 

He was the Tigers’ manager for 8 seasons.  But now Jim Leyland is leaving.

“It was time,” Leyland said during a news conference earlier this morning.

During his time in Detroit, Leyland has led the Tigers to three division titles, and two American League pennants.

He is  now 68-years-old so it’s unclear whether he will manage again.  If this is the end, he will finish his managerial career with a record of 1,769-1,728 and the one World Series championship he won as manager of the Florida Marlins in 1997.

Before Leyland got to Detroit, the Tigers hadn’t had a winning season in 12 years.  In his first year in the Motor City, Leyland guided the Tigers all the way to the World Series before falling to the Cardinals in five games.