After retiring as manager of the Detroit Tigers in 2013, it looked like Jim Leyland was going to leave his managerial career behind for good and ride into the sunset. Leyland was 69 when he said goodbye to the dugout.
But the allure of managing his country seems to be a strong one.
BREAKING: Jim Leyland will manage @USABaseball in 2017 @WBCBaseball tournament. Tune into @MLBNetwork now for coverage. @tigers @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 15, 2016
Buck Martinez, Davey Johnson and Joe Torre have previously been managers of Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, so the trend in picking former major league managers to lead the club continues. And Leyland has brought together a world of experience on his staff to try and lead the U.S. to its first win at the WBC.
Jim Leyland names Jeff Jones, Marcel Lachemann, Lloyd McClendon, Willie Randolph, and Alan Trammell to @USABaseball 2017 coaching staff.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 15, 2016
“I already told Miggy I’m going to walk him,” Leyland said. “I’ve been kidding with him. In that situation, I’m putting up four fingers.”
He seems excited by the challenge of managing Team USA. They have finished no better than fourth in this competition in its three editions, with an overall record of 10-10.
“I’ll definitely be ready,” Leyland told MLB.com during a telephone interview. “I’m never going to manage again after this. I didn’t think I’d manage this, either. But when I was asked, I could not turn this down. Not from an ego standpoint, but it’s the honor of being asked to manage for your country.
Now, the question is how Leyland and his staff will construct a roster. There’s plenty of time to speculate on how it will be done. Will Leyland follow the roster-building model that Joe Torre used, which was 13 position players and 15 pitchers, or something else? And just who will be on the team?
So, Team USA outfield? @MikeTrout @TheCUTCH22 @Bharper3407 @Giancarlo818 @SimplyAJ10 @mookiebetts @JasonHeyward @JDMartinez14 Lorenzo Cain
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 15, 2016
Who plays 3B? @BringerOfRain20 @KrisBryant_23 . . . Nolan Arenado obviously should be in mix, but he can play for @ac13alex and Puerto Rico.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 15, 2016
“You also have to remember that you’re putting a team together,” Leyland added. “How you piece that team together is very important. It’s not necessarily all the best players. You’d love to have the biggest names, for sure, but you might not take them all. You have to have utility players, too.
“But I don’t want to jump the gun here, because there’s a protocol I need to follow. You have to get permission from the teams to talk with the players, and the players have to want to play … I’m just hoping I get enough cooperation from enough good players. I’m not going to pressure anybody. That’s not my style.”
The World Baseball Classic isn’t the world’s biggest international sports competition, but its meaning is growing with every passing tournament. And because this is America, we don’t like to lose very often. Jim Leyland is going to try and reverse past fortunes, and he seems like the right man to do it.
[MLB.com]
