COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Jim Leyland was holding court on Saturday afternoon, talking to the media, previewing his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday — and it felt like old times.
The former Detroit Tigers manager was cracking jokes and telling stories and dropping insight, just like always.
“I was getting advice from a lot of people,” Leyland said about writing his speech. “And my daughter said, ‘Dad, just tell them how you feel.’ ”
Right on cue, his voice cracked with emotion.
“That's pretty good,” Leyland said. “But she also got me a white hanky, and when you open it up, it says, ‘There's no crying in baseball.’ ”
TEARS OF JOY:Jim Leyland's Baseball Hall of Fame career came down to a man not afraid of his emotions
So, yes, there will be a white hanky in Leyland’s pocket on Sunday when he gives his speech, with a message during which he is certain to break.
There is no question in my mind: He is going to get emotional on Sunday. That's who he is.
“George Brett gave me great advice,” Leyland said. “He said, ‘Hey, if you don't get emotional, for something like this, you're probably not human.’ So I'm gonna try to obviously keep it down. I don't want to embarrass myself, but I'm not gonna be ashamed. But I think I'll get through it.”
The more Leyland talked, the more it felt like one of his pregame media sessions, which were legendary.
But let me tell you a secret about covering Leyland. Before every game, he would meet with the media in his office, and he had varying rules. Sometimes, as he told a story, he would term it “off the record.”
This meant you could use the information but not attribute it to him.
Then, there was “way off the record.”
That meant you could kind of hint at the information.
Then there was “way, way off the record.” Which meant: Don’t even try to get it into the paper.
Other times, he would say, “I don’t want to see this in the paper.”
Oh, man, those were some amazing stories — absolutely hilarious — but, well, we couldn't tell them to you.
Then, finally, there was one last level, with the warning: “If I ever see this anywhere, I’ll never speak with you again.”
And, well, I’m not going there. That was like top secret CIA stuff.
Thankfully, all of Saturday’s discussion remained on the record, allowing yours truly to present the highlights:
THE NEXT GENERATION:Detroit Tigers' youth movement in MLB draft about building foundation and staying flexible
On when he finished his speech: “Finished about four or five days ago, and I sent a copy to Jon (Shestakofsky, the vice president of communications) at the Hall of Fame, and they approved it. Then my daughter actually typed it up, sent it up to him. Email, I guess. So anyway, they approved it, and then I actually delivered it to them verbally, a couple of days ago, when I got here. ... I don't know how good the speech is, but it won't be a real long. I think I'm right on schedule, about 10 minutes.”
On the experience: “They say when you come back next year, you're really going to enjoy it. But as an inductee for the first time, there's a lot to do, and there's a lot of pressure on you, because you're very conscientious about your speech. It's going to be a tough speech to give, but certainly a good speech to give. So, you know, if I'm still around, I hope to enjoy it a little bit more next year.”
On playing sandlot ball in Perrysburg, Ohio: “When you were a little kid, we all played Little League, and they didn't put me in right field. That was great. They did put me at shortstop. And that was the last time I ever played shortstop. But you know, it was fun. We all played on the sandlots in Perrysburg and I'm gonna mention that tomorrow.”
On how Johnny Bench ruined his career: “When I saw him play, I said, ‘If that's what they look like, I was packing my suitcase to go home, because I didn't look anything like that.’”
On what plaque he checks out at the Hall of Fame: “Yogi Berra is the one. You know, he was my favorite player growing up. We became very close friends over the years. So I would say that. Yogi's is one I really liked to look at. But you know, I want to like to look at mine more than Yogi’s.”
NUMBERS GAME:Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland shares how he feels about Detroit Tigers retiring No. 10
On not being a great player: “I think it actually helped me in my managerial career. The fact I wasn't a good player, because I realized how hard it was to play the game. So when somebody popped up with a man on third with less than two outs, or struck out, I understood that. I had been there and done that, even though it was on a lesser level.”
On his speech: “I think I got the all the points as far as mentioning the names that I need to mention, but I'm not gonna give a yellow page.”
On managing great players: “I think all great players have one thing in common. They all have the ability to slow the game down at the biggest moments.”
On how he would manage today with all the analytics: “Most people call it analytics; I call it information. When I managed, we had all the information that was available. There's more of it today. And some of it is very good. And some of it is probably reading material to be honest with you, but some of it's very good. ... The problem with some of the stuff is, you can plan for a game, but you can't script the game. And I think there's a difference.”
BY THE NUMBERS:Why Jim Leyland was a shoo-in for Baseball Hall of Fame
On if Lou Whitaker should be inducted into the Hall of Fame: “It's not for me to decide who are Hall of Famers and who are not up. That’s for somebody else. I don't vote. And so I never get into the quote unquote, political part of it. Do I think Lou Whitaker is a Hall of Famer? Yes.”
On that, we can all agree.
MORE FROM JEFF SEIDEL:It's easy to understand why Tigers drafted this shortstop from Notre Dame
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
Most Popular
Comments / 0