Jim Leyland was formally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, and his speech brought tears and laughter to the crowd in Cooperstown. He began, "My contributions to our beautiful pastime pale in comparison to the joy it has brought to my life, from the heart of a little boy and the soul of an old man.”
The former Tigers skipper, who also managed the Pirates, Marlins and Rockies over his 22 years in the bigs, quickly pivoted to a story about telling his wife shortly after his Hall of Fame election, "Katie, could you believe in your wildest dreams that I’d be elected to the Hall of the Fame?”
"And Katie replied, 'Jim, you’re not in my wildest dreams,'" Leyland cracked.
Leyland reminisced on each club he managed, closing with the Tigers and calling Dave Dombrowksi "one of baseball’s great GM’s in any era" and the late Mike Ilitch "the most passionate owner I’ve ever been around."
"Two American League pennants, two World Series appearances, three straight division championships and some of the most knowledgeable fans who came out to the tune of 3 million people several times," Leyland said. "How’d that happen? Because of players like the unforgettable Magglio Ordoñez, Hall of Famer Pudge Rodriguez and of course the great Miguel Cabrera
"And I’d like to mention a few more: Placido Polanco, Curtis Granderson, Todd Jones, Fernando Rodney, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Alex Avila, who’s here today and I appreciate Alex, and the old-timer Kenny Rogers."
Leyland, 79, got choked up several times during his speech, especially when discussing the gold medal he won as manager of Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic: "I never saw a group of guys get so close in such a short period of time, and we went on to win that World Baseball Classic for the united States -- fo the first and only time, One of my greatest memories."
He also teared up when thanking Gene Lamont, his former bench coach in both Pittsburgh and Detroit who was in attendance for Leyland's induction. Lamont cried, too, as Leyland talked about the value of having "your closest friend standing next to you in the dugout through the good times and the tough times." Leyland then had Lamont, 77, stand up to receive an ovation of his own.
Leyland closed by thanking the fans, again fighting back tears as he said, "Your presence was always felt. On your feet in the 9th, with the home team clinging to a one-run lead; turning on your television for the first game of the World Series and seeing 50,000 fans waving towels, hoping and praying that this may be their years; or a little boy or girl getting their first autograph and scurrying back to the stands to show mom and dad their latest treasure."
Ladies and gentlemen, that's you. That's baseball, and this is the Hall of Fame."