Up Close with Pittsburgh Sports Report
Jim Leyland

A veteran of 43 years in professional baseball, Jim Leyland returned to the organization that originally signed him as a catcher in 1963 when he took over as manager of the Detroit Tigers in October 2005. A little more than a year later, he was a consensus pick as American League Manager of the Year after guiding the Tigers to the World Series. Leyland previously served 14 seasons as a manager at the major league level with the Pirates (1986-96), Florida Marlins (1997-98) and Colorado Rockies (1999). He captured three straight National League East Division championships with the Pirates (1990-92) and claimed a World Series title with Florida in 1997. PSR's George Von Benko caught up with the formers Bucs' manager at spring training.

PSR: You're back in familiar surroundings at McKechnie Field.

Leyland: It's beautiful and the park looks great. Obviously it's been redone a little bit since I was here, but it's a gorgeous place and I think its one of the nicer ones in spring training.

PSR: It has to be a lot of fun to get together with some of your former players. Don Robinson and Mike LaValliere were just a couple of the guys catching up with you.

JL: Oh, yeah I see them every once in awhile, but not as often as you'd like. So anytime you get a chance to have a conversation its great.

PSR: Have you had time to reflect on the magical ride the Tigers had last season?

JL: Yeah, it was really good. We had a good time and everybody said, "Are you glad you got back in it?" Well, when you get to the World Series you obviously are, so it was a thrill for us and we did a good job. We knew in spring training we had good players and we just had to make it a team. I think we did a decent job at that.

PSR: That was one of the reasons you took the Detroit job. You looked at that young pitching staff and you had an idea that they were going to be good.

JL: There's no question about that. They were just about ready to emerge as real good major league players and pitchers and that's what happened. Actually Alan Trammel did most of the groundwork and stuff and I kind of reaped the benefits of some hard work by other people. We came in and we were fortunate enough to make a team out of it, and like I said, we've got a good ball club.

PSR: Was it fun getting back into managing after being out of it so long?

JL: Yeah, I really enjoyed it and I was really blessed because I had Gene Lamont and Lloyd McClendon with me and they both managed recently. So they were a little more updated than I was and I was worried about being a little bit stale coming back in, but they picked me up and they were a great sounding board for me. It didn't take me too long. I felt like I was riding a bike again.

PSR: Your coaching staff is almost like Pirates North with the two you mentioned and Andy Van Slyke and Rafael Belliard.

JL: We got Van Slyke, we got Belliard, and we had Don Slaught who decided to go back to his business. But when you are around good baseball people you have respect for them, and a lot of those guys just happened to have been with the Pirates. That's why I took them. It had nothing to do really with the Pirates, it had to do with the fact that they were excellent baseball people. I knew their personalities and I thought they would fit in very well.

PSR: The Pirates made a change at manager at the same time you went to Detroit. You told me coming back to Pittsburgh wasn't in the cards.

JL: You really have mixed emotions about that. The truth of the matter is the Pirates didn't want me; they knew who they wanted and that's the direction they should have gone. Dave Littlefield and Jim Tracy had a relationship in the past just like Dave Dombrowski and I had, and there was kind of a common bond there. The Pirates had no intention of hiring me and it was probably going to be a token interview, but that's fine I have no problem with that whatsoever. They got the man they should have got and they got the man they wanted.

PSR: Can the Tigers get back to the World Series this year?

JL: We've got a good team and potentially we've got a shot. But it's just not that easy. I think nobody realizes how hard it is to get to a World Series. If they even get into the playoffs, that's very difficult. Then you get by the New York Yankees and Oakland A's two outstanding clubs that's not easy. It's unlikely that we'll go back to the World Series, but we're going to give it our best shot.

PSR: You've managed in both the National League and the American League. Do you prefer either league as a manager?

JL: I like the National League better. You're more active as the manager. In the American League you kind of sit there offensively and watch them whack it. I don't really like that too much. You don't have the double switches and all that stuff. But I think it's actually more difficult to manage in the American League because in the National League your decisions are made for you. You have to pinch hit if you get behind in the game and you've got to take your pitcher out. In the American League you've got to be precise when you're going to remove your pitcher. He can give up three in the first and really settle down and pitch one whale of a game. If you're behind you don't have to pinch hit for him. You've got to be a little more precise in the American League.

PSR: Any thoughts on Barry Bonds closing in on the home run record?

JL: Well, obviously I'm pulling for him. I talked to him this winter at the winter meetings and we had a very nice conversation. I've not talked to him this spring. I'm sure it's very hectic for him; that seems to follow him around so I haven't bothered him. But we had a great conversation this winter and obviously I'm pulling for him.