*Photo from Sportsnet*
A legendary baseball face is on his way to Cooperstown. Former manager Jim Leyland has been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era committee on Sunday.
Of the 16 votes possible, Leyland received 15 to be the only person on the ballot elected to the Hall of Fame. He'll join the players that get inducted on the BBWAA ballot during the enshrinement ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, in July.
Leyland becomes the 4th manager to be inducted into the Hall without having a career in the majors as a player. He managed the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and the then Florida Marlins over his managerial career.
Over 22 seasons as a manger, Leyland won 1,769 games, good for the 18th most all time among managers. He managed 3,499 games to rank 17th overall and is tied for 7th in playoff wins with 44. He is one of only 8 managers to win the manager of the year award in both leagues, having won it with the Pirates in the NL and the Tigers in the AL.
In 1997, Leyland guided the Marlins to a win in the World Series in just their 5th year of existence. With the Pirates and Tigers, Leyland won 700 games with both teams, leading the Pirates to 3 straight division titles.
Leyland led the Tigers to the World Series in 2012, where they were ultimately swept by the San Francisco Giants. The following year, they lost the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox in 6 games, with Leyland retiring at the end of the season. He's just the 10th manager in baseball history to win both the AL and NL pennant.
After he retired, Leyland returned to the dugout briefly to manage Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He led Team USA to a first place finish in the WBC, becoming the first and only manager with a WBC and World Series championship.
The contemporary era ballot votes again in the 2026 voting cycle for the Hall of Fame. This year's induction ceremony will take place on July 21, 2024 in Cooperstown.
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