Farewell Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland should be in the Hall of Fame, simply for telling Barry Bonds where to go.

 

I can't believe I've never bothered to go looking for an uncensored version of that until now. That is just fantastic.

 

I think Dave Dombrowski had a lot more to do with that than Leyland.

 

Leyland took over for Chuck Tanner after the 1985 team lost 105 games and had the stink of the Pittsburgh drug trials hanging over it. Two years later they went 80-82, and the following year they challeneged the Mets for the division title for a chunk of the season and won 85 games.

 

Some of the credit for that has to go to Syd Thrift, but Leyland was a huge part of the turnaround there and his winning percentage certainly suffered from years in Pittsburgh when ownership wasn't even trying.

 

Leyland is a great arguement for the Hall, and I think he will eventually get in.

But what is going to work against him is that, at best, a lot of people could put him seventh among the contemporaries based on the raw numbers.

21 seasons -- 10 under .500 and another right at 81-81. Under .500 everywhere but Detroit.

The only managers to win at least three pennants and arent in the Hall are Leyland, Bochy, Houck, Grimm and Jim Mutrie, a guy who managed in the 1880s for nine seasons.

 

He won with good players and lost with bad ones.

But he was great with all of them.

 

Cox isn't in yet, is he?

 

Cox, La Russa AND Torre all are up for election next year, for the first time. Hard to believe they're going to all get in, but they all do deserve it.

 

Yeah, Barry Bonds' first year in Pittsburgh (1986) was also Leyland's first. And by spring training of 1987, Thrift had traded for Sid Bream, Bobby Bonilla, Doug Drabek, Andy Van Slyke and Mike LaValliere.

 

Piniella is also going to be eligible with them.

I can't see them not putting all three of them in, because the stupid rules mean the one or ones who don't get in have to wait until the next expansion cycle, which would put their induction in the summer of 2017. At that point Torre would be 77, Cox 76 and La Russa 73. No reason to risk it.

And there's not going to be a player who is head and shoulders above all three as a lock candidate — Vida Blue, Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Billy Martin, Marvin Miller, Al Oliver, Ted Simmons, Rusty Staub, George Steinbrenner are the 11 holdovers from last year, and at least two have to be bumped to get Cox, La Russa and Torre on the ballot.

The newcomers to considered for the ballot will be Dwight Evans and Dave Parker

 

In addition, there is also the possibility that Greg Maddux could be the only player selected by the writers. So the Veterans Committee could hedge their bets and make sure there are three guarantees to go with him. Unless they are afraid after last year four or five gives get in and the ceremony could take all day.