The latest installment of the MLB Network Presents series is another film that focuses on a person that has spent most of his life in baseball with a variety of organizations, and this edition focuses on recently-retired former Pirates and Tigers (among others) manager Jim Leyland.
The film featured archival behind the scenes footage along with a plethora of interviews, including with legendary former players Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield and Dave Dombrowski, Leyland’s former GM in both Florida and Detroit.
As World Series-winning manager Jim Leyland prepares to return to the dugout to manage Team USA at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in March, MLB Network looks back at his storied career with Jim Leyland: A Life In Baseball, a new episode of MLB Network Presents premiering Tuesday, January 31 at 9:00 p.m. ET. In an interview filmed this month at Leyland’s home in Pittsburgh, MLB Network’s Bob Costas talks with Leyland about his more than five decades in baseball and his trademark hard-nosed managerial style, which led to 1,769 career wins and endeared him to every player he managed.
Featured in the show is a rare national interview with seven-time NL MVP Barry Bonds, who played under Leyland for seven seasons in Pittsburgh, speaking at length about his relationship with his former manager, including their tough-love relationship that came to a head in an argument during Spring Training in 1991. Former players Bobby Bonilla, Sean Casey, Gary Sheffield and Andy Van Slyke are also featured in the show, describing how Leyland commanded respect from his players throughout his nearly 30 years of coaching and managing in Major League Baseball with the Pirates, Marlins, Rockies and Tigers.
Dave Dombrowski, Leyland’s former general manager in both Florida and Detroit, and former coaches Rich Donnelly and Gene Lamont discuss how Leyland took struggling franchises in Pittsburgh, Florida and Detroit and helped change the culture inside the clubhouse and the product on the field, while Leyland talks about his frustration seeing players leave Pittsburgh and Florida following successful trips to the Postseason. Going back to Leyland’s roots as a member of the Chicago White Sox coaching staff in the 1980’s, former White Sox manager and Hall of Famer Tony La Russa comments on Leyland’s profound impact on players, from the star player to the 25th man on the roster. Rarely seen footage of Leyland on-and-off the field, and archive footage from signature games in his career is featured in the show, including Game Seven of the 1997 World Series, Game Seven of the 1992 NLCS and Game Two of the 2013 ALCS.
There are some interesting anecdotes explored in the documentary, including the story about this Barry Bonds Spring Training confrontation. Leyland also relives Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS, one of the most painful loss in all of baseball history (for Pirates fans, at least). That particular story also features Andy Van Slyke throwing some shade at Barry Bonds, who left Pittsburgh and signed with the Giants that offseason.
Leyland also talks about his departure from the Pirates after the 1996 season, which led him to some…interesting years with the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies. Leyland won the World Series with the Marlins in 1997, only to see the team embark upon a fire sale that offseason, culminating with Leyland leaving for the Rockies after a 108 loss season.
I was surprised at how much time was spent on the three years Leyland spent with the Marlins and Rockies. I expected these years to just be glossed over, but instead, they were a significant part of the film. In fact, there was more time spent on those three seasons than the eight seasons he was with the Detroit Tigers. There was also a great story Gary Sheffield told about how he planned he veto his trade to the Dodgers as part of the Mike Piazza deal, but Leyland convinced him to approve the deal because he would be leaving after the season.
Leyland also dug in to why he failed in Colorado, blaming the fact that he was a “pitcher’s manager” and Denver is, to put it mildly, not the environment for pitchers to succeed.
There isn’t much focus on those years with the Tigers, and I really don’t know why. Detroit won a pair of AL pennants under Leyland, but they’re almost glossed over. Miguel Cabrera isn’t mentioned at all, and Justin Verlander is only talked about when discussing the Tigers’ loss in Game 3 of the 2013 ALCS.
I was a bit surprised about how open Leyland was during the film, as a lot of time during features like this, the subject will hide their true feelings and play politics. Leyland didn’t do that, and was (seemingly) truthful about how he felt about certain situations. I was a bit wary coming in about whether or not Leyland would sugar coat his time with the Marlins and Rockies, but he really didn’t at all, and that made for a better film.
The film also serves as a fine bit of cross-promotion for the World Baseball Classic, also airing on MLB Network in the spring. Leyland will manage Team USA, which has underachieved during every previous WBC, in this edition.
Jim Leyland: A Life in Baseball airs on Tuesday, January 31st at 9 PM on MLB Network.
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