By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer 1 hour, 26 minutes ago
PITTSBURGH - Jim Leyland has agreed to manage the
Detroit Tigers, a person close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The Tigers scheduled a "major" announcement for the late afternoon, but declined to say what it was about.
But the source, who spoke on condition on anonymity because the announcement had not been made, said Leyland had accepted the job, a day after Alan Trammell was fired.
Leyland won a
World Series championship with the
Florida Marlins in 1997. He has not managed since guiding Colorado in 1999. He was a two-time NL Manager of the Year with Pittsburgh.
Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski was the Marlins' GM when Leyland won the title. The Tigers called Leyland on Monday morning to set up an interview.
"The time away from the game has helped him a great deal," Dombrowski said Monday.
Dombrowski said Leyland is one of the best managers in baseball, adding that the 60-year-old manager is motivated to return to the dugout.
"He has the passion burning," Dombrowski said.
Trammell was fired after three seasons in which he failed to turn around a franchise without a winning record since 1993. The Tigers were expected to be close to .500, if not better, but fell short with a collapse toward the end of the season and finished 71-91.
PITTSBURGH - Jim Leyland has agreed to manage the
Detroit Tigers, a person close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The Tigers scheduled a "major" announcement for the late afternoon, but declined to say what it was about.
But the source, who spoke on condition on anonymity because the announcement had not been made, said Leyland had accepted the job, a day after Alan Trammell was fired.
Leyland won a
World Series championship with the
Florida Marlins in 1997. He has not managed since guiding Colorado in 1999. He was a two-time NL Manager of the Year with Pittsburgh.
Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski was the Marlins' GM when Leyland won the title. The Tigers called Leyland on Monday morning to set up an interview.
"The time away from the game has helped him a great deal," Dombrowski said Monday.
Dombrowski said Leyland is one of the best managers in baseball, adding that the 60-year-old manager is motivated to return to the dugout.
"He has the passion burning," Dombrowski said.
Trammell was fired after three seasons in which he failed to turn around a franchise without a winning record since 1993. The Tigers were expected to be close to .500, if not better, but fell short with a collapse toward the end of the season and finished 71-91.