Jim Leyland can make a below average guy average and make average guys look like stars....not superstars mind you, but solid ballplayers. He has a knack for getting so much out of his players.
After the Pirate’s 9th inning collapse in the 1992 NLCS against the friggin Braves (I still have nightmares of the Tomahawk Chop) and subsequent firesale, he just couldn’t take management crying poor all of the time. I think the thing that did him in with the Pirates was trading Denny Neagle in 1996 ... he announced his resignation shortly thereafter.
We actually fielded a $9M payroll the year after (I think Albert Belle got a $12M contract that year). Ironically, we had our strongest finish in 1997 (we won 79 games I think ... sad).
I really miss him being the Pirate’s manager, but you can only take so much losing and not be able to do anything about it ... you have to have a level of talent to compete in the major leagues. The Pirates haven’t been able to either sign that talent or grow it in their farm system.
I don’t think Leyland was too thrilled about the Florida Marlins sale after a world series win either. I believe stability may have been a major part of his reason for coming to Detroit.
However Pittsburgh is still where he keeps a home.
17 years of futility? And the last moment of their last good season was Barry Bonds’ Obama-esque throw home that was too weak to get Sid Bream? Sad.