The Detroit Tigers honored Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland, who managed the Tigers from 2006-2013, before Saturday’s game with a beautiful pregame ceremony at Comerica Park, headlined by retiring his No. 10.
The Tigers put Leyland’s No. 10 next to Sparky Anderson’s No. 11 on the brick wall beyond right-center field. His number is the 10th number retired in franchise history.
In his speech, Leyland sent a message to Tigers fans.
“To the fans: How can I not love you after all you’ve done for me?” Leyland said at the end of his speech. “One thing that I want you to know from the heart — I never took you for granted, and I will never forget you. Thank you very much.”
A lot of important people attended the pregame ceremony, namely former Tigers players Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks, Kirk Gibson, Willie Horton, Brandon Inge, Todd Jones, Lance Parrish, Dan Petry, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker and Vance Wilson. As for family, Leyland had wife Katie and daughter Kellie next to him in the front row on the stage, alongside Trammel, Whitaker and Horton. His best friend, Gene Lamont, sat directly behind him. Next to Lamont, owner Christopher Ilitch, president of baseball operations Scott Harris and Ilitch executive Ryan Gustafson occupied the back row on the stage.
Lots of important names, but Leyland wouldn’t stop talking about Tigers fans.
“Today was tougher to control my emotions than Cooperstown, because it’s family,” said Leyland, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 21 in Cooperstown, New York. “At Cooperstown, you had so many fans there for other players, other Hall of Famers getting in. You’re emotional, but it’s not like one team honoring you. It never felt like manager and fans here. It felt like manager and friends.”
The Tigers made the postseason four times under Leyland’s leadership from 2006-2013, advancing to the World Series in 2006 and 2012. The Tigers totaled more than 3 million fans in a single season in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013, never falling below 2.4 million in the Leyland era.
The Tigers haven’t made the postseason since 2014, and the Tigers haven’t had a season attendance above 2 million since 2017.
Leyland has a deep respect for Tigers fans.
“I was fortunate because I grew up in Perrysburg, Ohio, about 60 miles south of here, so I knew a lot about Detroit Tiger fans all my life,” Leyland said. “In fact, my brothers were Tiger fans and I was a Cleveland Indian fan growing up. Tiger fans are great grandfather, to grandfather, to handing tickets on down for generations and generations. It’s always been that way. These fans and St. Louis fans are the most knowledgeable fans in baseball. They know the game. You don’t trick them. At a press conference after the game, you can’t BS these people, they know what’s going on, and their heart is in it.”
There were 35,210 fans at Saturday’s game, in which the Tigers dedicated to Leyland their epic extra innings win over the Kansas City Royals. The average attendance per game is 22,855 in 2024, an increase from last season.
Leyland appreciated the support from Tigers fans throughout his managerial career.
“Everywhere you went, somebody was wearing Tigers something,” Leyland said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. For eight years, we were able to maintain that pretty good. … I worked in a factory. My dad worked in a factory. I appreciate people that worked all day, worked their fanny off, get home, scarf down their supper, try to get their kids ready, get out to a ball game and spend their hard-earned money with you. Maybe they don’t realize, but I appreciate stuff like that. I was one of those guys. It’s baseball. It’s great.”