Former Pirates manager Jim Leyland to be inducted into Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame at PNC Park
Former Pirates manager Jim Leyland will be enshrined in the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday at PNC Park as the team hosts its annual Irish Heritage Night celebration for a game against the Chicago Cubs.
Leyland, who managed the Pirates from 1986-96, has Irish roots traceable back to County Wexford and County Cork.
He is set to be inducted into the hall along with former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer and the late John McSherry, a National League umpire from 1971-1996.
“I’m really happy to be inducted into the Irish Baseball Hall and really looking forward to it,’’ Leyland said in a statement. “I’ve seen some of the people getting into this Hall of Fame and it’s pretty impressive.”
The ceremony will serve as the hall’s first induction since 2019 as result of the covid-19 pandemic.
When Leyland took the helm with the Pirates in 1986, the club had slipped a long way down from its 1979 World Series championship.
The Pirates’ 57-win 1985 campaign was the worst by the franchise since 1954 and marked its sixth straight year of missing the playoffs.
But through the rest of the 1980s, Leyland was able to help rebuild the Pirates into a competitive ballclub, culminating in three consecutive NL East Division titles between 1990-92.
Anchored by players like Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke, the Pirates went on to advance to the doorstep of the World Series in 1990, 1991 and 1992, only to lose in the NLCS each year.
The 1991 and 1992 seasons ended in particularly grueling fashion – seven-game losses to the Atlanta Braves.
The end of the 1992 campaign ushered in what would turn into 20 straight years of losing seasons for the Pirates, whom Leyland coached through 1996.
He went on to manage the Florida Marlins (1997-98), Colorado Rockies (1999) and Detroit Tigers (2006-2013), winning a total of 1,769 MLB games, good for 18th all-time.
In his first year with Florida, Leyland led the club to a World Series title, defeating Cleveland. His 2006 and 2012 Tigers teams appeared in the World Series but lost.
In 1990 and 1992 with the Pirates, and in 2006 leading the Tigers, he was named NL Manager of the Year.
Leyland, 78, serves as a special assistant within Detroit’s front office.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
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