'That one was for you': Tigers honor Leyland in wild walk-off fashion
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DETROIT -- The Tigers had just finished their pregame ceremony retiring Jim Leyland’s No. 10 when the Hall of Fame manager ran over to the Tigers’ dugout railing with a hug for manager A.J. Hinch and a not-so-subtle message for the team.
“I wanted to thank them,” Leyland said, “because they didn’t really have to come out there like they did. I wanted to thank A.J. and his players, and his coaches, for letting me be just a tiny part of what’s going on. Obviously, this is not my show anymore; I’m way in the background. That meant a lot to me that they came out.
“And I did also tell them, ‘How about going out and winning the [darn] game?”
As Hinch sat in the interview room to discuss the Tigers’ 6-5 comeback walk-off victory over the Royals in 11 innings at Comerica Park, he didn’t forget.
“First off, Skipper, that one was for you,” Hinch said as he looked to the cameras.
It was the kind of victory Leyland could be proud of, complete with a ninth-inning rally to tie it, a big home run from well-traveled Bligh Madris, a crucial catch from Parker Meadows and two extra-inning rallies to take it, capped by rookie Wenceel Pérez’s two-out walk-off single in the 11th.
“Everyone who played for him or has ever been around him says everyone would’ve loved playing for him,” Jake Rogers said. “I love just being around him, being able to talk to him, just the conversations and the stories that he has. It means a lot, him coming over and saying what’s up to the boys. It’s awesome. Hopefully, we made him happy today.”
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They did, and they have been. Though Leyland hasn’t managed in the Tigers’ dugout for a decade, his influence is all over this team. He has worked with the front office for 10 years under three different leaders. He has seen many of these players come up through the farm system, making trips to Spring Training as well as Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo.
Leyland remains a trusted voice in the decision-making process, now under president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
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“He’s 37, 38 years old, I’m going to be 80 this year, but we hit it off really, really well,” Leyland said. “I really like him, very sharp. I’m really looking forward to …”
Then, Leyland paused.
“They’re struggling right this moment,” he continued, “probably not going to get in [the postseason], but I think this team, they’re going to get healthy and I believe they’re going to have a great September. Probably going to be a little late, but I believe that.”
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Leyland’s not the only one.
“We’re going to be a problem,” Pérez said. “We’re going to be a real problem. The group that we have here, we have really good guys. When everybody gets healthy, we’re going to battle.”
Saturday’s comeback ended a five-game losing streak in which the Tigers had been outscored by a 34-7 margin. Detroit welcomed back Meadows, who showed no hesitation after missing four weeks with a right hamstring strain in his first game off the IL.
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Meadows had a five-percent catch probability on Bobby Witt Jr.’s sinking line drive, but he went all-out for a diving catch in shallow center. Kyle Isbel tagged up to score the go-ahead run in the 10th, but the grab kept Witt off the bases and ultimately prevented Salvador Perez from batting in the inning.
The Tigers were down to their final strike when Justyn-Henry Malloy tied it with a double in the bottom of the 10th. An inning later, Meadows reached the elite speed threshold of 30.0 feet per second on his game-tying triple before scoring on Pérez’s hit.
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It all backed up another thing Leyland mentioned on Saturday.
“I don’t talk about this much,” he told reporters after his ceremony, “because I don’t want to preach patience anymore to the fans. I’m sick of hearing the word patience in a lot of different areas, and I understand the fans are, too. But one thing I will tell you: If you trust my judgment as a baseball man, and I hope you do, there are a lot of good ingredients for a great cake here. I truly believe that.
“The ingredients are here to make a great cake.”
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The players wouldn’t have heard that, but they’d appreciate it.
“A lot of that win is the toughness we all want to be,” Hinch said, “and I love that it happened today.”