Manager Jim Leyland selected to Hall of Fame
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Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jim Leyland, the longtime manager who guided the Florida Marlins to the 1997 World Series title, was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Leyland was named on 15 of 16 ballots in the selection process during a meeting of the Hall’s contemporary baseball era committee, which examined the cases of managers, umpires and executives whose greatest contributions came after 1980.
Nominees needed to be named on at least 12 ballots for enshrinement. Falling just short was former manager Lou Piniella, who was named on 11 ballots. Executive Bill White was listed on 10 ballots. Also considered were managers Cito Gaston and Davey Johnson, umpires Ed Montague and Joe West, and executive Hank Peters.
Leyland will become the 23rd person to be inducted into the Hall as a manager and the first since 2014, when Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa and Bobby Cox were enshrined. Leyland, who got his start in the majors as a coach under LaRussa with the Chicago White Sox, was asked to sum up what he tried to impart to his players over the years.
“I tried to impress upon them what it was to be a professional and how tough this game is to play,” Leyland said. “And I told them almost every day how good there were.”
Leyland never advanced beyond Double-A as a minor league catcher during a playing career that ended in 1970. But he more than made up for that during a long managerial career that began in the minors in 1971. He landed his first big league job with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and went on to win 1,769 games over a 22-year big league career that ended in 2013 with the Detroit Tigers. He ranks 18th on the all-time managerial win list.
Only Hall of Famer Joe McCarthy won more games among managers who never made the big leagues as a player. As he waited for the call from Hall of Fame chairperson Jane Forbes Clark on Sunday, Leyland initially thought the hour advanced late enough that the call — 60 years in the making — was not going to arrive. Then it did.
“I thought when I didn’t get [the call] by a quarter of seven, it wasn’t going to happen,” Leyland said. “So I went up just to rest a minute and get my thoughts together. When my son came up, the phone rang and it was the Hall of Fame. I couldn’t believe it. There was definitely a tear in my eye.”
Leyland managed numerous superstar players during his career, including all-time greats Barry Bonds and Miguel Cabrera. As much as he was respected by the superstar players, he was known as a skipper who treated everyone in his clubhouse as an equal.
“All the good managers realize it takes 24-25 guys,” Leyland said. “It takes one heartbeat to sustain. I try to communicate with everybody.”
Known for his lovably irascible manner and pregame news conferences conducted in undershirts amid a haze of cigarette smoke, Leyland reached his pinnacle with the 1997 Marlins, an expensively built team designed to win fast. With Leyland leading a team full of stars including Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Moises Alou and Kevin Brown, the Marlins went on to beat Cleveland in a seven-game World Series.
After that Marlins club was dismantled, Leyland moved on to manage the Colorado Rockies for one season before spending his final eight managing the Tigers. Detroit won two pennants during his tenure (2006 and 2012) and earned four postseason appearances.
Leyland was named Manager of the Year three times, twice in the National League (1990 and 1992) and once in the American League (2006).
Leyland, 78, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 21 in Cooperstown, New York. He originally signed as a player with the Tigers organization in 1964, so when he is recognized among the game’s immortals next summer, it will be the crowning achievement of 60 years around the professional game.
“It’s the final stop, really, as far as your baseball career goes,” Leyland said. “To end up and land there at Cooperstown? It doesn’t get any better. I mean, that’s the ultimate.”
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Greg Wyshynski
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Carolina Hurricanes are benching starter Frederik Andersen for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Backup Pyotr Kochetkov, who replaced Andersen for the third period of their 5-0 loss to the Florida Panthers in Thursday’s Game 2, will get the start. Florida holds a 2-0 series lead over Carolina with Game 3 scheduled for Saturday night in Sunrise.
“Just change the vibe a little bit. I don’t blame Freddie for any of the goals that went in. Obviously, save percentage isn’t great, if you look at that. We do need some saves,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
Before Game 1 against Florida, Andersen had allowed only 12 goals in nine playoff games for a .937 save percentage and a 1.36 goals-against average. But in two games against Florida, Andersen has given up nine goals on 36 shots, a .750 save percentage and a 5.54 GAA.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin had nothing but praise for Andersen on the morning of Game 3, minutes before Brind’Amour announced the goalie change.
“He’s a stone wall back there. He has been all year, He’s a calm presence, and he’s not going to go out outside of his game to try to do anything crazy. So that gives a huge confidence,” Slavin said.
Kochetkov gave up one goal on five shots faced in Game 2. He saw action in the Hurricanes’ first-round win over the New Jersey Devils after Andersen was injured in a collision with Devils forward Timo Meier, giving up five goals on 50 shots in two Carolina victories.
Overall, Kochetkov has appeared in nine career playoff games with a save percentage of .871 and a 3.52 GAA.
Kochetkov saw the majority of the starts in the regular season for the Hurricanes, going 27-16-3 in 47 starts with a .898 save percentage and a 2.60 GAA.
The change comes as the Hurricanes desperately try to get back into a series in which the Panthers have outscored them 10-2. But there are other lineup considerations for Carolina. Brind’Amour said defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Sean Walker are both game-time decisions. Chatfield has yet to appear in the conference finals with an undisclosed injury. Walker was shaken up in Game 2 on a hit from Florida forward A.J. Greer.
Center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who was a healthy scratch in Game 2, is expected back in the Hurricanes’ lineup.
Puck drop for Game 3 of the East finals is 8 p.m. ET.
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Greg Wyshynski
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart will miss Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals with a lower body injury.
The Panthers lead the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0, with the action shifting to Sunrise on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
Reinhart was Florida’s leading scorer in the regular season with 81 points in 79 games, including a team-high 39 goals. He is a finalist for the Selke Trophy, awarded to the best defensive forward in the NHL. Reinhart scored 57 goals for the Panthers in 2023-24 to earn an eight-year, $69 million contract extension.
He left the Panthers’ 5-0 win in Game 2 on Thursday after a first-period hit by Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho as Reinhart carried the puck into the offensive zone. Aho appeared to make contact with Reinhart’s left knee. Reinhart’s last shift ended with 2:08 left in the first period.
Reinhart underwent testing Friday and was ruled out by coach Paul Maurice on Saturday. Maurice listed him as day-to-day after the Panthers’ morning skate.
The 29-year-old has 11 points in 14 playoff games, skating on the team’s top line with captain Aleksander Barkov and Evan Rodrigues. Reinhart was second on the Panthers with 10 goals during their Stanley Cup championship run in 2024.
Maurice said Reinhart is “a significant player” out of the lineup, one who contributes to the power play and penalty kill.
Forward Jesper Boqvist will draw into Reinhart’s spot alongside Barkov. The 26-year-old has one goal and one assist in nine playoff games this season but has averaged just 8:52 in ice time.
Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad said the Panthers have plenty of experience picking up the slack for players who are out of their lineup. Florida had only 12 players who played at least 76 games in the regular season.
“Not necessarily losing Rhino, but up and down the line of losing guys. It’s never easy, but it’s a team effort and has always been there for us. Not replace him, because he’s irreplaceable, but do our best,” Ekblad said.
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