Former Pirates Manager Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

PITTSBURGH, PA — Jim Leyland, who began his managerial career with the Pirates and guided the team to its last division title in 1992, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

He becomes just the 23rd manager to make it to the hall.

Leyland's 22-season career as a skipper also included stints with the Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies and Detroit Tigers.

“Well, I’d just like to say how excited I am and how proud I am to be elected to Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame," Leyland, 78, still a Pittsburgh resident, said Sunday on a Zoom call with reporters.

"It’s the highest honor you can get in our business and I'm just thrilled, excited, surprised,flattered. All those words come into play when you're thinking about this. So veryexcited about it and a very happy evening for me and my family.”

Leyland managed the Pirates from 1986 to 1996. He won manager of the year awards with the Pirates in 1990 and 1992 and was a runner-up in 1988 and 1991.

Under Leyland's guidance, the Bucs won three consecutive division titles from 1990-1992 but failed to advance to the World Series, losing three times in the National League Championship Series.

The Pirates have not won a division title since the 1992 season.