Jim Leyland Will Manage USA in World Baseball Classic
By Kyle Koster
Jim Leyland will manage the United States in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and that means he’ll likely be wearing cleats in the dugout.
The special assistant to the Detroit Tigers last managed a game in the 2013 American League Championship Series and stepped away after amassing 1,769 wins, three pennants and one World Series.
His hard-nosed, old-school attitude will hopefully pay dividends. The United States was eliminated in the second round of the 2013 WBC after reaching the semifinals in 2009.
The WBC has yet to succeed in capturing the collective attention of Americans. Knowing Leyland, he’ll be in it to win it — which could help make it more of a “thing.”
It will be great to see him back in the saddle and occasionally sneaking between-inning heaters in the tunnel.