The world of baseball received some really wholesome news on Sunday.
Former MLB manager Jim Leyland received the long-awaited call that gives him his permanent ticket to Cooperstown.
The Contemporary Baseball Era Non-Players Committee met on Sunday, and Leyland was the only person elected to the Hall.
“It’s the highest honor you can get in our business,” Leyland told MLB.com, “and I’m just thrilled, excited, surprised, flattered. All those words come into play when you’re thinking about this.”
One of Leyland’s former players, Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander, took some time to congratulate his former skipper via Twitter.
Both men crossed paths on the early-2000s Detroit Tigers.
“Congratulations Skip!! I’m so incredibly happy for you and your family! When we first met I was so nervous… you were already a legend! You quickly became more than just a manager but a friend… Thank you for your faith in me from the beginning!” Verlander tweeted.
Congratulations Skip!! I’m so incredibly happy for you and your family! When we first met I was so nervous… you were already a legend! You quickly became more than just a manager but a friend… Thank you for your faith in me from the beginning!
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) December 4, 2023
Wholesome words for a friend.
Leyland managed the Tigers from 2006 to 2013.
Verlander, on the other hand, made his MLB debut as a young fireballer in 2005, impressing the world with his fastball-curveball combination.
Leyland gave him a chance to be one of the Tigers’ starters in 2006 and he responded with a solid 3.63 ERA in 186 innings.
He also won 17 games that season.
That year, the Tigers advanced all the way to the World Series but shockingly lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Together, both men would go on to dominate the AL Central division, even making another Fall Classic trip in 2012.
Leyland’s career started way before his Tigers stint, though.
He managed MLB teams since 1986 and won three Manager of the Year awards plus the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins.
All things considered, Leyland belongs in the Hall and it was cool to see Verlander taking some time to celebrate his feat.
The post MLB Ace Congratulates Jim Leyland On Major Accomplishment appeared first on The Cold Wire.