Ron Gardenhire has decided to retire from baseball and we now know the Detroit Tigers will have a new manager in 2020, whether it be current interim manager Lloyd McClendon or somebody else.
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According to former Tigers manager and current special assistant to GM Al Avila, Jim Leyland, the Tigers managerial opening is going to be an attractive one for potential candidates.
From Detroit Free Press:
“Let me put it this way,” Leyland, special assistant to general manager Al Avila, told the Free Press on Sunday. “It’s going to be a very pleasant challenge. There’s some talent, there’s more talent coming. We’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, without question. This is going to be a real attractive managerial position.”
“This job, that is an honor to wear that (Old) English ‘D’, there’s no question about that,” Leyland said. “There will be guys waiting in line for this job. Trust me. There’s a lot of hopefuls out there. To get a chance to manage the Detroit Tigers, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
“The main thing is you have to have energy,” Leyland said. “That’s the No. 1 thing. I think you have to have the energy to go through something like this. But I’m sure Al is going to do a real extensive search and, in his mind, come up with the right guy for what we just got done talking about.”
Leyland praised Gardenhire for keeping a positive attitude during his tenure with the Tigers, even though the losses piled up.
“He maintained that attitude throughout,” Leyland said. “That’s not easy, but it’s fun when you see the end result. We’re starting to see a few results pretty good. I don’t think we’re that far away, but we still got some steps to take.”
Nation, who do you think the Tigers should hire to replace Gardenhire?
