Jim Leyland, one of baseball's best managers but unhappy running one of its worst teams, spent 21/2 weeks trying to convince himself the Pittsburgh Pirates could win again soon. He couldn't do it.
So Leyland walked into owner Kevin McClatchy's office Tuesday and did what he long said he would never do: He quit, effective at the end of the season.McClatchy agreed to release the two-time National League manager of the year from the final four years of his $4 million contract, and Leyland will be free to sign elsewhere. The contenders already are lining up, too.
The Florida Marlins, whose general manager Dave Dombrowski is a longtime Leyland friend, seem eager to talk to him as soon as possible. Others will likely follow.
"I believe in my heart it's time for the Pirates to have a new manager and it's time for Jim Leyland to move on," said Leyland, who is discouraged by ownership-ordered trades and salary cutting. "It wasn't a tough decision, but it was a sad decision."
Leyland has only one criteria for his new club: The chance to win. Interestingly, his decision came hours before the Pirates extended a six-game winning streak - their longest all season - by beating Cincinnati 5-3.
"If I have to sit out a year, I'll sit out a year to get the right situation," he said. "If it doesn't happen, I'll fire the lawn man and do it myself (next summer)."
Dombrowski can't talk to Leyland until the Marlins decide if manager John Boles, who replaced Rene Lachemann at midseason, will return in 1997.
"I don't know," Dombrowski said when asked if he would contact Leyland. "I'll have to wait and see what I read and what is said. . . . I won't see John until Friday. I'm sure we'll visit and start talking."
Leyland on Aug. 29 said he would honor his Pirates contract. But it was evident he wasn't buying into the McClatchy-ordered trades - Denny Neagle was the first to go, and others will follow this winter - or payroll-slashing.