Former Detroit Tigers' skipper Jim Leyland up for Hall of Fame in 2024

Former Detroit Tigers skipper Jim Leyland is up for the Hall of Fame.

Once again, it's that time of the year. It's time to stew on Hall of Fame news and talk about who may make the ballot, who's the new faces, who may make the cut, and what might happen. While former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland may not be on the players' ballot, he's up for the Hall of Fame with the 2024 class.

The former Detroit Tigers manager is slated to be a part of the Contemporary Ballot alongside managers, umpires, and executives who will look to find their way into the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class.

The rules differ from the players' ballot, and the panel is much smaller. A sixteen-member panel of voters will vote on this Contemporary ballot on December 3rd. This will take place at Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., where the panel will cast their votes.

Anyone who earns 12 votes, or 75% of panel votes, will earn themselves a spot in the Hall of Fame. They will be inducted next summer, joining plenty of baseball greats in Cooperstown, being inducted with the rest of the 2024 Hall of Fame class.

Leyland's career in the game spans well beyond his time in Detroit and his time as the Tigers manager, but as Tigers fans, many folks remember his time with the Tigers fondly. He worked in the system under Sparky Anderson's rule and ended up coming back to manage the team in 2006.

Leyland spent eight years as the Tigers skipper, leading them to two American League (AL) Pennants, managing to a 700-597 record. He finished first or second in six of his years with the Tigers. He had one third-place finish and one fifth-place finish, but he kept Detroit at the top of the AL Central during his time in the Motor City, one that many folks are fond of.

While he spent 11 years in Pittsburgh, was a World Series Championship with the Florida Marlins, and had a year in Colorado, I remember Leyland for his tenure in Detroit. He was one of the many fond memories of the Tigers from my time watching Detroit growing up.

Leyland deserves to find his way into the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class of inductees. Time will tell when the panel votes, but Leyland deserves to be in.