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MLB

Getting To Know Patrick Leyland

Leyland is son of Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyaland
By Justin Sheinis
July 21, 2011
One of the most popular names in the Detroit Tigers organization over the past few years has been Jim Leyland, who is currently in his sixth season as the manager of the Tigers and led them to the 2006 World Series. Well, now there is another Leyland within the organization as his son Patrick was taken in the eighth round of last year's Major League Baseball Draft. After spending last year in the Gulf Coast League, he is now a catcher with the Connecticut Tigers and I had a chance to catch up with the younger Leyland to get his insight on the game of baseball and see the influence that his father and others around the game have had on him on his journey to the big leagues.

Justin Sheinis: Who was the biggest influence in your baseball career and to start playing baseball?
Patrick Leyland: My dad has been the biggest influence. From just growing up and being around baseball so much. He has been a huge inspiration and influence in not only my professional career, but also just as a person. A couple of other people that I have been around in the game, such as Tony LaRussa (St. Louis Cardinals manager), Gene Lamont (Detroit Tigers Third Base Coach), Lloyd McClendon (Detroit Tigers hitting coach) and all the guys that have been on his staff have been extremely helpful, while growing up around the game. They have all sort of taken me under their wing as their own and helped me a lot.

JS: You came straight out of high school and jumped right into the pro's last year. What was that leap like?
PL: It was tough, tougher than I thought it would be. Just playing every day, even if you're not playing every day, you are involved, you're working out, taking batting practice and have infield practice every day. That was probably the biggest adjustment. The competition, obviously, is very good and it took a little while to adjust to the speed of the game and I am still not where I want to be with the speed of the game, but it was definitely good to get my feet wet and I am glad I am doing it at a young age.

JS: Your father has been in the big leagues a long time. What is the most important thing, not only about baseball, but also about life in general that you have learned from your father?
PL: His work ethic is really good. To do what he has done for as long as he has been doing it sort of speaks for it self. There are only 30 big league manager jobs and he has had one now for 20 years, which is pretty impressive. I think that is a testament to his commitment, dedication and obviously his skill at what he does. That is what I have really taken the most from him in this game and in life in general, is just that you have to work hard to get where you want to be and stay there and I think that is very important.

JS: What is your favorite baseball memory?
PL: I don't really have one that really sticks out as my favorite per say. I have been to two World Series now (father managed the Florida Marlins to the championship in 1997 and the Detroit Tigers in 2006), I have been to some All-Star games, I have gotten to meet some really cool people, but as far as one thing, nothing really sticks out in particular. The World Series in '97, I was sort of young, I remember that, but the postseason run by the Tigers in 2006 was really special for my family and I and the whole Tigers organization. I think just being around the game, you encounter so many cool people that you like to talk to and pick their brains and that sort of thing and that is what I have really taken out of it the most.

JS: You have had the opportunity to see and talk to a lot of Major League players, being engulfed in it with your father, growing up being around the game and in the clubhouses. Is their one player in particular that you have really learned a great lesson from?
PL: No, there have been so many players that have been so nice to me and so helpful that it is hard to say one individual. My dad has managed for so long that there are some guys on every team that you are closer with, that you talk to more than others. As a catcher, when Detroit had Vance Wilson, I was close with him. Brandon Inge and those guys that have been around for a while in Detroit, I sort of grew up around them and got to talk to and learn a lot from. But no, there is not necessarily one player that I have really gotten close with, there have been a number of guys that have been open with me about what goes into being a big leaguer.

JS: Your mother worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates and your father is with the Tigers. What is the battle like there between them and those two teams?
PL: There is no battle. We still live in Pittsburgh; we are still big Pirates fans. She was in the marketing department in Pittsburgh when they met, so we obviously root for them and they are having a great year this year and it is a testament to all their hard work that they have been putting in. I actually workout there in the off-season, so I have gotten to know a couple of their guys and you can tell this past off-season that they were going to turn it around. We are pulling for them, but we are still hoping the Tigers still make the playoffs and can get it done, but we are always pulling for the Pirates in the back of our minds.

JS: Would you like to see a Tigers-Pirates World Series?
PL: You know, I actually wouldn't. I don't think I really would like to see that. Obviously, we would be pulling so hard for the Tigers, yet I have so many friends that are Pirates fans that I would hate to see them all get their heart broken if we had a World Series like that and either way a lot of people would be hurt. So no, I would rather stay away from that.

JS: Obviously you want to make the big leagues, but overall what is your ultimate goal here in professional baseball?
PL: I want to keep doing this for as long as I can and hopefully have a career in baseball. Hopefully it is playing, that is definitely what is on my mind right now, but it has always been in the back of my mind to fall back into baseball at some point. Whether it is playing, front office, or managing or something like that, I want to be a lifer, so to speak, in the game. So we will see what happens with the playing career and hopefully that is long and successful, but if not I am just going to try and stay in the game any way I can.