DETROIT (AP) — Jim Leyland is scheduled to meet with Detroit Tigers president Dave Dombrowski the day after the regular season ends, and the manager wants to have his contract extended.
"I hope that when I leave Monday, I will be the manager of the Tigers through 2009," Leyland said Wednesday before the home finale against Minnesota.
Dombrowski doesn’t expect it to be a problem to agree on a win-win deal.
"I hope to have Jim Leyland as our manager for many, many years," Dombrowski said.
The Tigers signed Leyland to a three year contract shortly after the 2005 season — replacing fired manager Alan Trammell — and he helped them reach the World Series last year, and stay in contention for a playoff spot during the final week of this season.
"He wants to be back and we want him back," centre fielder Curtis Granderson said. "That’s a great combination.".
Leyland was Florida’s manager when the Marlins won the World Series a decade ago, and was a two-time NL Manager of the Year with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1990s.
He quit his previous managing job after the 1999 season in Colorado, then was a major league scout for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Leyland, who turns 63 on Dec. 15, left the Rockies because he was burned out. The fired-up manager seems to have plenty of enthusiasm for his current job.
"Energy is no problem, and that’s not going to be as long as I manage the Tigers. Because when the energy is not there, I’ll leave and go home," he said. "I’m pumped up. I’m attacking the fires that you need to attack. As long as I’m doing that, I know I’m where I’m supposed to be."
In a wide-ranging interview with reporters, Leyland was asked if he wanted a contract extension and said that was one of the topics he planned to discuss with Dombrowski on Monday.
"This was brought up to me by Dave several weeks ago, and we both agreed that was not the time to talk about it," he said.
Leyland said he wants to manage "for a while" but doesn’t want to have more than two years on his contract, giving the team and him flexibility.
"I hope Tuesday, they have some small piece in the paper that the Tigers have extended Jim Leyland’s contract through 2009," he said. "If it doesn’t happen, you’ll know things didn’t work out."
