Jim Leyland had a routine pre-game press conference Thursday leading up to Game 5 between the Tigers and Yankees. He was asked by a reporter if he arrived at the ballpark early for the game. Apparently that was a reference to a previous occasion when Leyland showed up for a playoff Game 7 extremely early in the morning. Leyland’s explanation was pretty funny, but it likely won’t earn him any bonus points with the in-laws.
“My wife is one of 11, and all her brothers and sisters were there that morning. And they were partying and having a good time. And this was 7:00 in the morning. So, I went to the ballpark at 8:00 in the morning for an 8:30pm game because I couldn’t take it,” he said. “To be honest with you, it was brutal.”
I’m not sure what year that was, considering the Tigers haven’t played in a Game 7 under Leyland. Maybe it was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series between the Marlins and Indians. Who knows? Let’s just hope all is well in the Leyland household after that story. If you know anything about Leyland, you know he’s not someone you want to irritate.
