Longtime MLB manager Jim Leyland elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Longtime manager Jim Leyland, who won a World Series with the Florida Marlins and two American League pennants with the Detroit Tigers, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame announced his election Sunday night. He was the only nominee elected through the contemporary baseball era committee process.

"I can't thank baseball enough," Leyland told MLB Network. "It's been my life and I owe a lot of this to the game itself. I'm very proud, very touched, very flattered and very humbled."

Fellow former managers Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson and Lou Piniella also were on the ballot. Pinella received 11 votes from the 16-member committee, one short of the 12 required for election. Former umpires Joe West and Ed Montague and executives Bill White and Hank Peters also fell short.

Leyland, who received 15 votes from the election committee, posted a 1,769-1,728 record over 22 years as a manager. He spent his first season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986. He led that franchise to an 851-863 record over 11 seasons.

Leyland, 78, then led the Marlins to a 92-70 regular-season record and title in 1997, his first season with the franchise then known as the Florida Marlins.

The Marlins, reconstructed their roster the next off-season and went 54-108, leading to Leyland's resignation.

He later led the Rockies to a 72-90 record in 1999, before managing the Tigers from 2006 through 2013. The Tigers has 700-597 record over those eight seasons.

Leyland's teams logged winning records in 11 of 22 seasons. He posted seven seasons with at least 90 wins. Leyland was a three-time Manager of the Year Award winner.

He also managed at three All-Star Games and at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, at which he led Team USA to a gold medal.

Leyland will be inducted on July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y. The Baseball Writers' Association of America will announce player selections Jan. 24.