Tigers announce plans to honor Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland in 2024

Detroit — They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

So, well, former Tigers manager Jim Leyland should feel awfully flattered when the franchise honors him this season, after he is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.

The Tigers announced Friday they will celebrate Leyland on Saturday, Aug. 3, before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. The first 15,000 fans will receive a "Jim Leyland Starter Kit," including a baseball cap, fake mustache and sunglasses. (Sorry, no smokes.)

The Tigers have not announced any plans to retire Leyland's number; he wore No. 10. The last Tigers manager to make the Hall of Fame, Sparky Anderson, eventually had his No. 11 retired by the Tigers.

The Tigers are believed to be considering retiring Miguel Cabrera's No. 24 in 2024, after his retirement in 2023, potentially breaking a tradition of retiring numbers after Hall of Fame induction.

Leyland was elected to the Hall of Fame in December by a veterans committee and will join Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer in the Class of 2024, to be inducted in July in Cooperstown, New York.

The Hall of Fame announced recently that Leyland's Hall of Fame plaque will not feature a logo on the cap, which was Leyland's preference. He also managed the Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies.

Leyland, 79, was 1,769-1,728 during his major-league managerial career, which included three division titles each with the Tigers and Pirates, and a World Series championship with the Marlins. He retired after the 2013 season.

Tickets for the Leyland celebration will go on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984