Leyland Rejects Job Proposal From Angels

The Angels and the Walt Disney Co. were ready to open the vault for Jim Leyland, but the highly coveted former manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates said thanks but no thanks Wednesday night.

“I can tell you that it’s down to three teams, and that the Angels and I have decided to go in a different direction,” Leyland said. “My wife and I are trying to make a decision, but to be honest with you, I haven’t had the time to talk to her because the phone keeps ringing.”

The Angels made a four-year contract offer to Leyland Tuesday that included a base salary of about $1 million and Walt Disney Co. stock options that could have pushed the figure closer to $2 million a year, which would have made Leyland the highest-paid manager in baseball history.

But Leyland has opted to remain closer to his Pittsburgh home, and will choose between the Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox, all of whom sent high-ranking team executives to Pittsburgh this week to speak to Leyland.

Angel officials went back to their list of candidates and will interview Tim Johnson and Ken Macha.

Johnson, a coach with the Boston Red Sox, and Macha, a minor league manager in the Red Sox’s organization, will meet with Angel officials today in Southern California, according to a source.

The Marlins were considered to have the inside track to Leyland when he resigned after 11 seasons with the Pirates. But offers from the Angels and White Sox, plus interest from the Red Sox, caused Marlin President Don Smiley and General Manager Dave Dombrowski--a close friend of Leyland’s--to fly to Pittsburgh and meet with Leyland Wednesday.

The Marlins had reportedly offered a three- to five-year contract worth $5 million to $7 million, but that was before other offers began rolling in. Will the Marlins stand pat on their original offer?

“It would not be safe to assume that,” Smiley said.

Dombrowski said Marlin owner Wayne Huizenga would not be outbid on “something he really wants.”

Red Sox President John Harrington and General Manager Dan Duquette flew to Pittsburgh Wednesday night to make their offer, which was expected to be in the $1 million per year range. Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox chairman, and Ron Schueler, the team’s general manager, met with Leyland Monday. The presence of Schueler was seen as an attempt to mend fences with Leyland, a friend of former White Sox Manager Gene Lamont. In 1995, Schueler fired Lamont, who then went to the Pirates as a coach.

The White Sox offered a three- to five-year deal worth in excess of $1.5 million per year.

Leyland, 51, said Wednesday he will take a day or so to study the proposals before choosing his new team.

“This isn’t about money,” he said. “I would have stayed in Pittsburgh if this were about money. But I never got past high school, and I want somebody smarter than me looking at these. There are real outstanding offers.”

Meanwhile, the Angels continue moving forward with other candidates.

Johnson has been on the Angels’ short list since Marcel Lachemann stepped down as manager on Aug. 6. Johnson was a finalist for the manager jobs in Oakland, Detroit, St. Louis and Florida.

Macha, who managed the Red Sox double-A team in Trenton (N.J.), was the Angels’ third base coach from 1992-94.

An Angel source said Tuesday that former Cincinnati and Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson was now near the top of the list should Leyland turn down the team’s offer.

“I think everyone is waiting around to see what Jim does,” Johnson said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.