Tigers coach and brother priest serve as shepherds
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 13, 2006
Detroit — There are many ways in which managing a baseball team is similar to managing a parish, says Fr. Thomas J. Leyland, brother of Tigers' manager Jim Leyland.
In a sense, they are both shepherds to their "team," with Jim Leyland's team being the New York Yankees-beating Tigers, who were scheduled for the American League Championship Series against Oakland this past week, and Fr. Leyland's team being an active parish of 8,000 parishioners and a school.
|
Leyland |
 Fr. Leyland | In both roles, the leader must affirm people, encourage them to do their best, encourage them to work as a team toward a common goal – all while keeping the teammates' different personalities in mind. Also, Fr. Leyland says, it's important to keep in mind where your team is going, and what its vision is.
Fr. Leyland has been pastor at St. Rose Parish in Perrysburg, Ohio, just south of Toledo, for more than seven years – the parish in which he and his family, including his six siblings, grew up. He disagrees with the idea that he has a harder job than his brother, considering the number of people they shepherd – Jim Leyland has to deal with media exposure, Fr. Leyland reasons.
Although sports has become a kind of religion to people, especially considering that sports keeps some people away from Sunday Mass, sports also have positive aspects, such as bringing people together, he says.
There's a large Tigers following in Toledo, he said, because of the short distance between the two cities and because of the Toledo Mud Hens. "It can build community among people," he says. "That's a positive."
Fr. Leyland also pointed out that for an area such as Detroit — where he graduated from the University of Detroit — or other areas hit hard by the economy, it's great to see it coming alive because of the success of its baseball team. "It's good for the city," he says.
Fr. Leyland himself has been to a few regular season games, but likely won't catch any post-season games unless the Tigers make it to the World Series. He's been watching some of them on television, although he didn't get to see much of the team's Division Series win last Saturday because he was celebrating Mass and then a wedding.
He says he gets nervous watching the games, depending on how the Tigers are playing. His family is close, keeping in contact through phone calls – of which many were made after the Tigers beat the Yankees.
He jokes that he doesn't pray for a particular team before a game because he's afraid he'll get blamed if they lose. "I get asked that all the time," he says.
He says he prays for the health of the players, that no one gets injured, and that they do their best.
|
