Detroit Tigers hire Ausmus as manager

The Detroit Tigers have chosen former catcher Brad Ausmus to succeed Jim Leyland as their manager, the American League team said on Sunday.

Ausmus, 44, played with the Tigers in 1996 and the 1999-2000 seasons as part of an 18-year major-league career. He was most recently a special assistant with the San Diego Padres.

He has no managerial experience, either in the big leagues or the minors, but that was no barrier, according to Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski.

“Anyone I talked to or our people talked to, any time Brad’s name came up, they were effusive with praise,” Dombrowski said.

“It kept coming back that this guy was born to manage many years ago ... extremely intelligent and yet could communicate with everyone.” An All-Star in 1999, Ausmus played with the Padres, Tigers, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers in a career that ended in 2010.

Leyland, 68, stepped down last month after eight seasons as the manager. He led the Tigers to their third straight AL Central Division title, but they lost the AL Championship Series, 4-2, to the Boston Red Sox. Reuters