Three days after manager Jim Leyland retired, the Detroit Tigers began the search for a replacement.
Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon became the first person to interview for the managerial job, general manager Dave Dombrowski said Thursday.
“I thought it went very well,” McClendon told ESPN.com. “Let’s just wait and see.”
McClendon, 54, spent the past seven seasons guiding Detroit’s hitters after serving a year as the team’s bullpen coach. He has previous major league managerial experience, posting a 336-446 record (.430 winning percentage) as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ skipper from 2001 through part of the 2005 season.
Leyland recommended two of his lieutenants, McClendon and bench coach Gene Lamont, as possible replacements earlier this week.
Leyland, who turns 69 in December, went 700-597 (.541) over eight seasons in Detroit, winning at least 90 games three times. He was hired entering the 2006 season to take over a team that went 71-91 in 2005.