Tigers' clubhouse manager Jim Schmakel retires

LAKELAND, Fla. -- One of the longest-serving members of the Tigers organization is calling it a career. Jim Schmakel, whose 47 years in the organization included four-plus decades as a Tigers clubhouse manager, is stepping aside, the team announced in a statement Friday afternoon:

“After an extraordinary six decades as a clubhouse manager for the Detroit Tigers, Jim Schmakel has decided to turn the page and start a new chapter in his life. Throughout his remarkable career, Jim has had the honor of providing support to countless managers, players, coaches, umpires, batboys, staff members, and many others throughout baseball.

"Beyond his day-to-day responsibilities, Jim’s impact on the game extends far and wide. As a founding member of the Major League Baseball Clubhouse Manager’s Association (MLBCMA) Jim played a key role in launching the MLBCMA Scholarship Award Program, leaving a legacy for future generations. Running a clubhouse is more than just the uniforms and equipment that is essential to be game ready, there is plenty of work that goes on behind the scenes and Jim has been the ultimate team player.

"The Detroit Tigers organization extends its heartfelt gratitude to Jim for his decades of service and wishes him and his wife all the best. To acknowledge his incredible contributions, the Tigers will hold a 'Special Recognition Day' in his honor during the 2025 season.”

Schmakel joined the Tigers’ clubhouse crew in 1978 after a decade with Triple-A Toledo. He began his baseball career in 1966 as a bat boy for the Mud Hens, then spent seven years managing their home clubhouse and three more on the visitors’ side. He was also an educator and coach for several of those years at Toledo’s Central Catholic High School, where he eventually became Dean of Boys.

Schmakel joined the Tigers as home clubhouse manager when they were still in the cramped quarters of Tiger Stadium. From there, he became a fixture of the franchise for many in the organization. He handled the clubhouse under more than a dozen Tigers managers, including Hall of Famers Sparky Anderson and Jim Leyland. The Tigers players who benefited from Schmakel’s care included Cecil Fielder and later his son, Prince.

“One of the great guys, well-known guys in the game by so many players and managers and coaches,” said Leyland, a fellow Toledo native who has known Schmakel for over 50 years. “Just a tremendous, tremendous, loyal person. We had an absolutely tremendous relationship. Just the utmost respect in the world for him. He was a hard worker and relentless.”

The hours that a clubhouse manager puts in are long and often thankless, but generations of Tigers had an appreciation for Schmakel, whose knack for organizing and logistics were unmatched. His shorts and short-sleeve shirt fit the demands of the job if not the climate. His introduction as part of the team staff at each season’s home opener would be met with rousing applause, and it would often be the only time in a season he would wear long pants at the ballpark.

For years, Schmakel could be seen jogging the warning track around the ballpark at the end of a long day, as if his job wasn’t enough physical exercise.

“Those guys do so much work. You wouldn’t believe the calls they have to make,” Leyland said. “It’s amazing the amount of paperwork those guys have. That is a very difficult job, and during my time he did the job as well as anybody.”

When Schmakel began in the job, all the team’s equipment for Spring Training could be loaded and hauled to Florida in one truck. Today, it takes two large moving trucks. Schmakel developed a system for organizing, packing and labeling that began as soon as the season ended and continued through the winter.

Just as important to Schmakel’s legacy is the impact he made on ensuing generations who got into the business. Countless college students got an education in sports management from working under Schmakel.

Schmakel shifted over to the visitors’ clubhouse at Comerica Park two years ago. He underwent heart surgery in midseason in 2023, but was back at work with barely any time missed.