PHILADELPHIA -- Nick Leyva figures his imprint as the new manager of the Philadelphia Phillies should be visible on the field.
'One of my key jobs is to get these guys to think positively and go out and play hard every day,' said Leyva, a former St. Louis Cardinals' third-base coach who agreed to a one-year contract with the Phillies on Monday.
'If you see these guys with a good attitude and hustling out there next year, then that means I'm doing my job,' Leyva said.
At 35, Leyva is the youngest manager in the National League since Dave Bristol took over the Cincinnati Reds in 1966 at the age of 33 and he is Philadelphia's youngest manager since Gene Mauch, who was 34 when he replaced Eddie Sawyer in 1960.
'I don't think age has anything to do with running a ballclub if you know the game,' Leyva said. 'Nowadays, it's important to get along with your players and I think I can do that. I've worked with Whitey Herzog and that's one of his biggest plusses, that he relates well to his players. They respect him, go all out for him and give 100 percent for him.'
With the Phillies, Leyva will be looking for that kid of effort, and a change in attitude, to begin the long road back from this year's 65-96 record, good for last place in the National League East, 35 1-2 games behind the New York Mets.
'Winning is contagious and so is losing and it seemed like losing was accepted here,' Leyva said. 'That's something I've got to change.'
Leyva, who was the only person interviewed by Philadelphia General Manager Lee Thomas, was not concerned about the length of his contract.
'I'm not worried about my contract,' said Leyva, who managed for six years in the St. Louis minor-league system, the last three when Thomas was the Cardinals' director of player development. 'If I do a good job, I'll be back.'
Thomas, who fired Lee Elia on Sept. 23 because he wanted to set a new tone for next season, said he feels Leyva was the best choice for the job.
'The way the situation is in Philadelphia, I just feel Nick Leyva is going to do the job,' Thomas said. 'He's an aggressive young guy who likes to gamble on the field. You're going to see a lot of movement. For this team and the way it is right now, I think he's the man.'
Thomas and Leyva said coaches Larry Bowa, John Vukovich, Mike Ryan and Tony Taylor would return next season.
Leyva said he would hire a new hitting instructor to replace Del Unser, who was fired in June, and a new pitching coach to replace Claude Osteen, who was dismissed Sunday.
Leyva said he could not predict when the Phillies, who last won the National League East in 1983 and have not been a contender since then, would again challenge for first place.
'That's tough to say,' he said. 'It's not going to happen overnight. But if we make the right moves and develop our farm system, in a few years we'll be a competitive club.'
Leyva said he thinks the Phillies have a good nucleus in players like Juan Samuel, Von Hayes and Chris James.
But he said the team needs pitching help, a new shortstop and a catcher to replace Lance Parrish, who was traded to the California Angels on Monday for minor-league pitcher David Holdridge.
Leyva was a 24th-round selection by the Cardinals in June 1975 and played three years of minor league baseball in the St. Louis system.
He became a minor-league manager in 1978, had a 350-340 record in six seasons and was named Texas League manager of the year in 1983 when he guided Arkansas to a 69-67 overall record and the second-half championship.
Herzog promoted Leyva to the St. Louis coaching staff in 1984. He spent two seasons as the first base coach and moved to third base coach in 1986.
Leyva said the success of young managers like Tom Trebelhorn of Milwaukee, Jim Leyland of Pittsburgh and Tom Kelly of Minnesota may have made Thomas and Phillies president Bill Giles more ready to take a chance on him.
'All those first-year, no-experience managers did an outstanding job and that was a plus for me,' Leyva said. 'Mr. Giles and Mr. Thomas were not afraid to take a chance. If those other guys had failed, maybe they would not have given me this opportunity.'
