Tigers interview McClendon

The Detroit Tigers have interviewed current hitting coach Lloyd McClendon for their managerial vacancy, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

Lloyd McClendon interviewed for #tigers managing job today. "I thought it went very well,'' he said. "Let's just wait and see.''

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) October 24, 2013

Born in Gary, Indiana, the 54-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates manager played 8 seasons in the big leagues with the Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago Cubs from 1987-1994. He hit .244/.325/.381 during a career in which he primarily served as a reserve outfielder.

After retiring in 1995, McClendon joined the Pirates as their hitting coach, a position which he held until being named Pittsburgh's manager prior to the 2001 season. In 5 seasons with the club, McClendon's Pirates never finished higher than 4th place in the NL Central, compiling a 336-446 record during his tenure.

Pittsburgh ousted McClendon after the 2005 season, and he immediately joined his former manager, and newly named Tigers skipper, Jim Leyland in Detroit. McClendon spent 2006 as the team's bullpen coach before being promoted to his current role as hitting coach in 2007.

McClendon has been a candidate for other managerial positions in the past, interviewing for Seattle's open job in 2010 and the Marlins' vacancy last offseason.

Leyland stepped down on Monday, following Detroit's loss to the Red Sox in the ALCS. The team is still in the early stages of its hiring process, so there is no clear-cut frontrunner at the moment. The club could consider a variety of candidates including bench coach Gene Lamont, third base coach Tom Brookens, Red Sox' bench coach Torey Lovullo, Padres' front office member and former big league catcher Brad Ausmus, former Detroit manager Lance Parrish, and the recently fired Dusty Baker.