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Thirty years later, Brookens, of Fayetteville, again heard from Leyland and was again told to pack his bags.
He was headed back to the Motor City.
On Monday, Brookens, who had spent the last five seasons coaching in the Detroit minor league organization, was hired as the Tigers' first-base coach. He will also be the team's outfield and baserunning coach.
"This feels real good," Brookens said. "I've been a Tiger guy my whole playing career pretty much and they gave me the opportunity to get back in the game coaching. I'm very happy about getting another opportunity to go back to the big leagues."
Brookens played 12 season with Detroit (1979-88), the New York Yankees (1989) and the Cleveland Indians (1990) as an infielder. He finished his career with a .246 batting average, 71 home runs and 431 RBIs in 1,336 games.
Five years ago, he accepted a position in the Tigers' farm system and worked his way up to manager of the Double-A Erie SeaWolves of the Eastern League the last two years. In five seasons he posted a 310-262 record, including a Midwest League championship in 2007 with Class A West Michigan.
When Andy Van Slyke, who held the positions Brookens will cover in 2010, parted ways with Detroit last month, Brookens had an inkling he might be in the running
Brookens said, "Leyland called me last Friday and we had a long conversation and he said he was interested in maybe having me on his staff. He called back Sunday and offered me the job and (general manager) Dave Dombrowski called me later and we got it done."
When Brookens first got into coaching, he wasn't sure if it was something he would enjoy. But he quickly found out he liked it a lot.
Enough to wonder what it would be like to do it at the highest level.
Now he will get that opportunity.
"Tom Brookens is a quality baseball person that I have known since managing him in the minor leagues," Leyland said in a statement. "He has been a member of the Tigers family for many years and we feel he is a perfect fit for our major league staff."
The Tigers finished the regular season 86-76 in the AL Central and lost to the Minnesota Twins in a one-game playoff.
Brookens said, "I didn't go back into coaching with the idea of getting back to the major leagues. But I found out early on I enjoyed it a lot and I began to wonder if I could be successful at the highest level.
"I didn't expect it to happen and then boom, here it is. It's a great opportunity."
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Joel Rineer may be reached at 262-4819 or jrineer@publicopinionnews.com.
