Former Major League player and manager Lou Piniella is a candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame this winter and nearly all of the teams he was associated with in his career are working together to get him to Cooperstown.
He's one of eight people to be nominated and under consideration by the Contemporary Era Committee.
The Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays are part of the movement for "Sweet Lou." Conspicuously missing are the New York Yankees, who Piniella is heavily associated with because of his 11-year playing career there, and a managerial tenure.
As a player, Piniella debuted in 1964 with the Baltimore Orioles, but played just one game there. He also played six games for the then-Cleveland Indians. It's understandable why neither of those teams are included.
His career took off in 1969 when he joined the Royals. He spent five years in Kansas City and earned an All-Star appearance. He then went to the Yankees for 11 years, retiring after the 1984 season. He was a Rookie of the Year winner and a two-time World Series champion.
Piniella spent 23 years as a manager for the Yankees, Reds, Mariners, Rays and Cubs. He won the World Series in 1990 with the Reds and amassed 1,835 career wins. He also helmed the Mariners to an American League record 116 wins in the 2001 season.
The joint release featured some great testimonials from people who have been around Piniella at various points in his career:
Royals broadcaster Denny Matthews, who has called games for Kansas City since the franchise’s inception in 1969:
“Lou was so intense, sometimes with a slow boil and sometimes closer to the surface, but he hated making an out. He was the Royals’ first star, and developed the leadership qualities here that made him such a successful manager later in his career.”
Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who played for Piniella with the Mariners from 1993–99:
“I never had a manager who had the fire he had for winning, and the caring he had for each one of his players and our family members. Lou was one of the best managers of his time, right there with La Russa, Cox and Torre.”
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