Former Cubs Manager Falls Short of HOF

Former Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella was passed over for the Baseball Hall of Fame once again.

Piniella fell one vote short of election to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday night as part of the 2024 contemporary era ballot.

Piniella had been on the veterans’ committee ballot twice and came within one vote of being inducted in 2018.

One of his fellow managers, Jim Leyland, earned election as he received 15 of the 16 votes. Like Piniella, Leyland has a World Series on his career resume.

Piniella, 80, won more than 1,800 games as a manager. He arrived in Chicago in 2007 after a stint with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cubs got an immediate boost.

The Cubs had success under Piniella in his first two seasons. In 2007 he led the Cubs to the NL Central title after winning 85 games. The Cubs lost in the NL Division Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Cubs came back stronger, winning 97 games in 2008 and defending their NL Central title. But, again, the Cubs were unable to get past the Division series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 2009 the Cubs took a step back under Piniella, winning 83 games but finishing second in the NL Central. In 2010 the Cubs were 51-74 after 125 games when Piniella resigned. The Cubs turned out to be his final managerial job.

Piniella, who broke into baseball as a player with Baltimore in 1964, had his greatest success as a manager. He guided the New York Yankees (1986-87, 88), the Cincinnati Reds (1990-92), the Seattle Mariners (1993-2002) and the Tampa Bay Rays (2003-05) and went 1,835-1,713.

He led the Reds to the 1990 World Series title. He led the Mariners to three AL West titles and 116 wins in 2001.

As a player, he caught on with Kansas City in 1969 as a result of the expansion draft. With the Royals he was the American League Rookie of the Year and made the 1972 All-Star Team. But he spent the bulk of his playing career with the Yankees (1974-84), where he hit .295 and won two World Series rings in 1977 and 1978.

The remaining members of the ballot were manager Davey Johnson, manager Cito Gaston, umpires Joe West and Ed Montague, along with executives Hank Peters and Bill White.