Goodbye, Sweet Lou…
Piniella with Portland of the Pacific Coast League, 1966
After announcing that his retirement originally scheduled for the end of this season was moving up to today, it is time to give Lou Piniella the send-off he richly deserves. 18 years as a player, 23 years as a manager, three World Series rings; his 1,835 wins as a manager rank him behind only Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, and Joe Torre (three lead-pipe cinch Hall-of-Famers) for active managers, and ranks him ahead of Hall-of-Famers Tommy Lasorda, Dick Williams, and Clark Griffith. As a player, Piniella was the American League Rookie of the Year for 1969, and while he wouldn’t make Cooperstown from his efforts on the field, he’d certainly make the Hall of Pretty Damn Good.
Piniella during the five at-bats he collected as a Cleveland Indian in 1968.
Piniella during his Rookie of the Year season.
With that, I would like to offer the Dubsism version of the Dean Martin Roast, the photo retrospective known as the File Dump.
Many people are unaware that in addition to his baseball prowess, Piniella excelled at basketball at the University of Tampa.
Throughout his managerial career, Piniella often liked to show off his passing ability.
Lou was known to be a tad bit excitable. During his time as a Yankee, he developed a warm loving relationship with Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk. During a 1976 match, Piniella slid hard into Fisk, who bluntly expressed his displeasure, and the love fest began.
Naturally, once Piniella matured into a leadership role, he mellowed.
Actually, not even being in his sixties mellowed “Sweet” Lou.
Actually, it was his down time at the salon that he used to calm his temperament.
Salons not withstanding, Lou always has a sense of cool.
Of course, Piniella’s sense of style is one of the reasons why he remains as part of the Yankee family to this day.
But in all seriousness, Piniella’s World Series win at the helm of the underdog Cincinnati Reds rates as one of the all-time managerial achievements of all time.
Mr. Piniella, you were a pleasure to watch both on the field and in the dugout and baseball fans everywhere owe you a sincere tip of the cap and a wish that your retirement offers you as much enjoyment as your career gave us.
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Very much enjoyed the photo gallery of Lou throughout the years. Tough day today, and I don’t think we’re in the minority of missing the guy. It was unsettling to see him leave under such dour circumstances, though. If interested, I wrote a bit about the subject tonight as well, so feel free to check out my thoughts: http://jeremyfsmith.blogspot.com/2010/08/already-missing-lou-piniella.html
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