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Full Name: Louis Victor Piniella Primary Position: OF,LF
Height/Weight: 6' 0"/182 First Game: September 4, 1964
Birthdate: August 28, 1943 Final Game: June 16, 1984
Birthplace: Tampa, Florida MLB Experience: 17 years
Bat/Throw: Right/Right

Biography[]

Louis Victor Piniella (born August 28, 1943 in Tampa, Florida), nicknamed "Sweet Lou", is a former left fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was most recently the manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 2003 to 2005.

He made his Major League debut on September 4, 1964 for the Cleveland Indians. In 1969, his rookie year, he hit .282 with 11 home runs and 68 RBI. Piniella played for the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees over the course of his 17 year career.

Most people believe that Lou Piniella's best season was 1972, when he hit for a .312 average and knocked in 72 runs.

After graduating from Jesuit High School of Tampa, Piniella began his professional playing career when the Cleveland Indians signed him as an amateur free agent in 1962. Piniella, at the age of 20, played in his first major league game in 1964 with the Baltimore Orioles. At 24, his second major league season was with the Indians. Piniella played for the Kansas City Royals from 1969-1973, winning AL Rookie of the Year in 1969. That was followed by 11 years as a member of the New York Yankees.

He wore uniform number 24 for the Orioles, and 23 for the Indians. His longer stretches were wearing number 9 for the Royals, and 14 on the Yankees.

Piniella coached the Yankees in the late 1980s. He then managed the Cincinnati Reds in the early 1990s, winning the World Series in 1990. From 1993-2002, he managed the Seattle Mariners, winning the AL Manager of the Year award in 1995 and 2001.

Often known for his aggressive and sometimes explosive behavior, Piniella is one of the most-ejected managers in major league history.

In his first two seasons with the Devil Rays, Piniella was able to improve the team somewhat, and they won a franchise-record 70 games in 2004, which was also their first season in which they did not finish last in their division. During the 2005 season, Piniella was very critical of Devil Rays management for focusing too much on the future and not enough on immediate results, and for not increasing payroll quickly enough to field a competitive team (they started the season with a $30 million payroll, which was the lowest in the major leagues).

Tensions eventually made Piniella step down as Devil Rays' manager on September 21, 2005. He had one season remaining on his contract that he signed in October 2002, but agreed to a $2.2 million buyout of his contract, instead of his original $4.4 million that he was due, had he decided to manage the Devil Rays for one more season. He will also receive $1.25 million in deferred salary from 2003.

After parting ways with the Devil Rays, Piniella has recently become a color commentator for Fox Sports, having joined Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in calling postseason baseball games. There had been speculation that if Joe Torre didn't return to the Yankees for the 2006 season, Piniella would be considered for the managerial position. That speculation ended on October 18, 2005, when it was announced that Torre was going to remain with the Yankees organization. Piniella is considering staying with Fox Sports on a permanent basis, to continue calling games with Buck and McCarver next season.

Statistics[]

Batting Stats[]

Year Team G AB R H HR RBI AVG OBP SLG 2B 3B BB SO HBP SH SB IBB GDP
1964 BAL A 4 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1968 CLE A 6 5 1 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1969 KC A 135 493 43 139 11 68 .282 .325 .416 21 6 33 56 3 1 2 2 12
1970 KC A 144 542 54 163 11 88 .301 .342 .424 24 5 35 42 2 2 3 6 15
1971 KC A 126 448 43 125 3 51 .279 .311 .368 21 5 21 43 2 0 5 4 12
1972 KC A 151 574 65 179 11 72 .312 .356 .441 33 4 34 59 8 4 7 9 25
1973 KC A 144 513 53 128 9 69 .250 .291 .361 28 1 30 65 2 3 5 7 22
1974 NY A 140 518 71 158 9 70 .305 .341 .407 26 0 32 58 2 4 1 7 18
1975 NY A 74 199 7 39 0 22 .196 .262 .226 4 1 16 22 3 0 0 3 13
1976 NY A 100 327 36 92 3 38 .281 .322 .394 16 6 18 34 2 3 0 8 4
1977 NY A 103 339 47 112 12 45 .330 .365 .510 19 3 20 31 1 5 2 3 12
1978 NY A 130 472 67 148 6 69 .314 .361 .445 34 5 34 36 2 4 3 8 12
1979 NY A 130 461 49 137 11 69 .297 .320 .425 22 2 17 31 2 3 3 6 17
1980 NY A 116 321 39 92 2 27 .287 .343 .361 18 0 29 20 0 2 0 5 17
1981 NY A 60 159 16 44 5 18 .277 .331 .428 9 0 13 9 0 2 0 4 7
1982 NY A 102 261 33 80 6 37 .307 .352 .448 17 1 18 18 1 2 0 6 12
1983 NY A 53 148 19 43 2 16 .291 .344 .405 9 1 11 12 1 0 1 3 4
1984 NY A 29 86 8 26 1 6 .302 .355 .407 4 1 7 5 0 0 0 1 7
Total 1747 5867 651 1705 102 766 .291 .333 .409 305 41 368 541 31 35 32 82 209

Fielding Stats[]

Year Team POS G GS INN PO A ERR DP TP PB SB CS PkO AVG
1968 CLE A OF 2 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1968 CLE A LF 2 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1969 KC A LF 126 122 1079 267 13 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 .976
1969 KC A CF 4 3 38 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1969 KC A OF 129 125 1117 278 13 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 .977
1970 KC A LF 139 138 1221 244 7 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 .984
1970 KC A 1B 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1970 KC A OF 139 138 1221 247 6 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 .984
1971 KC A LF 115 113 994 200 6 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1971 KC A OF 115 113 994 201 6 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1972 KC A OF 149 149 1287.1 275 8 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 .976
1972 KC A LF 149 149 1287.1 279 8 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 .976
1973 KC A DH 9 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1973 KC A OF 128 125 1070.2 196 9 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1973 KC A LF 128 125 1070.2 196 9 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1974 NY A RF 34 33 271.2 69 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1974 NY A OF 130 128 1103 265 16 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .989
1974 NY A DH 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1974 NY A LF 99 95 831.1 199 13 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .991
1974 NY A 1B 1 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1975 NY A OF 45 41 341 65 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1975 NY A DH 12 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1975 NY A RF 30 27 224 35 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .975
1975 NY A LF 15 14 117 27 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1976 NY A DH 38 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1976 NY A OF 49 44 402.2 106 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .982
1976 NY A LF 11 7 72 22 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1976 NY A RF 39 37 330.2 84 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .977
1977 NY A DH 43 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1977 NY A 1B 1 1 9 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1977 NY A RF 27 25 215.1 45 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .958
1977 NY A OF 51 47 411.1 77 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .975
1977 NY A LF 24 22 196 31 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1978 NY A RF 26 26 210.1 55 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .983
1978 NY A OF 103 101 878.1 213 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 .969
1978 NY A DH 23 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 NY A LF 80 75 668 163 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 .965
1979 NY A LF 84 75 676 158 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .976
1979 NY A RF 29 27 246 48 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1979 NY A OF 112 102 922 204 13 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 .982
1979 NY A DH 16 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1980 NY A OF 103 77 691.2 157 8 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 .971
1980 NY A RF 2 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1980 NY A LF 102 77 687.2 157 8 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 .971
1980 NY A DH 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 NY A RF 25 22 177 46 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .979
1981 NY A DH 19 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 NY A OF 36 30 254.2 69 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1981 NY A LF 11 8 77.2 24 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1982 NY A DH 55 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1982 NY A LF 12 9 81 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1982 NY A OF 40 33 294.2 68 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1982 NY A RF 28 24 213.2 60 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1983 NY A LF 15 14 123.2 26 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1983 NY A OF 43 40 326.2 67 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 .959
1983 NY A DH 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1983 NY A RF 28 26 203 43 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 .938
1984 NY A LF 15 14 116.2 23 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1984 NY A RF 9 9 73 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1984 NY A OF 24 23 189.2 40 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1984 NY A DH 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Total 1B 3 1 15 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Total LF 1127 1058 9305 2025 84 41 14 0 0 0 0 0 .981
Total CF 4 3 38 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Total OF 1398 1317 11511.2 2529 105 52 16 0 0 0 0 0 .981
Total DH 230 175 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Total RF 277 256 2168.2 506 22 11 4 0 0 0 0 0 .980

Transactions[]

  • Signed as an amateur free agent by Cleveland Indians (June 9, 1962).
  • Selected by Washington Senators from Cleveland Indians in the first-year minor league draft (November 26, 1962).
  • Traded by Washington Senators to Baltimore Orioles (August 4, 1964) completing trade in which Baltimore Orioles traded Buster Narum to Washington Senators in exchange for a player to be named later (March 31, 1964).
  • Traded by Baltimore Orioles to Cleveland Indians in exchange for Cam Carreon (March 10, 1966).
  • Selected by Seattle Pilots from Cleveland Indians (28th pick overall) in the expansion draft (October 15, 1968).
  • Traded by Seattle Pilots to Kansas City Royals in exchange for Steve Whitaker and John Gelnar (April 1, 1969).
  • Traded by Kansas City Royals with Ken Wright to New York Yankees in exchange for Lindy McDaniel (December 7, 1973).

Trivia[]

See also[]

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