#580 Lou Piniella

Working class underdog….Few have done so much after having been passed on from franchise to franchise…Lou attitude was “I must be wanted for people keep trading for me”….wonderful example of expansion as opportunity rather than talent dilution….Cleveland (twice), Baltimore, Senators, all passed on him…taken by the Seattle Pilots in expansion draft…Traded to KC in the last minute and was their opening day CF….a few games later switched to Left field which turned out to be his natural position…Put up 11, 62, .282 number and took the Rookie of year honors in 1969….Proved rookie season was no fluke by driving in 88 runs in and raised his BA by 19 points in 1970….Finished 2^nd in batting 1972….suffered a dip in average in 1973 and got traded to NYY….bounced back with a .305 playing in Shea Stadium…1975 turn out to be one lost season in a consistent career, failing to get untracked and hitting .196…came back in 1976 with .281 BA but reestablishment of full time status was yet to come….regular left fielder in 1978-9…1980 started the role of utility outfielder….despite loss of playing time Lou's BA did not dip…Started managing 1986 with NYY….Led Reds to WS upset of Oakland 1990….Moved to the Mariners bringing the franchise to 4 playoffs appearances…one of the few managers ever traded, acquired byTampa Bay but could not end their futility…Took over the helm of Cubs 2007-10…got them to 2 play offs but no wins…has .517 win pct as a manager and 3 manager of the year awards.