By Melanie R. on August 22, 2010
Baseball fans knew that Sweet Lou was retiring at the end of the season, bringing to an end one of the most illustrious careers in recent baseball history. However, when Lou Piniella announced that he would be calling it quits as the Chicago Cubs manager after Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Braves instead it was quite a surprise.
In a statement issued before the game Piniella said “When I previously announced my intentions to retire at the end of the season, a primary reason for my decision was that it would allow me to spend more valuable time with my family. That time has unfortunately gotten here sooner than I could have ever expected.” Lou’s mother has been ill for some time and he has already taken two leaves of absence from the club this season to be at home.
The Cubs quickly named third base coach Mike Quade Piniella’s successor and he will officially take the reins on Monday against the Washington Nationals.
Just across town rival Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told ESPN the news of his Windy City counterpart’s early retirement was a shock.
“I think this man is a very, very, very [good] baseball man. When you’re going to talk about baseball, Lou’s name is out there. But I don’t blame him,” Guillen said. “Sometimes enough is enough, especially when you expect a lot from the ballclub from the beginning of spring training and all of the sudden everything is wrong. It’s not easy.”
Indeed things are not so peachy in Cubs land this season. With a new owner at helm this season the club lies 20½ games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central and going into Sunday’s game they had dropped seven out of their last ten games.
Piniella made five trips to the World Series in his career and has three championship rings. A right-handed outfielder, he was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1969 after batting .282 with 11 homers and 68 RBIs with the Royals. He was traded to the Yankees in 1973 and ended his playing career with New York in 1984 after eleven years in the Bronx.
As a manager he will leave quite a legacy too. He began managing in 1986 with the Yankees and lasted three years, including a short stint as general manager. He managed the Cincinnati Reds from 1990-92, leading them to a World Series championship in his first season in charge.
After the Reds he headed to Seattle. He never did quite manage to get the Mariners to the World Series but in 2001 the team did end the season with a 116-46 record, but they lost the ALCS to Sweet Lou’s former team the Yankees.
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