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CINCINNATI — Will it finally be Lou Piniella’s turn this time?
Once again, Piniella — a longtime big manager — is one of eight nominees on the Modern Baseball Era ballot for managers, executives and umpires announced last week.
A 16-member panel of Hall of Fame players, Major League executives, members of the media and historians will review each of the eight nominees, who must receive a minimum of 12 votes (at least 75%) to be elected.
The results of the 2027 ballot will be announced on Sunday, December 6. Joining Piniella is fierce competition from both managers and baseball executives. The list includes Sandy Alderson, Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Joe Maddon, Brian Sabean, Ted Turner and Bill White.
Piniella, 83, came agonizingly close to the election the previous two times, just one vote shy — both times — of receiving the long-awaited call from Cooperstown.
During his Major League managerial career with five clubs spanning 23 seasons, Piniella posted a 1,835-1,713 record. He is 17th all-time in wins. Of the 16 managers ahead of him, 12 are in the Hall of Fame. Two of those managers are Baker and Bochy.
Piniella managed the Yankees (1986-88), Reds (1990-92), Mariners (1993-2002), Devil Rays (2003-05) and Cubs (2007-10). He led his clubs to seven postseason appearances and had 90 or more wins in eight seasons with four different clubs.
The pinnacle of Piniella’s managerial career came in his first year with Cincinnati in 1990, when his Reds led the NL West wire-to-wire en route to a four-game World Series victory over the highly favored Athletics.
Prior to Piniella’s arrival with the Reds, they finished second in four consecutive seasons from 1985-88 and fell to fifth in 1989 amid a scandal that led to manager Pete Rose’s gambling ouster.
Piniella came to Reds Spring Training in ’90 and looked at a roster he knew could achieve greatness if the pitching continued.
“My message to them was, you guys are the right age with the right experience and the talent to win anything. So go out and play ball, have fun and good things will happen to us,” Piniella said in April. “Well, we started 9-0 and went from wire to wire. The good thing was that we had a big lead, so I was able to give the team a lot of rest over the summer and we made the playoffs.”
The Cincinnati club was led by such stars as Eric Davis, Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo and the “Nasty Boys” bullpen trio of Norm Charlton, Randy Myers and Rob Dibble. However, they were considered major underdogs against the defending champion A’s in the World Series. Oakland was led by sluggers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco and pitchers like Dave Stewart and future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley.
“It was well received, but I thought we were going to play really well,” Piniella said. “I didn’t know we were going to sweep them, but I thought we were going to be very competitive because Oakland was a fastball team and our guys hit fastballs well. At the same time, Oakland had big sluggers that you could throw off speed to.”
After leaving the Reds when he failed to agree a new contract with then-owner Marge Schott, Piniella moved to the Mariners and became the club’s all-time winningest manager. Seattle reached its first postseason in 1995 and won an MLB record 116 games in 2001.
As a player, Piniella enjoyed an 18-year career with the Orioles, Cleveland, Royals and Yankees. For Kansas City, he was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1969 and an All-Star in 1972, and won two World Series with New York in 1977-78. Over 1,747 career games, Piniella was a lifetime .291 hitter.
As a player and manager, Piniella was known for his fiery temper on the pitch and he wasn’t afraid to show it. As a captain, he recorded 64 career ejections, tied for 14th all-time with Clint Hurdle and Bill Rigney. Late in the 1990 season, he made two decent throws to first base after being thrown out.
“Usually, I’m a laid-back guy, but I’m very competitive on the court,” Piniella said. “I know when I first started driving, [Yankees owner] sir [George] Steinbrenner told me, “Look, when you get mad at the ref, put on a show. People enjoy it. I’m getting the back page of The Daily News and the New York Post. I’ll pay your fine.” That’s why I accepted it wholeheartedly.”