One of baseball's best managers is leaving the game. Like Bobby Cox, another respected manager, Lou Piniella has decided that after this season he will retire.
Some might say it's because of the Cubs, but while they gave Lou his fair share of aches and pains, he's also shared laughter and joy while managing the Chicago Cubs. In his career, he was a two time American League Manager of the year and one time National League Manager of the year
Sweet Lou played 20 years of professional baseball, making stops to play for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Pilots (yes, they were a team), the Kansas City Royals, and an eleven year stint with the New York Yankees.
When George Steinbrenner passed away, Lou called him "a father figure", which speaks volumes about Lou Piniella. Sure, we all get a kick out of sweet ol' Lou charging out of the dugout to start arguing balls and strikes or arguing when one of his players was wrongly called out.
We need to realize that Lou was more than a funny old man who made us enjoy baseball. Lou Piniella was a symbol of what baseball was and should ever be.
When Lou came out to argue, whether it was when he managed the Yankees, Reds, Mariners, Rays, or Cubs, Lou was out there to defend his players.
In life, the ability to defend is a valuable trait.
His press conferences were sometimes filled with emotion, from anger to sorrow to joy.
He was someone who made baseball what it is today. He was fan friendly for everyone from infants to 99-year-old men and women. While he never lead the Cubs to a World Series title, he did bring joy back to the north side of Chicago. He made the fans say "Go Cubs Go, Hey Chicago what do you say, the Cubs are gonna win today."
Sure, they haven't won a lot lately, but the fans care about Lou. I work at a sports store right outside Chicago, and when I heard Lou was retiring, a middle aged customer at the store became very upset.
Lou meant so much to the Cubs and after all, he wasn't a bad manager. Throughout his career, he was able to get one World Series ring and six divisional titles. This shows that he was able to stick with it, through good and bad.
So we bid farewell to Lou Piniella, one of baseball's greatest managers. The man who provided us with laughter, joy, and sometimes anger because he didn't make the right decisions will always be remembered for what he brought to the team.
Hey Lou, during the Cubs final home game of the year, can we persuade you to get into an argument? It only seems like the right way to go, not by ejection, but just a little argument. The umpires will miss him too, because his arguments were sometimes followed by a good laugh.
Lou's outta here! This time, it's his call.
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