Cubs Manager Piniella Announces Retirement at End of Season
Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced his retirement at the end of the current baseball season.
That's when his contract with the Cubs expires, ending speculation that Piniella would renew for more seasons with the team. Piniella, who took the Cubs to the National League playoffs in 2007 and 2008, is retiring after 23 years as a manager.
"I've grown to love the city and the fans, but at my age, it will be time to enter a new phase in my life," he said in a prepared statement. "It will enable me to spend more valuable time with my family—my wife, my kids and my grandchildren. God has blessed me to have been able to work this many years in the game that I love."
Pinella, who turns 67 on Aug. 28, said that he is ready to enter a new phase of his life.
"I couldn't be more appreciative of the Cubs organization for providing me the opportunity to manage this ballclub," Piniella also said. "I've had four wonderful years here that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world."
Although Pinella did well in the beginning of his stint in Chicago, the current season has been a struggle. He acknowledged that and said there's plenty of work to do in part of the season that follows the All-Star Break.
He is one of five men to win at least three Manager of the Year Awards, including 2008 with the Cubs. He will retire the 14th winningest manager in Major League history. Piniella enters Tuesday's game with 1,826 wins in his 23 seasons as a manager.
He first managed in 1986, in the first of two stints with the Yankees, and won the World Series with the 1990 Reds. He managed the Mariners for 10 seasons, winning his other two Manager of the Year Awards and three AL West titles before spending three years with Tampa Bay.
Meanwhile, former Cubs pitcher Ryne Sandberg has shown great interest in managing the team.
Let the rumors start flying now.
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