A sweet gig for Sweet Lou.
New York Yankees great Lou Piniella is getting back into the game in 2020. He will be an analyst for the Chicago Cubs’ new cable network, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Cubs might not have signed any significant players for their roster this offseason, but they’ve inked plenty of All-Star talent for Marquee Sports Network, including former manager Lou Piniella. ... Piniella, one of the more surprising hires, will work as a part-time analyst. After a brief visit with him, Marquee general manager Mike McCarthy said the 76-year-old former Cubs manager was ‘‘more than interested’’ in joining the network. ‘‘[He] looks great and sounds great,’’ McCarthy said. ‘‘We’re going to have a lot of fun with Lou.’’
Piniella is excited for this new opportunity to “just talk baseball, Cubs baseball,” Piniella told the Chicago Tribune on Sunday from his home in Tampa, Fla. “Chicago is a special city and Cubs fans are just great. I look forward to coming back and having fun with this thing. Thank God I don’t have to make too many decisions.”
The Chicago Tribune reports Piniella has been “lying low in Tampa the last few years after suffering a stroke. Piniella said he’s completely recovered and ready to get back into the game on a limited basis. ‘I do a little Pilates, play some golf, a little fishing and I ride my bicycle once in a while,’ he said. ‘An old, 76-year-old guy riding a damn bicycle. People think I’m nuts.’”
Piniella’s name is a part of Yankees lore. He won two World Series rings as a a player (1977 and 1978) during an 11-season run in the Bronx. Two years after retiring in 1984, he returned to the Yankees in 1986 as manager, lasting more than two seasons in the dugout. He had a three-season run as Cincinnati Reds manager (1990-92), winning the World Series in 1990.
Piniella managed the Seattle Mariners from 1993 to 2002, winning three American League West division titles.
From 2003 to 2005, he was manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Piniella had a four-year run as Cubs manager from 2007 to 2010. Overall, he managed in the majors for 23 seasons, winning 1,835 games.
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