Age: 26 (Aug. 28)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 182
Prior to 1969:
A native of
Tampa, Florida, Piniella early on demonstrated a natural leadership ability as
well as athletic talent and a fiery temper. He was a high school All-American
basketball player at Jesuit High School, where he once scored 54 points in a
game, as well as baseball up to his senior year when he sat out due to a
dispute with the coach. Moving on to the University of Tampa, Piniella’s
basketball career came to an end due to an ankle injury, but his baseball
performance was strong enough to draw the interest of the Cleveland Indians,
who signed him for $25,000 in 1962. Initially assigned to Selma of the Class D
Alabama-Florida League he batted .270 in 70 games with 8 home runs and 44 RBIs.
In the offseason he was chosen by the Washington Senators in the First-Year
Draft. Piniella spent 1963 with Peninsula of the Class A Carolina League and
hit .310 with 16 home runs and 77 RBIs. During the 1964 season he served a
stint in the National Guard during which he was traded to the Baltimore
Orioles. Assigned to Aberdeen of the Class A Northern League later in the year
he batted .270 in 20 games. After also putting in 47 games in the Florida
Instructional League Piniella received a September call-up to the Orioles where
he went hitless in his only plate appearance. In 1965 he was promoted to the
Elmira Pioneers of the Class AA Eastern League and hit .249 with 11 home runs
and 64 RBIs. In 1966 Piniella was reacquired by the Indians and assigned to the
Portland Beavers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he batted .289
with 7 home runs and 52 RBIs. He remained with Portland in 1967 and improved
his batting average to .308. Back with Portland again in 1968 he hit .317 with
13 home runs and 62 RBIs, and this time received a late-season call-up to the
Indians. He was 0-for-5 in his second major league “cup of coffee”. Having
spent seven years in the minors at age 25, Piniella was chosen by the Seattle
Pilots in the expansion draft, who then dealt him to the other American League
expansion team, the Royals, during spring training.
1969 Season Summary
Appeared in 135
games
LF – 126, CF –
4, PH- 9
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 539
At Bats – 493
Runs – 43
Hits – 139
Doubles – 21
Triples – 6 [4,
tied with four others]
Home Runs – 11
RBI – 68
Bases on Balls
– 33
Int. BB – 2
Strikeouts – 56
Stolen Bases – 2
Caught Stealing
– 4
Average - .282 [18]
OBP - .325
Slugging Pct. -
.416
Total Bases – 205
GDP – 12
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 9 [3,
tied with Leo Cardenas & Joe Foy]
Midseason
snapshot: 3B – 4, HR - 10, RBI - 52, AVG. - .302, OBP - .336
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Minnesota 4/8 – 12 innings, (in 4 AB) at Washington 5/23, (in
5 AB) at NY Yankees 6/11 – 11 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 13 games
Most HR, game –
1 on eleven occasions
HR at home – 5
HR on road – 6
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at NY Yankees 6/10
Pinch-hitting –
3 of 9 (.333) with 1 2B & 3 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 298
Put Outs – 278
Assists – 13
Errors – 7
DP – 1
Pct. – .977
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
35th
in AL MVP voting, tied with Jim Northrup, Det. (1 point, 0% share)
AL ROY Voting:
Lou Piniella,
KCR.: 9 of 24 votes, 38% share
Mike Nagy, Bos.:
6 votes, 25% share
Carlos May,
ChiWS.: 5 votes, 21% share
Ken Tatum, Cal.:
4 votes, 17% share
In their
inaugural season, the Royals went 69-93 to finish fourth in the AL Western
Division, 28 games behind the division-winning Minneesota Twins, giving them
the best record of any of the four major league expansion teams that year.
Aftermath of ‘69:
Piniella
followed up in 1970 by batting .301 with 11 home runs and 88 RBIs despite
missing 24 games with a foot injury. Hindered by a thumb injury in 1971 he hit
well in the second half of the season and ended up with a .279 average and 51
RBIs while clubbing only three home runs. Following an offseason of winter ball
where he was coached by Charlie Lau, an outstanding batting instructor,
Piniella rebounded in 1972 with an All-Star season in which he batted .312 with
an AL-leading 33 doubles along with 11 home runs and 72 RBIs. He dropped off to
.250 in 1973 with 28 doubles, 9 home runs, and 69 RBIs while also running afoul
of manager Jack McKeon. In the offseason he was traded to the New York Yankees
along with RHP Ken Wright for veteran RHP reliever Lindy McDaniel. With his new
team in 1974 he hit a solid .305 with 26 doubles, 9 home runs, and 70 RBIs. Ear
problems that required surgery led to a poor season in 1975, in which Piniella
was limited to 74 games and batted a miniscule .196. In 1976 he appeared in 100
games, mostly in right field and DH and hit .281 with 16 doubles, 6 triples, 3
home runs, and 38 RBIs while thriving in the aggressive style of play promoted by manager
Billy Martin. The Yankees won the AL East and in his first taste of postseason
action Piniella hit .273 in the ALCS defeat of the Royals and .333 in the
four-game World Series loss to Cincinnati. In 1977 as an outfielder/DH the
popular “Sweet Lou” batted .330 with 12 home runs and 45 RBIs while appearing
in 103 games amidst a crowded outfield situation. The 1978 season saw the Yanks
come back from a 14-game deficit to catch the Red Sox and force a playoff for
the AL East title. Piniella demonstrated leadership as well as timely hitting
on his way to a .314 average with 34 doubles, 5 triples, 6 home runs, and 69
RBIs. He remained a key contributor to the Yankees in 1979 and ’80, batting
.297 and .287 respectively. By 1982 he was more of a DH and was named batting
coach during the season in which he hit .307 with 6 home runs and 37 RBIs while
appearing in 102 games (his last 100-game year). He continued as a player until
he retired at age 40 during the 1984 season while dealing with a torn rotator
cuff. A fine pure hitter who worked his way into becoming a decent fielder,
Piniella batted .291 for his major league career with 1705 hits that included
305 doubles, 41 triples, and 102 home runs. He further compiled 766 RBIs and
scored 651 runs. With the Royals he batted .286 with 734 hits, 258 runs scored,
127 doubles, 21 triples, 45 home runs, and 348 RBIs. Appearing in 44 postseason
games (all with the Yankees) he hit .305 with seven doubles, three home runs,
and 19 RBIs. An All-Star on one occasion, he received MVP votes after four
seasons (never finishing higher than 21st). Piniella, always an
intelligent student of the game, managed five major league teams, enjoying his
greatest success with the Cincinnati Reds, who won the 1990 World Series under
his guidance, and the Seattle Mariners, who reached the postseason four times
with him at the helm. He was a three-time Manager of the Year and finished with
an 1835-1713 record.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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