Lou Piniella Returns To Reds As Senior Advisor To Baseball Operations
Lou Piniella hasn’t managed in the big leagues since he resigned from managing the Cubs during the summer of the 2010 season. But he will be returning to the Cincinnati Reds, where he won a World Series as a manager in 1990, to serve as a Senior Advisor to Baseball Operations.
Even though he won’t be on the field or in the dugout, it’s still great to see Sweet Lou back in the game of baseball. He’s a baseball lifer, having played 18 seasons between the Orioles, Indians, Royals and Yankees. Within two years after his playing days were over, he was already in the dugout managing Yankees, for whom he had just played his final major league game for two years earlier. After managing the Yankees, Reds, Mariners, Devil Rays and, finally, the Cubs, Piniella tearfully announced during a press conference that this would be the last time he’d ever put on a major league uniform.
That might’ve been true, but it wouldn’t be the last time that he’d be employed by a major league team, as he’d join the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants as a special consultant to their front office in 2011. That gig would only last for one season.
At 72 years of age, Piniella returns to the Reds as a senior advisor, likely aiding in player development and scouting. He’s obviously got a ton of baseball under his belt, so that should be a more than welcomed addition to the Reds organization. He’s never been afraid to voice his opinion, however popular (or unpopular) it may be, whether that means chewing out an umpire, or fighting one of his own players in the clubhouse, he’ll get his point across. Welcome back to baseball, Sweet Lou.