Piniella named NL Manager of the Year

Nov 12, 2008 - 11:06 PM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Lou Piniella could not get the Chicago Cubs into the World Series, but he accomplished what no other Cubs manager has done in 100 years by guiding the club to consecutive postseason appearances.

That was enough for Piniella to win National League Manager of the Year honors Wednesday.

Piniella received 15 first-place votes and 103 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America to beat out Charlie Manuel of the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Manuel garnered 67 points, finishing ahead of Florida's Fredi Gonzalez, Los Angeles' Joe Torre and St. Louis' Tony La Russa.

"This award basically is for the season," Piniella said. "The manager who finished second got his reward winning the World Series the same way I did when I was in Cincinnati. One thing is certain, there are some darn good managers in the National League, and all are deserving."

Piniella guided the Cubs (97-64) to the best record in the National League and consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 1907-08. Chicago won the Central Division title by 7 1/2 games over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Cubs were swept in the Division Series by the Dodgers, meaning Chicago's World Series drought will extend into a second century starting with next season. Its last title came in 1908.

"People, they expect us to be good and they're disappointed when we don't win in the postseason," Piniella added. "I think we've raised the level, and I think that's probably what I'm proudest about. They expect the Cubs to be good, and we are going to be good."

Piniella, 65, is the third Cubs skipper to win Manager of the Year honors, joining Jim Frey (1984) and Don Zimmer (1989) Frey and Zimmer also won division crowns.

Piniella earned his third Manager of the Year award, winning it twice when he was in the American League with the Seattle Mariners.

In addition, Piniella joins La Russa (four), Bobby Cox (four), Dusty Baker (three) and Jim Leyland (three) as the only managers to win the award at least three times. La Russa, Cox and Leyland also won it in both leagues.

Chicago's 97 wins was the second-most by any club Piniella has managed, trailing only the 2001 Mariners, who tied a major league record with 116 victories.

In 2008, he joined Dick Williams as the only managers to win 90 games with four different clubs. "Sweet Lou" also reached that plateau with the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds.

Piniella guided Cincinnati to a World Series title in 1990.

He owns a career mark of 1,701-1,561 in 21 seasons as a major league manager, including a 182-141 record in two seasons with the Cubs.

The 182 wins are the most in back-to-back seasons for the Cubs since 1935-36, when the club combined to win 187 contests.