Yankee’s Lou Piniella Knows That This Time He’s Under the Gun . . . : It Isn’t an Easy Job, but He’ll Manage

Louis Victor (Lou) Piniella of the New York Yankees has about as much job security today as a bald TV weatherman. He has a one-year contract as George Steinbrenner’s manager.

In the 13 years Steinbrenner has owned the team, Yankee Stadium has become a snakepit for managers. There have been 14 managerial changes since 1973. Steinbrenner often goes through two managers a year (five times) and in 1982 he had three. He fired one, Billy Martin, four times. In 1980 Dick Howser won 103 games and the division championship, and still was fired.

A panelist at a recent baseball seminar at Yale University said Lou Piniella will have a short term (as manager) because, “The spiritual infrastructure of this team in New York is profoundly flawed.”

Piniella, a .291 hitter for 16 seasons in the major leagues (including 11 with the Yankees), got the manager’s job on Oct. 27, 1985, becoming the 26th man in 83 years to hold the position. In the 70 years before Steinbrenner bought the team from CBS in 1973, there were only 18 managerial changes.

Knowing Steinbrenner’s track record, why would a sane man want such an unstable position?

Piniella, 42, has been answering that question with all the right statements. “I’ve always wanted to manage,” he said. “I’ve got my opportunity now.”

And, “I’m going into this with open eyes. If I do a good job, there’s nothing to worry about. If I don’t, somebody else will get the job.”

And, “I know it’s a difficult situation. As a player I loved difficult situations.”

And, “I know it’s a tough job. But, my God, it wasn’t easy to play here (with the Yankees), either.”

Yankee managers hired by Steinbrenner usually take the job saying they know what they are getting into, but fellows such as Howser, Bill Virdon, Bob Lemon, Gene Michael and Yogi Berra found it was much worse than that.

Steinbrenner, watching his new manager direct the team in a workout at the Yankees’ training camp the other day, was asked why he chose the inexperienced Piniella for the job.

“I know him well,” he replied. “I know he has a Latin temper, but he is a competitor. He pays attention to detail. He is a student of the game.”

Some managers are young and inexperienced, some are intense competitors and some are strong and quiet, Steinbrenner said. “Piniella is the same type of guy as Pete Rose. He’s a tremendous competitor.”

Steinbrenner said he also took into account the fact that Piniella relates well to the modern ballplayer, “who brings a briefcase to the park as well as a bat and ball. He is a contemporary. He understands them.”

“Your boss gave you a vote of confidence,” Piniella was told. “Does that bother you.?”

“Not at all,” Piniella said. “I am going to do a good job managing this club. I have a lot of confidence.”

Piniella, who became a Yankee batting coach after he retired as a player in June, 1984, got some experience managing the team last season when he filled in for Martin for five games while his manager was in the hospital. Reportedly, Piniella did not want to sub for Martin but Steinbrenner talked him into it.

It did not surprise Piniella when Steinbrenner later gave him Martin’s job. “Truthfully, I knew I’d get the opportunity to manage this club; it was just a question of when,” he said.

Steinbrenner, in fact, had Piniella in mind for the job earlier last season, he said. “When Billy (Martin) came back (to replace Berra), I told him that one of the things I wanted him to do was get Lou ready.”

Piniella took on-the-job training for his new career. “I learned a lot from the managers I played for,” he said. “I learned a lot of baseball from Billy and some important things from Yogi--especially about pitching. My inexperience will not be a deficiency.”

However, he expects to make some mistakes. “Everybody makes mistakes,” he said. “The important thing is not to duplicate them.”

He also expects to be second-guessed by the New York fans who once greeted him affectionately when he came to bat with cries of “Looooooo, Looooooo!” “They like to make decisions on their own, but I’m not concerned about that,” he said. “That’s part of baseball.”

The extra attention he is getting from the press this winter doesn’t disturb him either, he said. He expected that, too.

A popular fellow as a player, Piniella now faces the challenge of dealing with his former teammates as their boss. “I have a lot of friends in the clubhouse,” he said. “But my relationship with the players will change somewhat. I’m the person in charge now. I will make the decisions. You don’t have to be a bulldog-type to do it.”

His most important job as a manager, in Piniella’s view, will be to get the players to respect him. “They are here to work, and work hard, but they are going to have to respect me,” he said.

As a player for 16 years with the Kansas City Royals and the Yankees, Piniella was known as an aggressive, impulsive fellow. Once, after striking out, he ran out and kicked the left-field fence in Boston’s Fenway Park. Another time at another park, he broke a water cooler with a kick.

Once in the minor leagues, a popular story goes, Piniella struck out to end a game and go 0 for 4 and, still in uniform, jumped over the left-field fence, flagged down a taxi and went home.

In 1982, Manager Bob Lemon fined him $1,000 for leaving the park early and missing an exhibition game. A big fellow (6-2, 200 pounds), Piniella was fined $7,000 the same year for failing to keep his weight down. Weighing in at 207, he paid $1,000 a day until he made 200.

Asked if he would fine his players, he replied, “I believe in discipline. I felt it was important when I played. Yes, I will fine players. The rules are there to be enforced.”

Does he, in fact, have a Latin temper as Steinbrenner suggested?

“I’ve always been an aggressive person and I’ve always had a temper,” he replied. “Yeah, you’ll see me out on the field a lot arguing. I’m not going to lose that competitive edge now that I’m a manager.” Then he smiled and said, “I have harnessed it somewhat, though. I’ve matured. I’m more patient.”

Steinbrenner and Piniella both lived in Tampa until Piniella recently moved to New Jersey. “Tampa got too small for the both of us,” Piniella said. “He ran me back to New Jersey.”

Steinbrenner, in fact, once said some harsh things about his new manager. “I’ve learned to live with Lou Piniella,” he said after Piniella had criticized some of his trades in 1982. “I’ve learned that at times he’s just not the brightest guy in the world.”

And, “Lou is a classic hitter. I wish he would concentrate on hitting.”

Maybe, as Steinbrenner’s relationship over the years with Billy Martin showed, he really doesn’t mean all the harsh things he says about his players and managers. Or, at least, he doesn’t let his feelings about them interfere with business, as pitcher Tommy John suggested the other day.

The problem with managing the Yankees today is, winning doesn’t seem to improve your job security. Howser won 103 games and was fired, Martin won 100 and 91 and was removed, Virdon won 89 and lost his job, Berra won 87 and was replaced and Berra-Martin won 97 and Piniella got their job.

Today, Piniella likes his job and believes his most important role is to earn his players’ respect. But the last thing he said to a reporter leaving his office was, “Ask me six months from now and I may have a different answer.

“I’m just getting my feet wet.”