Mariners’ Piniella Named AL Manager of Year : Baseball: His team endured loss of Griffey and reached the championship series.

Calling it another chapter in a Cinderella season, Lou Piniella of the Seattle Mariners was voted the American League’s manager of the year by a committee of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America.

In results announced Monday, Piniella was listed first on nine of the 28 ballots and second on 12 others.

He totaled 86 points, 12 more than Kevin Kennedy of the Boston Red Sox, who won the American League East title, and 15 more than Mike Hargrove of the Cleveland Indians, who won the Central Division championship on their way to the pennant.

Marcel Lachemann, who might have been the front-runner for the award before his Angels let the Mariners rally from a 13-game deficit on Aug. 4 and ultimately win the West title in a one-game playoff, finished fifth in the voting behind Buck Showalter, the recently-resigned New York Yankee manager.

Piniella said he was proud of the recognition because “you’re always evaluated against your peers” but added, “I’m nothing more than a reflection of the organization.”

He said the credit belonged to the players, scouts and front office, but added, “This is much more meaningful to me than anything I accomplished as a player because I have more responsibility, putting things together and being in charge.”

The Mariners withstood the 73-game absence of hitting star Ken Griffey Jr., who was sidelined by a broken wrist, before overcoming both the Angels and an 18-year history of mediocrity.

With the front office paying the price by keeping the nucleus together and, for the first time, making key acquisitions during the second half--Andy Benes and Vince Coleman--the Mariners were suddenly playing before sellout crowds in the Kingdome, persuading the state and county to approve a financing plan for a new stadium, saving the franchise in the Pacific Northwest.

“We disproved all of the doubts about Seattle being a baseball city,” Piniella said. “You can win and lose championships every year, but it’s not often you get the opportunity to help save a franchise, and that was the most meaningful aspect of the year.”

Piniella, 52, has a 689-633 record in nine seasons as a major league manager with the Mariners, Yankees and Cincinnati Reds.

At 210-209, he is the only Mariner manager--there have been 12--with a better-than-.500 record.

Votes were cast before the Mariners rallied from a two-game deficit to defeat the Yankees in the division series and took the Indians to six games in the league championship series.

“I told the players after we lost to the Indians that this was just the beginning,” Piniella said. “What we accomplished this season was a small step in the direction we want to be heading.”

The front office appears to be doing its part again, having already picked up the 1996 options on designated hitter Edgar Martinez and second baseman Joey Cora. The Mariners also have offered arbitration to closer Norm Charlton, preventing him from becoming a free agent.

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The Voting

V otes on a 5-3-1-point basis: *--*

Manager 1st 2nd 3rd Pts Piniella, Sea. 9 12 5 86 Kennedy, Bos. 11 5 4 74 Hargrove, Clev. 8 8 7 71 Showalter, NY - 1 5 8 Lachemann, Angels - 1 2 5 Garner, Milw. - 1 1 4 Boone, KC - - 3 3 Oates, Balt. - - 1 1

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