Yankee mystique nothing new to Lou

Piniella, a former fan favorite here, understands the jitters young players feel at hallowed ballpark.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published April 12, 2003

NEW YORK -- When Rocco Baldelli jogs to the outfield this afternoon for his first game at Yankee Stadium, assuming it has stopped raining by then, he'll probably have some jitters and goosebumps caused by more than just the raw weather.

Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella understands.

Piniella played 11 seasons for the Yankees, managed them for parts of three and worked two other years in the organization. He knows what it's like for a young player such as Baldelli or Seth McClung to take his first steps on the hallowed grounds.

"We'd got a few of them here for the first time," Piniella said. "They'll probably be nervous, they'll probably have a few goosebumps, and rightfully so. They'll acclimate themselves.

"It's exciting for a first-year player to come into Yankee Stadium. It's the most storied franchise in major-league history, and a lot of great things have happened here on the field at Yankee Stadium. But they'll get used to it."

Baldelli grew up in Rhode Island more a fan of the Yankees than Red Sox, but he remembers only one trip to the stadium, sitting in the upper deck as a high school senior three years ago.

Between the raindrops that postponed Friday's game, he warmed up briefly on the grass.

"It looks a little bit different from field level," he said. "A lot of great players played here, and it's pretty amazing to find yourself playing on the same field as some of the great players from the past."

Even some of the veteran players making their first visits, such as Marlon Anderson and Travis Lee, can get caught up in the history. Anderson and Carl Crawford braved the low 40s temperatures Friday afternoon to take a quick look at Monument Park.

Piniella was something of an icon during his days in pinstripes, a favorite of the fans and owner George Steinbrenner.

"I think they appreciated the fact that I played hard," Piniella said. "I was more of a blue-collar-type player than anything else, and I think they appreciated that. I had some good years here and played on some very successful teams that won world championships."

In nicer weather, Piniella himself will head out beyond the leftfield wall to stroll among the monuments, plaques and retired numbers and to visit with the workers who have been on the job since before he arrived.

Piniella managed the Yankees to 90 wins in 1986 and 89 the next season, served briefly as their general manager, then returned to the dugout to manage the final 93 games of the 1988 season. He also worked as a coach and a special adviser/television broadcaster.

But his fondest memories, he said, are of his playing days, which were celebrated with Lou Piniella Day on Aug.5, 1984.

He has been back many times since he left the Yankee employ, for a decade with the Mariners and now with the Devil Rays, and it hasn't been as enjoyable being on the other side.

"It's not as much fun coming here as an opposing manager," Piniella said. "They've had real nice ballclubs here the past 10 years or so."

Some opponents get so frustrated at losing to the Yankees that they believe there is more at work -- the "ghosts" of Yankee Stadium, as New York manager Joe Torre likes to call them -- than just a good home team.

Piniella knows better.

"I put on my Tampa Bay uniform the same way I did my Yankee uniform, and I put on my Seattle uniform the same way," he said. "There's only a mystique if you let it."