A field bears the name of a famous baseball player and much-ejected manager.
By MICHAEL CANNING
Published April 30, 2004
The sandy lots of West Tampa have produced a long line of professional baseball greats. The one at Habana Avenue and Cordelia Street is named for the manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Louis Victor Piniella spent two decades playing for several major league teams.
Born in Tampa in 1943, Piniella took to baseball at an early age, playing Pony, American Legion and Colt leagues in West Tampa. He was an All-American basketball player for Jesuit High School. After graduating, he attended the University of Tampa, where he played on the NCAA College Division II All-American baseball team.
In June 1962 the Cleveland Indians signed him, and the next year he was drafted by the Washington Senators. Piniella was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1964, then was swapped back to Cleveland before the 1966 season.
In 1968 Piniella was selected by the Seattle Pilots as part of the expansion draft but never played for the team. He was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 1969, the same year he was named the American League's rookie of the year. Piniella made the all-star team in 1972 and was traded to the New York Yankees in 1973.
Piniella stayed with the Yankees until retiring as a player in 1984. He returned to the Yankees dugout as a manager from 1986-88, then managed the Cincinnati Reds from 1990-92, winning the World Series in 1990.
Piniella led the Seattle Mariners from 1993 to 2002, becoming the winningest manager in the team's history. In October 2002 he became manager of the Devil Rays.
His passion for the game is reflected in more than his playing and managing. Piniella, who owns a home in Avila, is currently the second-most-ejected manager in Major League Baseball.
The city named the field after him several years ago.
- Sources: Times files, Major League Baseball, E.J. Salcines.
