Lou Piniella, the man known as much for his legendary on-field explosions as for the success of his teams, called it quits over the weekend.
Piniella, the longtime manager of the Seattle Mariners and, more recently, the struggling Chicago Cubs, emotionally told reporters on Sunday that he was leaving the game of baseball for good to tend to his ailing mother.
"My mom needs me home and that's where I'm going," Piniella said before one last game in the dugout.
"It's a good day to remember and also it's a good day to forget," Piniella said following his final loss.
"I cried a little bit after the game. You get emotional. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be," the Chicago Cubs manager said Sunday, his eyes tearing up again and his voice cracking.
It's a sad end to what was an incredibly distinguished career for the 67 year old Piniella, both as a player and as a manager. The Associated Press tallied up some of his accomplishments.
Piniella finished with a record of 1,835-1,713, trailing only Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre in victories among active managers.
In 18 years in the majors as a player - he had a .291 career batting average - and another 23 as a manager, Piniella made five trips to the World Series with three championship rings.
In Seattle, his Mariners teams won at least 90 games four times in 10 seasons, with a record-tying 116 wins in 2001.
Click here if you would like to listen to audio of Lou Piniella's final post-game press conference.
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