Former Cubs manager Lou Piniella is among 8 Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era nominees

Former Cubs manager Lou Piniella is up for Hall of Fame consideration along with seven other baseball managers, executives and umpires who will be voted on by the Contemporary Baseball Era (1980 to present) committee next month.

Lou’s tenure with the Cubs, which lasted just short of four seasons, did not result in a World Series appearance. But Lou did help guide a team that had lost 96 games in 2006 to a division title in 2007, and another in 2008 when the team won 97 games, its most since 1945. That was the 100th anniversary of the Cubs’ previous World Series win and... well, you know what happened, I don’t have to rehash it here.

Piniella managed in all or part of 23 major league seasons and recorded 1,835 wins, which ranks 17th all-time. His teams made the postseason seven times and he did manage a World Series winner, the 1990 Reds.

In addition to that managing career, Piniella was a very good player for a long time. He played 18 seasons, mostly for the Royals and Yankees, and was American League Rookie of the Year in 1969 as a Royal. He hit 102 home runs and had 1,705 hits, was a key contributor to five postseason teams and won two World Series rings as a player in 1977 and 1978.

For all his contributions to baseball, I hope the committee votes induction for Lou Piniella, who turned 80 in August.

Three other managers have been nominated: Jim Leyland, Cito Gaston and Davey Johnson. All of them manged World Series winners. Two umpires will be up for consideration: Ed Montague and Joe West. Lastly, two executives, Hank Peters (Orioles) and Bill White (American League president after a long playing and broadcasting career) will be considered by the committee.

You can read more about these men and their careers and how these choices were made on this page on the Hall of Fame’s website.

The inductees, if any, will be announced on MLB Network Sunday, December 3 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Next year’s induction ceremony will be Sunday, July 21, 2024 in Cooperstown.