Sweet Lou... Lou Piniella: A Life in Baseball

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From Rookie of the Year to two-time Manager of the Year, with three World Series rings in between, Lou Piniella's story is as compelling as the man himself. From a boyhood in Tampa that shaped, in every way, the athlete and person he would become; to his years with the Kansas City Royals, an experience that would teach him about the business of baseball; to his wild years in New York that would give him his first two World Series rings and thrust him into George Steinbrenner's infamous revolving door; his many varied experiences all set him on course to finding his true calling. Sweet Lou brings the story of one of the most intriguing managers in the game to life, relives history with those who were there, and probes the man himself: his great loves, his great losses, and his greatest successes.

Author Melissa Isaacson explores Piniella's background, his parents, his friends, and his roots in Tampa that explain not only his hot-headedness but also reveal a very down-to-earth family man. Along the way, she charts his ascension to become the beloved skipper of the Cubs, setting his sights on his sixth pennant and the possibility of leading the Cubs to their first world championship in over 100 years.  Sweet Lou is a riveting portrayal of a consummate and controversial larger-than-life baseball personality whose full impact on the game has yet to be measured.

 

 

Author Melissa Isaacson explains what readers will learn about Lou Piniella in Sweet Lou

 

 

 

 

Learn how being a "Tampa Boy" has guided Piniella's entire life

 

 

 

 

Isaacson explains how the New York years helped Piniella "evolve" as both player and manager

ESPN.com EXCLUSIVE excerpt of "Sweet Lou"
Cubs fans (or anyone else who enjoys watching him blow his stack) may wonder what makes Lou Piniella go nuts during games. Is it an act? What is going through his mind as he's ranting and raving at the referees? Nobody can read Piniella's mind, but Melissa Isaacson traced the roots to Piniella's temper in this exclusive excerpt on ESPN.com from her new biography Sweet Lou: Lou Piniella: A Lifetime in Baseball. Cubs fans will have a chance to meet and ask Melissa any questions they have about Piniella while getting a signed copy of Sweet Lou at one of her two book signings this month in the Chicagoland area at the Skokie Public Library (July 8) and at the Orland Park Public Library (July 23). More info on these signings and much more are on the official page for Sweet Lou.

Sweet Lou Press Release

Lou Piniella: A Life In Baseball

By Melissa Isaacson

From Rookie of the Year to two-time Manager of the Year, with three World Series rings in between, Lou Piniella's story is as compelling as the man himself. Sweet Lou...Lou Piniella: A Life In Baseball by Melissa Isaacson, explores the story of one of baseball's most successful and colorful characters.

Sweet Lou delves into Piniella's background, his parents, his friends, and his roots in Tampa that explain not only his temper but also reveal a very down-to-earth family man. Along the way the book charts Piniella's ascension to become the beloved skipper of the Cubs, setting his sights on his seventh pennant and the possibility of leading the Cubs to their first World Championship in over 100 years.

Sweet Lou takes you behind-the-scenes of the life and career of a legend, including:

¨ His early playing days at the outset of the Kansas City Royals franchise

¨ The wild years spent in New York that would give him his first two World Series rings and thrust him into George Steinbrenner's infamous revolving doors

¨ MLB umpires' insight into the man who has made a living with his legendary meltdowns

¨ His evolution as a manager and on-field personality adjustment throughout the years

Sweet Lou brings to life the story of one of the most intriguing managers in the game, relives history with those who were there, and probes the man himself: his great loves, his great losses, and his greatest successes. It's a riveting portrayal of a consummate and controversial larger-than-life baseball personality whose full impact on the game has yet to be measured.

About the Author:

Melissa Isaacson is in her 26th year of covering sports, returning to her native Chicago to write for the Chicago Tribune in 1990. She has since been the principal beat writer for the Bulls and Bears as well as a columnist and feature writer, covering virtually every major sporting event over the years. A baseball lover all of her life, Isaacson covered the Florida Grapefruit League for Florida Today and the Orlando Sentinel, and has been part of Chicago's seasonal and postseason baseball coverage, including the '03, '07 and '08 Cubs. She is the author of Transition Game - An Inside Look at Life with the Chicago Bulls. Isaacson is a University of Iowa graduate and lives in Northbrook with her husband Rick Mawrence and their children, Amanda and Alec.

 

 

CONTACT: Josh Williams, Triumph Books, 312.252.1261, j.williams@triumphbooks.com

Sweet Lou Review

Wake-Up Call: Book chronicles Piniella's ride through baseball

by Joey Johnston, 4/16/09, The Tampa Tribune

Good morning!

Lou Piniella remains restless and driven. His current task - trying to deliver a World Series championship to the Chicago Cubs for the first time since 1908 - demands that approach.

But as people in Tampa know well, Piniella has displayed those characteristics since his youth.

All of the great Piniella stories and anecdotes are featured in "Sweet Lou, Lou Piniella: A Life in Baseball," a new book (Triumph, $24.95), by Melissa Isaacson of the Chicago Tribune.

The tales might seem familiar to those who have followed Piniella's baseball career for generations, but they are worth re-telling and savoring.

It's all here, including:

• The Tampa influence, buddies such as Carmine Iavarone, Paul Ferlita, Tony Gonzalez and Mondy Flores, weaving the memories of Piniella in his hometown, along with old coaches such as Paul Straub and Sam Bailey, recounting the early Piniella years.

Bailey, the former University of Tampa coach, still laughs about a game in Miami, when Piniella's grandfather slipped a Cuban sandwich through the fence to a famished Lou. Of course, a line drive immediately came his way. Piniella shoved the sandwich in his glove and made the catch (although lettuce and tomatoes went flying).

• The minor-league years, including the influence of a hot-headed manager named Earl Weaver.

• The transition from the Royals to the Yankees, where Piniella really hit his stride as part of the "Bronx Zoo" and displayed an uncanny ability to mix effectively with every faction of that complex, emotionally driven team, from Reggie Jackson to Thurman Munson.

• Piniella, the rookie Yankees manager. How he coped and how he maintained a unique relationship with owner George Steinbrenner. Piniella, it seemed, was one of the few Yankees who ever learned how to speak frankly with Steinbrenner and diffuse any tension.

• The battle with his much-publicized temper. How it fueled his passion, and how it occasionally created problems (along with some endorsement opportunities).

• The 1990 World Series title with the Reds and an entertaining look at the Cincinnati years, including insight into Piniella's much-celebrated clubhouse brawl with reliever Rob Dibble (you still see that one in highlight shows) and why they have been fast friends ever since.

• Why some people feel Piniella was the force that saved baseball in Seattle - plus the glory and heartbreak of 2001, when the Mariners won 116 games, but were denied a trip to the World Series by the Yankees.

• The dashed hopes of coming home to manage the Rays - and how Piniella nearly lost his mind during all the losing.

• And finally, Piniella's arrival with the Cubs. Piniella has continually said Chicago is his last stop. If the Cubs do win it all, Piniella knows it would place an exclamation mark on his Hall of Fame-level career.

After last season's frustrating playoff loss to the Dodgers, Piniella had a phone conversation with WGN's Steve Cochran.

"One of the last things he said before we hung up was, 'You know we're going to get this done,' " Cochran recalled. "It was out of context to what we were talking about, and so I paused and he said, 'You know, win the World Series.' He didn't want me hanging up the phone without knowing it was still ever-present on his mind."

Tampa's baseball legacy has been well-documented. Piniella's accomplishments are at the top of that list.

You are reminded of that through every page of Isaacson's well-reported, very entertaining book. "Sweet Lou" makes for some sweet reading.