Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella has seen enough of this season apparently and has decided to retire from it and his career after Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves.
In mid-July, Piniella had announced that this would be his final season in the big leagues, after 18 seasons as a player and 22 as a manager.
Third base coach Mike Quade will serve manager the rest of the Cubs' season.
This will be Quade's first managing gig in the majors as he has managed in the minor league systems of the Cubs, Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and Oakland Athletics.
According to the team, the rest of the coaching staff will stay for now.
Piniella made five trips to the World Series, winning three rings, but in Chicago he will be added to a list of managers who could not end the championship-less streak.
Piniella won Rookie of the Year in 1969 with the Royals, was traded to the New York Yankees in 1973 where he stayed until his retirement from playing in 1984. Piniella was in fact the Royals first batter in the history of the franchise, leading off the bottom of the first with a double.
And another first: With the Royals, Piniella was the first player in MLB to be thrown out at first, second, third and home in a single game.
He played 18 years, made one All-Star team, winning five AL East titles, four pennants and two World Series championships all with the Yankees, finishing as a career .291 hitter with 102 home runs, 766 RBI, 1,705 hits, 651 runs and an OBP of .333.
Piniella began coaching in 1986 with the Yankees and lasted three years, which included a job as the general manager. He then managed the Cincinnati Reds from 1990 to 1992, leading them to a World Series in his first season.
Piniella then took a job with the Seattle Mariners, where he won at least 90 games four times. Arguably his best team, the 2001 Mariners went 116-46, losing in the American League Championship Series to the Yankees. He also lost in the ALCS in 1995 and 2000 with the Mariners.
Piniella coached in Seattle until 2002 and made his way to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Tensions with ownership made Piniella stand down in September of 2005, which led him to the Chicago Cubs in 2006, agreeing to a three-year deal worth $10 million dollars with a $5 million option for a fourth.
He is 14th all-time in managerial wins.
Ironically, Piniella will retire after facing long-time Braves manager Bobby Cox, who is set to retire after this season as well.
General Manager Jim Hendry said a new coach would be hired before the end of the season a month ago, but now he hopes to have a manager before the organization meetings in late October or early November.
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