TJ Cotterill

The News Tribune

If Edgar Martinez can make his way into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his final year on the ballot, maybe Lou Piniella will join him.

Piniella was announced among 10 names on the Today’s Game Era ballot that will be reviewed and voted on Dec. 9 at the MLB winter meetings in Las Vegas.

Piniella has more wins with the Mariners than any other manager in club history, going 840-711 from 1993-2002. Current manager Scott Servais is second on that list with 253 wins since taking over in 2016.

Piniella entered the Mariners’ hall of fame in 2014. Sweet Lou would need 75 percent of the votes from the 16-person committee to be inducted to Cooperstown on July 21 along with any players elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in a vote announced Jan. 22.

The other candidates are late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, former managers Davey Johnson and Charlie Manuel and six players. The players are Lee Smith, Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser and Joe Carter.

Piniella, who played 18 seasons as on outfielder and compiled a .291 career batting average while earning AL Rookie of the year honors in 1969, became the Mariners manager in 1993. He led Seattle to its first winning season in franchise history, its first playoff berth in 1993, its first playoff appearance in 1995 and then tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for an MLB-record 116 wins in 2001.

He won manager of the year honors three times (1996, 2001 and 2008 with the Cubs) and a World Series title with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990. During his 23-year managerial career, he won 1,835 games for the Mariners, Yankees, Reds, Devil Rays and Cubs.

The Today’s Game Era is one of four Eras Committees, which provide an avenue for Hall of Fame consideration to managers, umpires and executives, as well as players retired for more than 15 seasons.