"Watch Sweet Lou take batting practice: he's like a pitching machine operating in reverse. Line drive bullets explode from his bat, veering off in every direction. And with each 'Crack!' Piniella, the Hitting Professional, know he's doing what he does best.
'I think I work harder at batting than most people,' says this prideful Yankee who now carries the title of batting instructor. 'I've always watched my hitting stroke carefully because hitting has never been easy for anybody.'
Now as he approaches 40, the sometimes fiery, sometimes patient Piniella looks forward to his new role.
'I still enjoy playing much,' says this elder statesman. 'I'm glad I didn't retire a few years ago because I'm playing for a team and for a city I really enjoy playing for.'
The feeling is mutual, Lou."
-The New York Yankees Official 1983 Yearbook
"Piniella reaffirmed the well known fact that he can hit, batting over .300 for the sixth time in his major league career. He kept his batting average over .300 for all except four days of the season and batted .361 (22-for-61) with men in scoring position. Lou led all AL designated hitters (50 or more games as a DH) in batting average, .344, and was second in the league as a pinch hitter (25 or more at-bats) with a .360 average. On August 24 he was asked to help the Yankee coaching staff as a batting instructor, working with his teammates on the fine art of hitting.
A consistent player, recognized as one of baseball's 'most professional hitters,' Lou has always been extremely tough for the Yankees in the clutch. His .295 lifetime batting average with the Yankees ranks him 10th all-time as a Yankee, and in 1980 for the first time in his career had more walks than strikeouts, a trend he has continued since.
In November 1980 Lou was admitted to a Tampa hospital complaining of chest pain and congestion. Doctors described his condition as 'simple fatigue' and released him several days later. Lou showed no after effects in 1981. He missed most of 1975 with an inner ear problem that required mid-season surgery. Lou returned to regular duty in '76 and was runner-up to teammate Dock Ellis for Comeback Player of the Year.
Originally signed by Cleveland scout and former Yankee Spud Chandler, Lou has always been an excellent postseason performer. In '77 he hit safely in all five ALCS games and in '78 hit safely in all six World Series games. Lou hit in the first three games of the 1981 World Series to extend his personal World Series hitting streak to nine games, and led all Yankee hitters in the '81 World Series with a .438 average.
Lou is always one of the Yankees' most exciting players and fans welcome each of his at-bats with chants of 'Lou, Lou.' He's a lifetime native of the Tampa, Florida area and is of Spanish ancestry. He enjoys the stock market and last winter opened two restaurants in the New York metropolitan area."
-1983 New York Yankees Information Guide
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