Lou Piniella
Born Aug 28, 1943 · Tampa, FL · age 83
General manager for the Yankees (1988–1988).
Across the full 1-season sample, the measured profile stands out most for cost per win (86th percentile), and roster depth (85th percentile). The clearest contrast is cheap-talent surplus (4th percentile): cost-controlled talent has created less surplus value than for most peers. Because the sample covers fewer than five seasons, those comparisons are descriptive rather than stable.
1 seasons with salary-era data across 1 stint. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.
0 pennants · 0 playoff appearances · 85–76 (0.528)
Overview
| Team | Role | Year | Pay $M |
Rel Pay |
Surp $M |
Surp WAR |
Dead % |
Cheap $M |
Draft $M |
Trd $M |
Int'l $M |
$ / WAR |
WAR | Depth | Dead WAR |
HG | Trade | Net/ Trd |
FA | R5 | RFA | PPA | CPA | WAB | TAB | W-L% | PO | Pen | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Yankees |
GM | 1988 85–76 | $19 | 165 | -9 | -28.2 | 32% | -2 | -1 | -0 | -1 | $0.5M | 31.5 | 8.0 | -6.3 | +5.6 | -7.3 | -1.83 | +18.1 | +0.0 | 1.01 | 0.13 | -2.7 | -8.5 | 0.528 | ||||
| Career total (1985+ data) | $19 | 165 | -9 | -28.2 | 32% | -2 | -1 | -0 | -1 | $0.5M | 31.5 | 8.0 | -6.3 | +5.6 | -7.3 | -1.83 | +18.1 | +0.0 | – | 1.01 | 0.13 | -2.7 | -8.5 | 0.528 | – | – | – | ||
Roster Construction
Build channels — net fWAR
Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.
Trades
Trades made — 7 deals credited to Lou Piniella, best expected value first; surplus is realized value in $M
SEA · Dick Balderson
+$67.2M
NYY · Lou Piniella
−$67.2M
NYY · Lou Piniella
+$4.8M
TEX · Tom Grieve
−$4.8M
PHI · Woody Woodward
+$8.0M
NYY · Lou Piniella
−$8.0M
NYY · Lou Piniella
+$6.4M
TEX · Tom Grieve
−$6.4M
ANA · Mike Port
+$2.4M
NYY · Lou Piniella
−$2.4M
NYY · Lou Piniella
+$0.8M
PIT · Larry Doughty
−$0.8M
SDP · Jack McKeon
+$68.8M
NYY · Lou Piniella
−$68.8M
Players acquired — 27 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)
| Player | Pos | Team | How | Year | Szns | fWAR | WAR/yr | RFA | PPA | CPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Sax | 2B | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | 3 | +9.0 | +3.0 | – | 2.3% | 0.36% |
| Don Slaught | C | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | 2 | +4.3 | +2.1 | – | 2.1% | 0.26% |
| Pat Kelly | 2B | NYY |
Draft | 1988 | 6 | +4.2 | +0.7 | – | – | – |
| John Candelaria | P | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | 2 | +3.4 | +1.7 | – | 3.3% | 0.42% |
| Jack Clark | 1B/OF | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | 1 | +2.8 | +2.8 | – | 2.8% | 0.35% |
| Dave LaPoint | P | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | 2 | +2.5 | +1.2 | – | 0.4% | 0.05% |
| Lee Guetterman | P | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | 4 | +2.3 | +0.6 | – | 0.2% | 0.03% |
| Bob Geren | C | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | 2 | +2.1 | +1.0 | – | – | – |
| Jeff Johnson | P | NYY |
Draft | 1988 | 2 | +1.3 | +0.6 | – | – | – |
| Andy Hawkins | P | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | 2 | +1.1 | +0.5 | – | 0.7% | 0.10% |
| Ken Phelps | DH | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | 2 | +0.9 | +0.4 | – | 0.9% | 0.10% |
| Bobby Muñoz | P | NYY |
Draft | 1988 | 1 | +0.6 | +0.6 | – | – | – |
| Lance McCullers | P | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | 1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | – | 0.4% | 0.05% |
| Steve Shields | P | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | 1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | – | 0.3% | 0.04% |
| Russ Davis | 3B | NYY |
Draft | 1988 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | – | – | – |
| Mark Hutton | P | NYY |
Intl FA | 1988 | 3 | +0.1 | +0.0 | – | – | – |
| Chris Chambliss | 1B | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | – | -0.0 | – | – | – | – |
| Andy Cook | P | NYY |
Draft | 1988 | – | -0.1 | – | – | – | – |
| Brian Dorsett | C | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | 1 | -0.1 | -0.1 | – | 0.2% | 0.03% |
| Jerry Nielsen | P | NYY |
Draft | 1988 | – | -0.1 | – | – | – | – |
| Jimmy Jones | P | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | – | -0.2 | – | – | – | – |
| Steve Kiefer | 3B | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | – | -0.3 | – | – | – | – |
| Kevin Mmahat | P | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | – | -0.3 | – | – | – | – |
| Dale Mohorcic | P | NYY |
Trade | 1988 | 1 | -0.3 | -0.3 | – | 0.4% | 0.05% |
| Deion Sanders | OF | NYY |
Draft | 1988 | 1 | -0.5 | -0.5 | – | – | – |
| José Cruz | OF | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | – | -0.6 | – | – | – | – |
| Wayne Tolleson | 2B/SS | NYY |
Free agency | 1988 | 2 | -1.0 | -0.5 | – | 9.7% | 0.75% |
Trade-side columns: RFA is playoff-readiness percentage points added to the future roster foundation. It grades the franchise's entire side of a trade, so the same score repeats for every player acquired in that package. PPA/CPA remain player-level arrival-year probability points.
WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.