TAMPA, Fla. — Taking a trip down memory lane is even more special when Lou Piniella joins you for the journey. Walking through the Tampa Baseball Museum in Ybor City, Piniella can point out the giants of the game.

What You Need To Know

  • Piniella spent 23 seasons as a MLB manager, including a stint with the Tampa Bay Rays

  •  Before that, the Tampa native spent 18 seasons in the league as a player

  •  He won two World Series titles as a player with the New York Yankees and one as a manager with the Cincinnati Reds

Not just because he knows his Tampa baseball history, but because he helped create a lot of the memories on display.

He can truly appreciate the city’s rich traditions, especially Al Lopez.

“This is where it all started,” Piniella said, pointing to Lopez.

Crammed inside the boyhood home of Al Lopez is 135 years of Tampa baseball history. And Piniella is smack dab in the middle of it, as a player and a manager. A wall of baseball’s features every major league player from Tampa. There are 89 and Piniella is on the top shelf. And among the museum displays is one that houses his glove.

Growing up in Tampa, Piniella paved his way to the majors, first as a player where he won two World Series championships with the Yankees. And then as a manager, where he won a World Series ring with the Cincinnati Reds. He was named MLB Manager of the Year three times.

It’s an impressive list of accomplishments. But there’s one glaring omission on Piniella’s otherwise stellar baseball resume—the Hall of Fame.

“Look, I think I belong,” Piniella said. “In fact, I’m sure I belong. I don’t vote, though.”

Piniella has a theory on why he didn’t get in. The former Rays manager blames his temper, the one that flared up often and led to some of the most dramatic ejections in baseball history.

“The body of work is there,” he said. “About the only thing, maybe people didn’t like that I kicked dirt.”

He’s on the ballot again, one of eight finalists vying for a spot in Cooperstown. The committee votes next month. Last time, Piniella was one vote shy. Getting the call that he’s in the hall this time, would mean the world to a man whose meant the world to Tampa baseball.

“I’m hoping to make it to the Hall of Fame,” Piniella said. “But if I don’t, I’ve had a great career. I really have. I couldn’t have envisioned more.”