Tony Overman/The Olympian
Framed by the $4.99 rotisserie chicken special, Seattle Mariners manager Lou Piniella talks with fans as he signs autographs Wednesday at Tumwater's new Fred Meyer store. More than 800 people lined the store for the opportunity to get an autograph, take a picture or shake hands with Piniella.

Piniella thrills fans with local appearance

M's manager draws 800 fans at Fred Meyer

GAIL WOOD, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published September 20

TUMWATER -- Sharon Berg, proudly wearing her blue Mariners jacket and cap, waited two hours Wednesday to get the autograph of Lou Piniella, the Seattle Mariners manager.

"He's the greatest," Berg said, pumping her arm as though the Mariners had just scored the winning run.

Berg, who took a vacation day to see Piniella, was among an estimated 800 Mariners fans in a line that snaked several times around the new Fred Meyer store that kicked off its grand opening Wednesday with a Piniella autograph signing.

The first fan, an 85-year-old woman, showed up at 6:45 a.m., more than four hours before Piniella's arrival.

"It was a pleasure coming here and being able to look a lot of our fans face to face," said Piniella, who was doing his first signing of the year. "I had a good time actually. I've just got to get back to work."

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Piniella signed baseballs, bats, baseball cards and the 8-by-10 pictures of himself that Fred Meyer handed out.

Chatting as he signed, Piniella put his arm around fans wanting to get their picture taken with "Sweet Lou," Piniella's nickname.

The coach known for his emotional outbursts on the

field had a smile for each of the 300-plus people for whom he signed things.

"We're going to run him for governor," said Glenn Edstrom, wearing the Mariners hat he picked up at the team's spring training in Arizona.

Shyly, sometimes even reverently, fans would quietly sneak a peek at the Mariner manager, often clicking off several pictures on their pocket-sized cameras.

Two fans waving "Go Mariners" signs shouted their support to Piniella, who grinned his approval.

Everyone was a supporter of Piniella, the winningest coach in Mariner history. With 16 games left, Seattle has a shot at setting the all-time record for wins in a season and a chance of reaching the World Series.

Piniella and the Mariners clinched the division title against Anaheim on Wednesday.

"We're hoping he doesn't miss the game," said Edstrom, who has been going to Mariners games since 1976.

Not everyone who came got an autograph.

Delrae Riley took her 9- and 7-year-old sons out of school so they could meet Piniella, but they were too far back in the line.

"I didn't expect this big of a turnout," she said.

At 1 p.m., Piniella signed his last autograph. When the M's manager, wearing a gray, button-up long-sleeve sweater, black slacks and black dress shoes, tried to leave by walking beyond a roped-off area, fans circled him, clicking more photos and asking for more autographs.

"I don't have a pen," he said in self defense and continued to walk.

Fans followed. Stopping to sign one last autograph, Piniella then opened a side door and walked into a sea of faces and hands holding up pens.

"Got to get to work," Piniella said, walking 10 feet to a black Lincoln limousine, then being whisked off to Seattle for Wednesday night's game.

One Mariners-clad fan cursed. Others, disappointed about not getting an autograph, quickly left.

"At least we saw him," one fan said cheerfully.

Fred Meyer will have eight grand openings this year, giving it 54 stores in Washington.

"A lot of sports celebrities just sign and don't say a thing," said Larry Gentry, a Fred Meyer supervisor. "Lou talked with everyone."

Gail Wood covers sports for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5432.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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