Earl Weaver, on the verge of entering Retirement II, said Monday night he does not plan to manage ever again. But . . .
”When I retired in `82, that was my plan,” Weaver said at Yankee Stadium, where his last-place Baltimore Orioles lost to the Yankees 5-3. ”But I never said never, because you never know what`s going to come up.”
What came up after 2 1/2 years in retirement was the Orioles` desire to have Weaver return and a lusty salary to make a return worthwhile. What could come up this time? Perhaps George Steinbrenner`s desire to have him manage the Yankees and an even lustier contract to lure him back.
”Why is my name being mentioned?” asked Weaver, whose winning record in Baltimore has long attracted him to Steinbrenner. ”Lou did a good job and, record-wise, I did a bad job.”
Lou Piniella is not managing the Yankees to the division title, however, and the prevailing belief, fueled by Steinbrenner`s comments and his past pattern, is that he will not be invited to return for 1987.
”As far as managing next year,” Weaver said, ”I`m not going to manage next year.”
What about 1988? Steinbrenner could hire someone for next season and have that person dismissed in time for Weaver to join.
”No,” Weaver said, ”I`m not planning on managing the rest of my life. I have no desire to manage anyplace, including Baltimore. I`m not going to say I`ll never manage again, because I don`t know what lies down the road.”
Even though Weaver is retiring as the Orioles` manager, he will continue to serve them as a $1-a-year consultant through 1990. For anyone to talk to Weaver about a job, a club would have to seek and secure permission from Edward Bennett Williams, the Orioles` owner.
”As far as I know, no one has called Mr. Williams and asked for permission to talk to me,” Weaver said.
No matter what Weaver said or how he phrased his comments, he had not ruled out–in an absolute, 100 percent, irrevocable way–the possibility of his going to work for the Yankees.
