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Showers, thunderstorms possible throughout the weekend

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Lou Piniella was never a Boy Scout.</p><p>But by the end of the day Thursday, he said he wished he could have turned back the clock and joined the esteemed organization.</p><p>The 73-year-old former New York Yankee outfielder and manager said in his younger years, the friends he had who were Boy Scouts were the &#8220;good kids.&#8221;</p><p>Speaking at the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizens Award dinner in Genetti&#8217;s Best Western Plus, Piniella reminisced about his time in the minor and major leagues. He also reminded the nearly 400 people in attendance to &#8220;never give up, work hard and crush your ability.&#8221;</p><p>Those three phrases Piniella repeated to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders during a visit to PNC Field on Thursday morning, he said.</p><p>&#8220;I know how hard they work to get to the big leagues,&#8221; noted the three-time World Series champion. (Two as a player with the Yankees; one as manager of the Cincinnati Reds.)</p><p>Piniella, who was born and raised in Tampa, Fla., remains &#8220;grateful&#8221; that former Yankees&#8217; owner George Steinbrenner &#8220;took a chance&#8221; on him in 1986 and hired him as a manager less than two years after he retired as a player.</p><p>The baseball great also made a case for Pete Rose to get into the Hall of Fame, mentioning Rose&#8217;s all-time record of 4,256 hits.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s my estimation he&#8217;s in the Hall of Fame,&#8221; Piniella said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re waiting for.&#8221;</p><p>Piniella, who now spends his retirement years playing golf and fishing, congratulated the Distinguished Citizen Award winners, Greg Collins and Bob and Maureen Mills.</p><p>&#8220;This is a much better place to live because of what you people do,&#8221; Piniella said.</p><p>Collins and the Millses were honored at the dinner for their work in the community.</p><p>Mr. and Mrs. Mills were former owners of Craft Oil Corporation. They currently are partners in Railriders ownership. Maureen said she and her husband live by the motto of &#8220;We Not Me.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Any giveback, big or small, makes a difference,&#8221; she said, quoting her grandmother. &#8220;It&#8217;s better to be on the giving end than receiving.&#8221;</p><p>Collins, regional president of community banking at Wells Fargo, was, unlike Piniella, a Boy Scout.</p><p>&#8220;I live by &#8216;Be Prepared&#8217;,&#8221; Collins said, mentioning the Boy Scout motto. The Kingston native encouraged those in attendance to &#8220;roll up our sleeves to make (Pennsylvania) an even better place to live and work.&#8221;</p><p><ins>For other local news stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/local" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Baseball legend Lou Piniella spoke at the Boy Scouts of America Distingushed Citizens Award dinner held Thursday at Genetti&#8217;s Best Western Plus in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_bs1_faa-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Baseball legend Lou Piniella spoke at the Boy Scouts of America Distingushed Citizens Award dinner held Thursday at Genetti&#8217;s Best Western Plus in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_bs2_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nearly 400 people attended a Boy Scouts dinner at Genetti&#8217;s Best Western Plus where Piniella spoke. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_bs2_faa-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Nearly 400 people attended a Boy Scouts dinner at Genetti&#8217;s Best Western Plus where Piniella spoke. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_bs3_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lou Piniella talked about his time in the major and minor leagues during a keynote address at the Boy Scouts dinner Thursday at Genetti&#8217;s Best Western Plus. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_bs3_faa-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Lou Piniella talked about his time in the major and minor leagues during a keynote address at the Boy Scouts dinner Thursday at Genetti&#8217;s Best Western Plus. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Piniella on hand for Distinguished Citizens dinner</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Baseball legend Lou Piniella speaks at Boy Scouts dinner