St. Petersburg, FL (My Sportsbook) - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays named former Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies manager Lee Elia their hitting coach for the next two seasons on Tuesday.

Elia, who was a candidate to take over the Seattle Mariners' managing vacancy left by Lou Piniella, decided to stay near his home in Odessa, Florida.

"It was a very difficult decision," Elia said. "Seattle is a great organization and things were going well, but it was weighing heavy on my head. So I called (the Mariners) this morning and said I have decided to pull out and give it a shot with the Devil Rays. I've always wanted to be a part of this community and be able to give something back. I couldn't be happier."

Elia was the Mariners bench coach in 1993 and served as the hitting coach from 1994-97.

"You have to understand, Lou Piniella is a very good man to work for," Elia said. "What he brings to a ballclub, you can't always explain. He has a great work ethic and he knows how to win but he also does a lot of little things no one sees that really make a difference.

In four seasons with the Cubs and Phillies, Elia garnered a 238-300 career record.