Billy Martin

By Brad Berreman
Love of Sports Correspondent

Billy Martin was a lightning rod for controversy during his playing and managerial career in the major leagues. He was also very successful, winning multiple World Series as a player and a manager.

Martin was a second baseman for the New York Yankees from 1950-1957. He was named MVP of the 1953 World Series as he batted .500 with a .958 slugging percentage. After being traded to the Kansas City Athletics in 1957 due to an infamous incident at the famous Copacobana nightclub, Martin’s playing career quickly declined. He would retire as a player in 1961, after he played for six teams in four seasons after leaving New York.

Martin would join the Minnesota Twins organization, the last that he played for, in 1962 as a scout. In 1969, he became manager of the Twins. The team won their division in his one season as manager.  Martin was fired after the season due to an in-season fight with Twins pitcher Dave Boswell. Battling with players would become a theme for Martin’s managerial career.

In 1971, Martin took over as manager of the Detroit Tigers. In 1972, they would win their division. He would be fired after the 1973 season, due in part to his instructing his pitchers to throw at hitters.

In 1974, Martin took over as the skipper of the Texas Rangers. He would lead the team to a second place finish in 1974, but would be fired during the 1975 season.

Later in the 1975 season, Martin was hired as the manager of the New York Yankees. He would lead the Bronx Bombers to the World Series in 1976 and 1977, winning in 1977. Martin feuded publicly with star OF Reggie Jackson and owner George Steinbrenner. The battle with Jackson would reach it’s peak during a midseason game in 1977 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, after Martin pulled Jackson from the game for a perceived lack of hustle on a basehit to the outfield. National TV cameras captured the confrontation in the dugout. Martin would be fired by Steinbrenner during the 1978 season, after making some controversial remarks about Steinbrenner and Jackson. 

In 1979, Martin would replace the man who replaced him, Bob Lemon, as manager of the Yankees. The Yankees would have a disappointing finish, ending their division title streak at three. Martin was fired after the season after an infamous fight with a marshmallow salesman in Minneapolis.

In 1980, Martin was named manager of the Oakland Athletics. In 1981, Oakland would win their division and Martin would be named general manager of the franchise after that season.  In 1982, Oakland OF Rickey Henderson stole a still single-season record 130 bases, but the team finished 68-94 and Martin would be fired after the season.

In 1983, Martin would be hired once again as manager of the Yankees, his third stint as the team’s manager. He would be fired after the season and brought back for the 1985 season. During that season, Martin had another infamous fight with a player, this time pitcher Ed Whitson. In 1988, Martin would serve as Yankees manager for the fifth and final time.

On August 10, 1986 Martin would have his number retired (number 1) and have a plaque placed in his honor at Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. During the ceremony, Martin said, “I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I am the proudest.”

On Christmas night in 1989, Martin was killed in a truck accident at age 61. Investigations later showed that Martin was not driving his pickup truck at the time of the incident. He was preparing the manage the Yankees for the 1990 season, which would have been his sixth stint as the team’s manager.

Martin won 1,253 games and had a .553 winning percentage as a major league manager. He remains the only manager to take four different teams to division titles, which speaks to his volatile personality as much as his effectiveness as a manager that he was so good in so many different places.

Despite Billy Martin’s success as a player and a manager, he still is has not been elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame. There is no doubt in my mind that he is worthy of induction, but his tenuous relationship with the media, front office and the players at his various stops has probably been the reason for his exclusion. After all, sports halls of fame often amount to popularity contests.

In 2007, ESPN would air an eight part mini-series called The Bronx Is Burning, which chronicled the 1977 Yankees against the backdrop of a turbulent year in New York City. Actor John Turtorro took the role of Martin, while Oliver Platt played George Steinbrenner. The series was based on the book by the same name written by Jonathan Mahler.

So, in celebration of Billy Martin’s accomplishments on the field, we’re giving him some OLD SCHOOL LOVE today.