Billy Martin

Billy Martin played for the New York Yankees in the 1950s and was part of five championship teams. From 1957 to 1961, he bounced from Kansas City Athletics to the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Indians, the Cincinnati Reds, the Milwaukee Braves, and then to Minnesota. Martin had an eight-year stay in Minnesota in the 1960s, first as a player in 1961 and then later as a scout, coach, and manager. After guiding the Twins, he managed the Tigers, Rangers, Yankees, and A’s at different points. He managed the Yankees five separate times.

Alfred Manuel “Billy” Martin was born May 16, 1928, in Berkeley, California. His father abandoned the family when Billy was eight months old. His mother taught him to stick up for himself. Billy also spent time in amateur boxing in the San Francisco area. His mother’s feistiness and the youth boxing background stuck with him throughout his entire life, contributing to his combative nature.

After high school, Martin played minor league ball on the West Coast, eventually working his way to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, where Hall of Famer Casey Stengel managed him. Martin played infield and was most often utilized as a second baseman, which was the case throughout his playing career. He was a good defensive infielder and could hit a little. After the 1949 season, Martin was sold to the New York Yankees (Stengel had been hired as manager of the Yankees in 1949). The Yankees of the 50s were a powerhouse with Hall of Famer players Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Whitey Ford. As stated above, Billy was part of five World Series-winning teams (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1956). He missed the 1954 season while serving in the military—Martin was an All-Star in 1953. 

After being traded from the Yankees and bouncing around with five other teams, Martin landed with the Twins after a June 1961 trade with the Milwaukee Braves. The Braves received infielder Billy Consolo. Martin finished the 1961 season with the Twins hitting .245/.275/.341 in 108 games. He had six home runs and 36 RBI. That was the end of Billy’s playing career, as the Twins released Martin just before the 1962 season. His career numbers were .257/.300/.369. He hit 64 home runs, had 333 RBI, and an OPS+ of 81.

The Twins hired him as a scout, which he did through 1964, but that was not the proper fit for the feisty former player; he was meant to be a manager. He needed to be on the field. He served as third base coach from 1965 to May of 1968 when the Twins assigned him to manage their Triple-A ball club in Denver. In 1969, after the Twins had underperformed since the 1965 AL Championship season, the Twins dismissed Cal Ermer and hired Billy Martin as the team’s fourth manager.

In addition to his feisty and fiery leadership, Martin was extremely aggressive as a manager and wanted his players to play that way. He emphasized the running game, taking the extra base, and stealing. He famously encouraged young Rod Carew to steal and taught Carew the art of stealing home. It was so successful that Carew stole home seven times in 1969, tying a Major League record set by Pete Reiser. That record still stands. 

Miscbasbeball.wordpress.com has a great excerpt from Rod Carew’s autobiography, Carew, about stealing home, some of which I used below.

Quote

I also added a new wrinkle to my baseball repertoire at Orlando in the spring of 1969: stealing home. Billy [Martin] and I talked about my being more aggressive on the bases. Although I stole a lot of bases in the minors, I had stolen only 5 and 12 in my first two seasons with the Twins. He thought the team should put more pressure on opponents than we had. He said I could use my speed to advantage in a game situation in which we needed a run, and the guys weren’t hitting. I had stolen home once before in the minors.

Billy worked with me for hours on stealing home. He suggested I take a slow, walking lead instead of the lead in which you come to a stop. How far I should lead depended on how far the third baseman was playing off the bag and whether the pitcher took a stretch or a windup. That walking lead was essential: you’d already have momentum toward home.

We had it timed to the split second. If a pitcher wound up–instead of pitching from a stretch–and took six beats from when he began his windup to his release, we determined I ought to make it home safely. We also had the batters practice getting in the catcher’s way without being called for interference.

Baseball Almanac lists Carew’s 17 career steals of home as 14th most all-time. Almost all the players ahead of Carew on this list played the vast majority of their careers during the Deadball era (pre-1920), with the limited exceptions of Frankie Frisch and Jackie Robinson.

Martin’s aggressiveness led to the Twins stealing 115 bases in 1969, their most since moving from Washington. However, the 1976 squad passed that number and has since been surpassed six more times. 

Billy Martin’s 1969 team had an excellent record, going 97-65 and finishing first in the newly formed American League West division. They went to the first American League Championship Series but were swept by the Baltimore Orioles. Despite the win-loss record and Division Championship, 1969 was tumultuous. I’m sure longtime fans know of Martin’s battles with players and management, which I won’t rehash here. Those battles, and probably just Martin’s abrasive attitude in general, led to his termination just after the playoff loss to Baltimore.

After his Twins career, Martin was hired by Detroit in 1971. He managed three seasons and had a record of 248-203. The Tigers fired Martin late in the 1973 season after disagreements between Martin and the general manager.

After Martin’s dismissal in Detroit, the owner of the Texas Rangers quickly jumped at the chance to hire him. Martin managed parts of three seasons in Texas starting in late 1973. He had a 137-141 record. By mid-1975, Texas had a new owner, some higher-priced free agents, and an underwhelming record. Martin was fired.

On August 1, 1975, George Steinbrenner hired Billy Martin, starting a chaotic relationship. The Yankees lost the World Series in 1976 but won it all in 1977 for Martin’s one and only managerial championship. He was forced to resign in July of 1978 but was rehired in 1979. He was fired at the end of the 1979 season as the Yankees missed the playoffs. 

In 1980, Billy Martin returned home to lead the Oakland A’s. His aggressiveness, combined with Rickey Henderson’s ability, resulted in Henderson stealing bases at a ridiculous rate. Henderson broke the single-season stolen base mark with 130 steals in 1982. After some success in 1980 and 1981, Oakland played poorly in 1982, and Martin was fired.

Billy returned to the Yankees in 1983 and served as manager again in 1985 and 1987. Steinbrenner fired Billy each of those three times. After his last dismissal, Martin stayed with the Yankees as a special consultant.

Billy Martin died on Christmas Day 1989 in an automobile crash. Throughout his life, Billy Martin battled with alcohol. Alcohol was reported to be a factor in the accident, although it’s unclear whether Martin or his friend was the driver.

Billy Martin was one of a kind. He was a fiery leader who quickly brought out the best in teams and players, but at the same time, his presence and influence seemed to burn out quickly as others tired of his abrasive personality. SABR summarized, “During his tenure as a major-league manager, Martin’s off-field exploits were legendary; he got into fights with team officials, bar patrons, a cab driver, a marshmallow salesman, various fans, and two of his pitchers.” Billy Martin’s chapter in Minnesota during the 1960s was like everywhere else – successful but short-lived and left fans wondering what could have been.