Remembering Billy Martin

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In a way, I guess it is appropriate that the New York Yankees won the World Series this year.

It was on this day in 1989 that Billy Martin, a second baseman for the Yankees from 1950–57 and later a five–time manager of the Yankees, died in a one–vehicle accident near his farm in Fenton, N.Y. And, in the two years ending in a "9" since then, the Yankees have won the World Series.

Martin, who was 61 at the time of his fatal accident, was known to have an addiction to alcohol, and he and the driver of the pickup in which he was riding had been drinking heavily that Christmas Day. It was suggested, by sports journalist Peter Golenbock, that Martin had been the actual driver of the truck, but Martin's widow and his drinking buddy attempted to cover up his complicity. The autopsy concluded that Martin had been a passenger and that he hadn't been wearing his seatbelt.

It is said that, at the time of his death, Martin was preparing for yet another stint as Yankees manager. Supposedly, he had even gone so far as to assemble a coaching staff. But it was not to be.

It would have been wildly entertaining to see Martin back in the dugout, I'm sure.

Martin played big–league baseball from 1950 to 1961 — most of that time (1950–57), he played for the Yankees. He was a teammate of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. During that time, he was a member of four World Series–winning teams.

He was the manager of five teams between 1969 and 1988 (he didn't manage in 1984, 1986 or 1987) — and most of those seasons (1975–78, 1979, 1983, 1985 and 1988), he managed the Yankees. Reggie Jackson was one of his players. He won another World Series (in 1977) in that role.

He was talented, but he was volatile, and his drinking problem only exacerbated the situation. He got into fights as a player. He got thrown out of ball games as a manager. His frequent firings by Yankee owner George Steinbrenner became the subject of jokes in the 1970s and 1980s.

One can only wonder if he had mellowed enough, at the age of 61, to last more than a season as the Yankees' skipper.

I always felt a couple of statements summed up Martin quite nicely:

• A few years before Martin's death, I remember reading "Bill James' Baseball Abstract," and James speculated about what each team's manager might be doing, presumably based on his education or experience or general personality, if baseball did not exist. The answer for Martin was "10 to 20."


• The other was a comment from Martin himself that is chiseled in his grave marker: "I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I was the proudest."

Well, as a wise man once said, "Temper gets you into trouble. Pride keeps you there." Billy Martin was well acquainted with both.