New York Yankees: Who Remembers Billy Martin?
New York Yankees player Billy Martin’s story has multiple layers. Some of them may be disturbing, but they are all compelling.
At 5’10” and 160 pounds soaking wet, Billy Martin , a classic overachiever, played second base for the New York Yankees appearing in five World Series during their championship run in the 1950’s compiling a .333 batting average in the World Classic. Following his stint as a player, he turned to managing where he left the game with a .538 win percentage, which is better than 15 managers currently in the Hall Of Fame.
Martin’s story has multiple layers that go far beyond the compilation of career numbers, leading instead to a compelling and often disturbing look at yet another baseball story.
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Billy Martin was born as Alfred Manuel Pesano Jr. in Berkeley, California, on May 16, 1928. His maternal Italian grandmother called him Bella or Bellitz when he was an infant and this name eventually evolved into Billy. Soon after his mother changed the family name to Martin.
His father, a philanderer, abandoned his family when his son was six months old and Billy would not meet him until he was 15. Not surprisingly, their relationship was strained (at best) and his need for a father figure in his life would never disappear, causing one to wonder if it contributed heavily to the chaos that ensued as his life unfolded.
Soon after his mother changed the family name to Martin. His father, a philanderer, abandoned his family when his son was six months old. Billy would not meet him until he was 15. Not surprisingly, their relationship was strained (at best) and his need for a father figure in life would never disappear, causing one to wonder if it contributed heavily to the chaos that ensued as his life unfolded.
Billy Martin could control a baseball game better than anyone. Sadly, he just couldn’t control himself
Despite his broken family, Martin enjoyed a relatively carefree youth gravitating to the sandlots in and around Berkley where baseball was played from sun up to dusk.
It was here that he self-taught himself the skills he would need to become a major league ballplayer and not so coincidentally, a fighter.
His playing career, marked by a pedestrian lifetime .257 batting average would be overshadowed by the Yankees’ powerhouse teams that won every pennant in the 1950s, except for one in 1954 when they were edged by the Cleveland Indians who won 104 games.
But these were the days when major league clubhouses were stocked with beer instead of a fruits and vegetables. Some players found it a bit too easy to celebrate a win or wash away a loss. Often, the party would continue to the streets of New York City where no New York Yankee could ever buy himself a drink in a restaurant or bar.
The Gang Of Three, (Martin, Whitey Ford, and Mickey Mantle) became back page fodder for the newspapers for their antics off the field nearly as often as their outstanding play on the field. The much-heralded brawl at the Copacabana nightclub proved to be a mere ripple in the pond, especially for Billy Martin who was already showed signs of a life that spun out of control.
The fighting and bad boy behavior would continue. Following his return from an injury in 1952, Martin got into a fight with Boston Red Sox rookie shortstop Jim Piersall under the grandstands at Fenway Park. A few weeks later, he got into another scuffle with St. Louis Browns catcher Clint Courtney. Around this time, the national newspapers started referring to Martin as “One-Round.”
In 1960, he broke Chicago Cubs pitcher Jim Brewer’s jaw with one punch after he shaved him with a couple of pitches.
The Montreal Gazette printed Martin’s description of the incident, “Brewer threw at my head and nobody is going to do that. I was in the hospital last year when I got hit in the face and had seven fractures. Nobody is going to throw at my head again. That first pitch by Brewer was behind my head and Cub pitchers knocked me down three times on Wednesday.” Both benches cleared during the incident, and Martin was ejected from the Later,
Both benches cleared during the incident, and Martin was ejected from the game. Later, George Steinbrenner, the ubiquitous Yankees owner would try to intervene as a father figure, in much the same way he would do for Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, and it worked intermittently. Five separate times Steinbrenner would hire Martin as his manager only to fire him when the string of patience ran out with everyone.
The proverbial straw that broke the camels back probably occurred when Martin pulled Reggie Jackson from a game for loafing in right field in the middle of an inning. The two of them immediately went into combat mode in the dugout in full view, including the television cameras.
Again, Billy being Billy could not seem to get out of his own way telling reporters of Jackson and Steinbrenner, “One’s a born liar and the other one is convicted “, referring to Steinbrenner’s legal troubles at the time. Fired again!
The Gang of Three went off into separate ways after baseball.
Mickey Mantle, who was convinced following the death of his father due to Hodgkin’s Disease that he would die at a young age, took control of his life. At one point, he said, “If I’d of known I was gonna live this long, I’d of taken better care of myself.
Whitey Ford would retire quietly to Long Island and remain the sole participant at Old Timers Day even today.
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Martin stumbled through three failed marriages and settled in Binghamton, New York following his baseball retirement. He would continue his brawling and alcohol fueled ways until his death in an auto accident in which his driver friend was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Credited by many as being a baseball genius, devoted to winning at any cost, capable of leading teams to heights they might not even have imagined themselves, Martin’s story runs parallel with the fact that he was never able to lead himself.
Quotes are attributed to: Society Of American Baseball Research (SABR) and The New York Times.