Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel " Billy" Martin ( born May 16, 1928 in Berkeley, California, † December 25, 1989 in Johnson, New York) was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball. His nicknames were " The Brat " and " Billy the Kid".
Life
Billy Martin started his career as a second baseman for the New York Yankees 1950., He celebrated his greatest sporting success in the World Series in 1953 as MVP. In 1957 he had to change from the Yankees to the Kansas City Athletics, as had his allegedly dissolute lifestyle negative impact on his teammates, especially Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle. Other stations in Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee followed before 1961 at the Minnesota Twins his playing career ended.
His managerial career in the majors began in 1969 with the Minnesota Twins. Here he won with his team the same as the division title. However, he was fired after the season, because he had an altercation with one of his pitcher. From 1971 to 1973 he worked for the Detroit Tigers, but there was dismissed because he asked his pitcher to throw on the batsmen. The next year he took over the Texas Rangers, which he led at No. 2 from last place in their division. But here he was dismissed in the second year.
In 1975 he returned to the Yankees, where awaited him an unprecedented roller coaster ride as a manager. 1976 and 1977 he led the Yankees in the World Series, which he won against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977. Then he lay down with Reggie Jackson and the owner of the Yankees, George Steinbrenner, and resigned from his post. As early as 1979 he was again manager of the Yankees, but a short time later beat with a marshmallow salesman in the stadium and was discharged. From 1981 to 1982 he coached the Oakland Athletics.
1983, 1985 and 1988 were again the Yankees, his employer, but never more than one season. Since August 10, 1986 Martins back number 1 is no longer awarded by the Yankees and a plaque was placed in Monument Park Yankee Stadium. Martin said in his acceptance speech: "I 'm probably not the greatest Yankee, but the proudest ."
On December 25, 1989 Billy Martin died at the age of 61 in a car accident in Johnson, New York. His final resting place is located on the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.