If Your Birthday is May 16th...

...you share it with the late Billy Martin. How do you remember him?  Combative, clutch, feisty, arrogant, aggressive, self-destructive, savvy, gritty -- the 1950s Yankees second baseman was a steady performer who had the knack of turning it up several notches when it came to the World Series (he played in five of them).  

Mentored by Casey Stengel, the Northern California native earned the reputation of a master strategist.  After winning division titles managing the Twins and Tigers (and leading the Rangers to their first-ever second place finish), his second career fell into a pattern -- bringing the best out in his players before wearing out his welcome with management.  

That was even more apparent during his five times managing the Yankees.  Brought back to the Bronx by the similarly tempered George Steinbrenner,  Martin ended the Yankees 12 year post-season drought.  After winning the 1976 AL pennant, his 1977 club -- featuring the manic, public rivalry of Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson -- won it all.  But Martin's demons got the best of him the following summer, when, with the club 10 games back of arch-rival Boston, he was replaced by Bob Lemon.  That became Martin's pattern, firing up the Yankees before things spiraled out of control.  His second term was in 1979; next, a three-season run with the Oakland A's (with a playoff spot in 1981).  But Martin returned to New York three more times -- grabbing tabloid back pages, but never winning another title.

The wild ride finally ended on Christmas Day 1989 -- when Billy drowned after his car landed in a drainage ditch not far from his upstate New York farm.

Below, a tee-shirt I bought at the Stadium after he returned to manage the Yankees for the third time -- capturing Martin's confident but cartoonish image.

Billy Martin's number-one has been retired by the Yankees -- ironically it's displayed next to Reggie Jackson, with whom he often clashed during their time together.





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