Reflecting on Billy Martin

George Steinbrenner and former players reflect on the death of Billy Martin

[@LarryRomanoNYC]

Billy Martin was one of the greatest baseball managers ever!

[@michaelward9880]

" I may not have been the greatest Yankee, but I was the proudest." - Billy Martin

[@lordburlap4514]

Billy Martin should be in The Hall of Fame as a manager.

[@Crackers2549]

Agree 100% No doubt... Best manager I've ever seen in MLB

[@kevinmiller1985]

I recognize Rickey Henderson and Whitey Ford, but who were the other two guys? Plus Steinbrenner.

[@orbonds3603]

No doubt he should be in...leo durocher is in and was suspended a year for gambling...billy for hall

[@mikeforte7585]

The HOF is all about politics...Billy was a winner and on the field he demanded the best out of everyone including umpires..I always felt if the Yankees kept him as a player they would have beaten the Braves in 57 and the Pirates in 60....his demon was alcohol and at times it got the best of him...he deserves to be in the HOF....hopefully in time he will make it...

[@JoeCracco]

It’s a disgrace that the best manager of my lifetime isn’t in the HOF. Him and his 3B Graig Nettles, 2 guys that belong in HOF

[@theenforcer1977]

RIP Billy he needs to be in the HOF

[@vestibulate]

Kevin Konesky He's dead. He has been released from the constraint of needs.

[@landergolf1]

Billy should be in the hall of fame. He is in the top five managers in baseball. RIP Billy.

[@aitraining]

Rickey Henderson LOVED Billy Martin!

[@kyokogodai-ir6hy]

Billy Martin will always be my favorite manager. I know his troubles, but I know his successes as well. RIP Billy.

[@faffaflunkie]

Billy really was one of the 5 best managers of all time. He's right up there with Alston, Stengel, Anderson and (gag) Lasorda.

[@donwert5039]

Fuck lasorda

[@karencarter8292]

I love your 'gag'. 'Made me laugh. I understand.

[@c.d.macaulay66]

“One’s a born liar (Reggie Jackson). The other’s convicted (George Steinbrenner).” Classic. Hilarious. Loved the guy. I like firebrands who wear their heart on their sleeve. And that was Billy. Great Yankee!

[@pbrick6301]

Billy Martin was the best manager in baseball.

[@JoeCracco]

Wow, I didn’t think I could tear up again but his loss really effected me. #1 forever R.I.P. Billy

[@Crackers2549]

Been a baseball fan for nearly 60,years and without question I feel Billy Martin was the best manager, especially short term, I have ever seen,,, I say short term because his intensity I believe got to some players but his crafty approach and his manufacture of runs was second to none!.. Amazing baseball mind!

[@wongleebruce]

Billy, Rickey, and that 1981 Oakland A's team gave each of us a lot of great memories. I got to work with Rickey but never got to meet Billy. But everything I heard about him he lived life to it's 1000%

[@aa697]

Billy was the best manager of my lifetime. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.

[@blaine76]

Great man! I have read his book and really think he was misrepresented in several ways by the press. God Bless Mr. Martin and thanks so much for this posting.

[@karencarter8292]

The press does a lot of 'misrepresenting'.

[@McDago100]

In 1980, he put the Oakland Athletics back on the map. He turned around a dismal team. he also did a lot of things people outside of Northern California did not know about. He sponsored a family of Vietnamese boat people. He was not perfect, but his good side is something the media did not talk about much.

[@jkoff76]

I remember when Billy died, a lot of disgusting things were said: but I think the greatest judge of what a man is, is how he is remembered: A few years ago, ESPN Sports Century showed a two part documentary about Martin, and when it gets too Billy's death, Rickey Henderson breaks out crying: just like he did then, 20 years earlier..... "I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I am the proudest." --Billy Martin

[@joestephan1111]

In the 1950s, when I was a kid growing up in Kansas City, I regularly saw Billy Martin play for both the then Kansas City A's as well as the New York Yankees. He played 1000 percent on every single ball. Don't let anyone ever tell you to the contrary. They obviously weren't there.

[@prausch65]

One of the finest managers of all time.

[@milehighed52801]

Billy Martin was a true Yankee, through and through. He always tried to bestow on his players work ethic, trying your best, winning, and pride of being a Yankee. He took a lot of things personally at times with Reggie and George, but his heart was always in the right place. He needs to go into the HOF, certainly as a coach if not a player. RIP, Billy.

[@davidrice3337]

I love Billy Martin - always will

[@fomomoto3]

whoa wait a minute... i just looked it up and shockingly it is true Billy Martin was again overlooked for the Hall of Fame. Martin received less than 3 votes and somehow Whitey Herzog was elected with 14 votes (2 more than the 12 required). Herzog managed the Cardinals to 1 count em 1 world series title. COME ON how can Billy be denied. THIS IS JUST NOT RIGHT> Billy may have had his problems, but he was one of the most exciting and successful managers of all time. I call FOUL. Right this wrong.

[@orbonds3603]

Amen

[@adamwesley2985]

Horseshit is what it is pard...billy for the hall #1

[@dzanier]

He was an enigmatic man. He was very much a product of his upbringing. He was tough and unafraid. The problem was he created enemies lots of times when there were none. He was paranoid & loathed all authority figures. The same qualities that made him at times a BRILLIANT manager made him often much less charming off the field. What Whitey Ford said about him & loyalty to those to whom he was close was true. He was very generous. He was like most people, which is to say he wasn't perfect.

[@dzanier]

Starting with his time in Minnesota in 1969 & concluding in 81, Billy won 5 division titles with 4 different teams, 2 pennants and 1 WS. During that time he was a good, at times great, manager. He had one of the best qualities a manager could ever have: he wasn't afraid to make a mistake. Considering how much he resented even the slightest authority, & I don't mean Steinbrenner since George was overbearing & resented by all, it's AMAZING he managed as long as he did. No way he'd be hired today.

[@drlongus8107]

NY loved Billy

[@ronniebishop2496]

These athletes seem more educated than they are today.

[@joestephan1111]

When I was a young boy in the 1950s we went to a lot of A's games when they were still in Kansas City and basically a Yankees farm team. Billy played for them then. Anybody who says bad things about him obviously never saw him play. He played 1000 percent on every ball. RIP Billy. You were one of the greats.

[@ront9459]

I wish they had flashed all those names. Some have put up a name or two and I recognize Carew and Steinbrenner. If someone would put all the names in sequence, that would help. Were there any umpires in that video? It was nice to see certain people bring out that side of Martin. It would be foolish to forget his controversial side that caused him to be fired so many times. How many times did Steinbrenner fire and then rehire him?

[@harajukugirlloveandG]

@fomomoto3 The texas rangers fired herzog to hire martin and took the same team that herzog had lost over 100 games with to a second place finish following year..Put billy in the HALL OF FAME>>>>

[@adamwesley2985]

A woman that's a billy fan? My dream come true...put him in the damn hall already

[@bradlott3284]

You kin to Mickey?

[@timanny1]

Yes, but remember that Billy actually wasn't driving that night. His friend was driving him home.

[@vestibulate]

Martin could take a young team unsure of itself and make them exceed expectations. But with success came failure, and he always ran into trouble with a squad of veteran players. He was a smart manager who was a prisoner of his own limitations.

[@sixtythreekraft2608]

Who is that at 0:03 and 2:02?

[@andyrodriguez1751]

Willie Randolph and Whitey Ford

[@jasonburdette7879]

😢

[@herberthinton1499]

Say what you will about Billy Martin, but he knew the game and was one the best managers ever to lead a team. If you ever had to go to war, he's the guy you would want next to you.

[@loyaldude10]

@iamhungey12345 ---very true. And he would burn out his own welcome (although ith George, it usually was George's impatience and then Billy's outbursts.

[@airmikeliu]

George look so young!

[@davenorth8922]

"he was a passenger"? Check with the investigators. He was driving. Look it up!

[@kevinburke6055]

I did the autopsy proves he wasn't driving.

[@davenorth8922]

@@kevinburke6055 - check again. his passenger had windshield glass in his forehead - passenger. Billy was driving.

[@yankeeland1]

✝️

[@jimsweeney6781]

Rod Carew

[@tomada36]

Who's that talking from 0:49 - 1:28?

[@MrDeterioration]

Daniel Toma rod Carew.

[@NicanTlacaWarrior1]

You've never heard of Rod Carew? He was the Tony Gwynn of his time, man!

[@kyokogodai-ir6hy]

Tony Gwynn was the Rod Carew of his time.

[@dzanier]

The fact that he never stayed in one place very long, even though he won divisions in 4 of the 5 cities where he managed, may have something to do with it. The voting committee is far more savvy now than they where 30-40 years ago. They take into consideration things like off the field trouble, alienating players, spreading ill will & venom in the clubhouse (similar to what Bobby V. is doing now in Boston). If you're going to have that many knocks against you 2 AL pennants & 1 WS isn't enough.

[@adamwesley2985]

Leo durocher Tommy lasorda Bobby cox. ..billy was miles ahead of these hall of famers...billy made mistakes...to error is human...freaking durocher was suspended a year for gambling

[@Cincinnatus1869]

Blah blah blah , Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame has lost its credibility . It's a country club . If you need a bunch of sportswriters to tell you who was great , you're not paying attention. I watch the game just like they do. I know who deserves recognition . Billy Martin was a manager who won , he deserves to be remembered as a winner and that's good enough. Piss on the Hall of Fame

[@anthonycauffman1824]

I disagree he was jealous of Reggie Jackson and hated for a black man be a star FBM

[@nightowl5475]

Well, I was told he loved Hank Aaron and he thought Bob Gibson was the best pitcher in the game. He also loved Rod Carew on the Twins. So, I don’t think it was the color of Reggie he didn’t like. He didn’t like the showboating. He taught the young guys on the team to play together as a team. Nobody should be in the spotlight. It should be a team event. That’s why guys like Ricky Henderson and Willie Randolph loved playing for Billy. Reggie wanted to be the straw that stirred the drink. Billy was against bringing Reggie on the team because he knew his personality from the Oakland A’s. He thought Reggie would bring dissension to the team, and HE DID. The first year Reggie got to New York, he was super critical of the team captain Thurman Munson and none of the guys liked Reggie for saying those comments in the press about their team captain, who’s been a Yankee for years. A divided team is a divided house, and it affects the performance on the field. So, Billy may of been an alcoholic and not the best role model but he wasn’t a racist. If you think that of him because you read that in Reggie Jackson’s book, don’t believe it. I love Reggie too. He was a great ball player and I got to see him play. The man was incredible. He had his reasons for hating Billy, and they were good reasons! I thought what Billy did to embarrass Reggie on national TV was dead wrong and Billy was crazy for acting like that. He came close to being fired for that incident. But that was not based on hating his race, I think that had to do with being a little jealous of Reggie and not having his way with Steinbrenner. George really wanted Reggie on the team because he wanted a superstar. Reggie was definitely going to bring his star with him. That’s for sure. Reggie just got hung up with his ego and those newspaper guys took advantage of Reggie pushing him to say all that trash talk. They didn’t care that was going to cause a shitstorm to his team members. Those press guys just wanted to sell newspapers. I’m sure, Reggie realized, he was used by those guys and he realized he messed up saying all that stuff. I’m sure, he didn’t mean to say all that. Once he realized the press didn’t really care about him but just wanted to print dissension between the players, he stopped playing their game and wised up. Reggie got along better during his 2nd year with his teammates when he stopped talking to the press and playing into their game. He never did that again because he released the New York press just used him. I wish Steinbrenner would of kept Reggie in 82. He was my favorite Yankee. Once Reggie went to California, I stopped watching the Yankees. He was a showboat but I loved Reggie!

[@johnr8309]

Billy Martin was a mixed bag. A great baseball mind. A loyalty to friends that was commendable. On the other hand, an egomania and temper like the guy that sits in the White House today. Billy Martin would have supported Trump because they were cut from the same cloth.

[@jimsmith1978]

THERE BOTH WINNERS!!!

[@adamwesley2985]

What a dub comment...show some class..ass