Kuzul

With 27 World Championships, the New York Yankees have dominated the MLB for nearly 100 years.

By employing some of the best hitters in the history of baseball, New York’s continuing professionalism mixed with the shear ability to consistently win has become the epitome of their championship swagger.

They’ve made their mark through historic achievements such as home run records, perfect games and no-hitters, HOF legends, and by becoming one of the most prominent sports teams in the history of U.S. sports.

The Yankees have posted 20 seasons with at least 100 wins, carrying that regular season success deep into the playoffs and capturing the prized possession of baseball almost three times more than the second most successful team (Cardinals with 10).

It’s hard to breakdown the Yankees’ championship teams of the past.  Decade by decade, players and teams are subject to different times in baseball’s evolution, making it difficult to compare a team from 1923 to a 2009 world series winner.

Every generation of fans has their own reasons in defending the championship seasons of their eras.  Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera, make up the legends of New York championship teams and possess their own achievements that can be called “the best”.

With that said, here are the top 15 teams in New York Yankees franchise history.

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Those of us who are baseball fans generally know statistics for the greatest players of the game.

But sometimes we fail to consider how some of the greatest had altered statistics because they served their country during times of war.

Let’s consider four Hall of Fame Players whose numbers could have been so much greater.

Ted Williams is generally regarded as the greatest hitter ever to play baseball.

Williams finished his career with a lifetime average of .344. He had 521 home runs and 2654 hits.

But what many fans of today fail to realize is that Ted Williams missed almost five full seasons because of military duty in World War II and the Korean War.

Williams was trained as a pilot but saw no combat duty during WWII.  But when he returned to active duty during the Korean War, he flew combat missions. He played only 6 games in 1952 and only 37 games in 1953.

During his first military service Williams went in when he was 24 years old. After the Korean Conflict, he was still only 34 when he got out. So he was missing during the prime of his career.

Proof of this is that in 1954 when he played his first full year after the war, he hit .345 and had 29 homers.

In a 162 game average season, Ted had 188 hits and 37 home runs for his career. Let’s apply those numbers to the years he lost to military service.

If one could give Ted back the five years he served our country, he would have had 940 more hits and 185 more home runs. He would have finished his career with 3594 hits and 706 home runs.

In addition to the statistical bashing Williams took, he also suffered financially by serving his country. Controversy involving his initial draft status in 1942 cost him a major commercial contract with Quaker Oats.

He also lost his salary for three years in WWII after he had made $30,000 in 1942 playing for the Red Sox.  By the time he went to Korea he was earning a reported $100,000 per year.

The player of his era to whom Ted Williams was most frequently compared was Joe Dimaggio.  Dimaggio lost time to service in WWII as well. He served the same three years from 1943-1945 as Ted Williams.

Dimaggio was assigned as a physical education instructor and served in California and on the east coast. He never saw combat.

Dimaggio had a relatively short career of only 13 seasons primarily because of the three seasons he missed during the war.

For his career, Joe D hit .325 and finished his career with 2214 hits and 361 home runs.

Over an average of 162 games Joe averaged 207 hits per year and 34 home runs.

So if you gave him back the three years he was in the Army, Joe would have finished with 2835 hits and 463 dingers.

More realistically, Dimag would probably have hit more home runs and garnered more hits in the three years he was gone, because he was also in his prime. In 1943, the first year he lost, he would have been 28 years old.

Dimaggio also lost financially.  According to Baseball Almanac, Dimaggio made $43,750 in 1942 and 1946 when he returned. So he lost $131,250 during the War.

Bob Feller was one of the greatest pitchers ever to climb up a major league mound.  Feller lost virtually four full seasons during WWII. He came back to pitch in nine games in 1945 but he won 26 games his first full season back in 1946.

Feller enlisted in the Navy and saw combat as a Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama.

When Feller went to military service he was only 23 years old. In the previous three seasons he had won 24, 27 and 25 games respectively.

For his 18 season career Feller won 266 games while losing 162.  He had 2581 strikeouts for his career.

If we could give him back the almost four years he lost he would have at least 63 more wins and 609 more strikeouts. But that is based on his 162 game average.

If you take his averages for the three years immediately before his service he would have won 96 more games and had 963 more strikeouts. 

Using these numbers Bob would have finished his career with 362 wins and 3544 strikeouts.

According to Baseball Almanac, Feller lost $160,000 during WWII.

Hank Greenberg earned his Hall of Fame credentials as a first baseman for the Detroit Tigers.

Greenberg was actually drafted in 1940 and was able to play only 19 games for the Tigers in 1941. He missed the next three full seasons and most of 1945 due to his military service.

Hank served in the Pacific Theater spotting bombing locations for B-29s.

Greenberg’s stats for the Hall of Fame saw him finish with a .313 career batting average and he averaged 187 hits per year for his career. His final numbers included 1628 hits and 331 home runs.

But his military service probably cost him at least 150 home runs and 750 hits.  Hank Greenberg would probably have finished with 480 home runs or more and 2400 hits if he had not served during WWII.

Based on salary figures from Baseball Almanac, Greenberg lost about $220,000 in the four years he served our country.

And Hank served in the military when he was older than the other players mentioned here. When he began the 1946 season he was 35 years old and his best years had been lost.

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Field of Dreams: James Earl Jones (Terrence Mann) to Kevin Costner (Ray Kinsella): “Ray, people will come Ray.”

“They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. 

“Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it, for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.

“People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh…people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”

While we are creeping a little closer to pitchers and catchers we’re still in the midst of what’s turning out to be one very ferocious winter. A lot of downtime with snow piling up everywhere, which may leave the mind to wander—contemplate a strong drink, fantasize about the neighbor’s wife and, in a pinch, strong, lingering memories of epic Yankee-Red Sox battles gone by. 

In this case we’ll do you one better—our own little Field of Dreams—and pull together 25-man rosters of All-Time Yankees and All-Time Red Sox and tee them off in a seven-game series that will have you seeing baseball stars.

So without further ado, we begin with the masked men, a group of receivers that have etched their own little corner in Cooperstown’s Hall of Fame.

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As the new year comes to a close with the Red Sox being a very early favorite for the American League, let’s take a look back at one of the “greatest” trades that never happened.

The Yankees and the Red Sox rivalry is easily the biggest, and most heated in all of sports.

In the 1950s, Ted Williams, the greatest hitter of all time, was the “face” of the Boston Red Sox.

Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper, was the face of New York and the most popular athlete at that time, as well.

Can you imagine if either of these legends were swapped to each others opposing teams?

Well, it almost happened. Rumor has it that in 1947, Tom Yawkey, Red Sox owner, and Lee MacPhail, the Yankee GM, had agreed to trade Williams to New York in exchange for DiMaggio.

Had this trade been agreed upon, Yankee-Redsox history, no, baseball history would be extremely altered as we know it.

So, what was the reason this trade never went through? Well, for one thing, Tom Yawkey and Lee MacPhail were both known to be drunk at the time the trade was proposed. More importantly, Yawkey wanted more for Williams.

A young left-field prospect by the name of Yogi Berra to be exact.

Lets take a look how the Red Sox lineup would look in 1948 with Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra (Defensively, based off of 1948 Red Sox Lineup)

C Birdie Tebbetts (later would be Yogi Berra)

1B Billy Goodman

2B Bobby Doerr

SS Vern Stephens

3B Johnny Pesky

OF Joe DiMaggio

OF Dom DiMaggio

OF  Yogi Berra (for now)

Seems like a very good lineup, doesn’t it?

Now here’s the predicted Yankees lineup with Ted “Splendid Splinter” Williams:

C Gus Niarhos

1B George McQuinn

2B Snuffy Stirnweiss

SS Phil Rizzuto

3B Billy Johnson

OF Ted Williams

OF Johnny Lindell

OF Tommy Henrich

Now, how many players can you recognize off the bat? Most likely two or three.

Could these have been rough times without the playing time of Berra AND DiMaggio? One would imagine. The Yankees still had younger players like Hank Bauer, who would later go on to start in the 50s.

Although it would have been fun to see how many home runs Williams could have hit in New York, the bats of DiMaggio and Berra would have been greatly missed.

The “Curse of the Bambino” quite possibly could have been broken by a previous Yankees legend as a well as a soon to be legend. Kind of ironic, isn’t it?

Who knows how many more championships the Red Sox could have won, and how many the Yankees could have won?

Yankees fan are very happy this trade did not go down. It may have seemed smart at the time, but in the long run, I think New York would have been the loser.

Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra for Ted Williams

Who is the winner?

You decide.

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The New York Yankees front office was faced with some problems following the team’s outstanding 1937 season in which they won the pennant by 13 games and defeated the New York Giants in the World Series.

Joe DiMaggio received $15,000 in 1937 and intimated that $25,000 would not be sufficient in 1938. Of course, the reality of the situation was that Joe had only two choices—play for the Yankees or don’t play.  Joe didn’t have the option of becoming a free agent.

There was much more.

Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing became holdouts.  Ruffing, the right-handed ace of the pitching staff, didn’t sign until May.  Interestingly, he had his best season in 1937, going 20-7 with a 2.98 ERA.

Gehrig signed for $36,000 once he realized that the Yankees were willing to let him miss the beginning of the season and risk ending his endurance streak of consecutive games played. The streak was more important to Gehrig than money, which was not true for the Yankees.

How do the Steinbrenner brothers, Randy Levine, and Brian Cashman feel about losing Derek Jeter?  The names have changed (Ed Barrow, George Weiss, Mike Burke, George Steinbrenner, and Mr. Steinbrenner’s sons), but with the possible exception of Mr. Steinbrenner, the philosophy remains the same.  

Derek Jeter has been compared to the greatest of the Yankees.  Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle all experienced the power of ownership.  

It must be stated that the Yankees’ offer of $15 million a year for three years to Jeter is fair, which makes the Jeter case different from those of the others.  The Yankees are willing to let Jeter walk, just as the Yankees were willing to let Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak end.

Is Jeter willing to walk?

In the middle of January, 1937, during the week that the Yankees were going to mail contracts to players, DiMaggio visited New York to see his friend, boxer Jim Braddock, fight Tommy Farr.  Joe told reporters that he hoped to talk to the Yankees and settle the salary matter quickly.

“While I naturally have an idea what I’m worth, I don’t think it’s up to me to say anything about that now. I’d rather wait until the club made its offer.”

A day later, Yankees general manager Ed Barrow announced that he would not meet with players before contracts had been mailed, but the day after they had been mailed, Barrow invited DiMaggio to a conference that owner Colonel Ruppert would attend.

It was believed that DiMaggio was offered $15,000, which was the salary he had earned the previous season and would be a starting point for negotiations.

Baseball players didn’t have agents in DiMaggio’s era, but they sometimes had help in negotiations. Joe was a good friend not only of Jim Braddock—he was a good friend of Braddock’s manager, Joe Gould.

It was rumored that Gould coached DiMaggio in setting his demands and that $30,000 would be DiMaggio’s rock bottom price. Gould, of course, vehemently denied any involvement is DiMaggio’s financial affairs.

After making him wait for 45 minutes, Ruppert appeared at the conference and offered Joe $25,000, which he immediately refused.

When spring training opened on February 28, DiMaggio was in San Francisco, awaiting developments on his salary. He was still asking for $40,000 but insiders indicated that he would settle for $30,000. Ruppert was adamant that DiMaggio accept $25,000.

On March 12, DiMaggio was quoted as saying, “I suppose it will wind up with the ballplayer signing the contract, as he usually does.” Ruppert responded by calling DiMaggio “…an ungrateful young man who is very unfair to his teammates.”

On April 7, Ruppert cut off negotiations, telling DiMaggio to either take or leave the $25,000 offer. Myril Hoag was announced as the Yankees’ center fielder.

On April 18, the St. Louis Browns offered the Yankees $150,000 for DiMaggio, which the Yankees refused. On April 21, DiMaggio signed for $25,000, less the money he lost for not reporting on time.

Ruppert said, “I hope the young man has learned his lesson.”  What an arrogant statement.

DiMaggio said that he hoped to have such a great season that “there won’t be any chance of an argument over salary next year.”

References:

 Dawson, James P. “Many Holdouts Left Behind as Yanks Start for Florida.” New York Times. 27 February 1938, p. 72.

 Drebinger, John. “Holdout War Brewing for Yanks as DiMaggio Ponders His Worth. New York Times. 7 January 1938, p. 22.

 Drebinger, John. “DiMaggio Wants Big Increase but Withholds Demands Until Yanks Make Offer.” New York Times. 18 January 1938, p.17

 Drebinger, John. “Ruppert’s Conference With DiMaggio On Star’s Contract Ends in Stalemate.” New York Times. 22 January 1938, p.9.

 Effratt, Louis. “Ruppert Assails DiMaggio’s Stand.” New York Times. 14 March 1938, p. 20.

 “DiMaggio Awaits Yankee Contract; Conference Expected Later if Terms to be Sent This Week Fail to Please Him.” New York Times. 19 January 1938, p. 17.

    * “End of Yankee Holdout Suggested by DiMaggio.” New York Times. 12 March 1938, p. 23.
 “Ruppert Unmoved by DiMaggio Stand” New York Times. 8 April 1938, p. 23.

 Browns Bid for DiMaggio but Yankees Refuse $150,000 for Hold Out.” New York Times. 19 April 1938, p. 25.

 * “DiMaggio Agrees to $25,000 Terms; Ruppert Wins Salary Battle; Pay Star When Joe Shows He is Ready to Play.” New York Times. 21 April 1938, p.23.

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Mickey Mantle has become better than Joe DiMaggio despite the fact that Mickey played his last game in 1968 and Joe played his last game in 1951.

How is this possible? The answer is that it is not possible.

During his career, the baseball writers and the fans excoriated Mickey because he wasn’t Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Joe DiMaggio rolled into one.

Mickey got a respite in 1956 when he won the Triple Crown, but in 1957, Mickey’s home run total dropped from 52 to 34 and he drove in a “paltry” 94 runs. The fact that he batted .365 was minimized.

The boo birds returned and continued until 1960, when the New York Yankees acquired the services of Roger Maris. The fleet ball hawk from North Dakota inherited Mickey’s Bronx cheers.

With the passage of time, more sophisticated statistical methods of evaluation have been created. A disclaimer is necessary, since many of the new measurements have been accepted without full acknowledgment of their shortcomings, but one result has been that Mickey’s 1957 season compared favorably with his Triple Crown season.

YEAR  BA  OBA  SLG
1956  .353 .464  .705
1957  .365 .512  .665

Lifetime, Mickey batted .298 with a .421 on-base average and a .557 slugging average.

Joe DiMaggio was selected as the greatest living baseball player in 1969. During his career, he was considered the best player in the game.

Mickey was considered the best during and after his 1956 Triple Crown season, but more “experts” ranked Willie Mays as greater than Mickey.

Joe never won a Triple Crown—after all, Ted Williams was in the league—but Joe won two batting championships compared to Mickey’s one. Joe’s highest average in a season was .381.

Lifetime, DiMaggio batted .325 with a .398 on-base average and a .579 slugging mark.

Mickey would have had much better lifetime numbers if his last few seasons, when his injuries hampered him tremendously, were eliminated. From 1951-1964, Mickey batted .309 with a .429 on-base average. He slugged .582.

Joe DiMaggio suffered from injuries, especially after he returned from defending freedom from 1943-45. Imagine what his statistics would be if he had not missed three full seasons.

So far, there is little to choose from, but when one takes each player’s peak seasons, the results might surprise some, especially since Mickey hit 535 home runs to Joe’s 361.

Mickey Mantle from 1954-1958

BA   OBA SLG HR/Yr RBI/Yr
.325 .451 .618 38 104

Mickey Mantle from 1960-1964

BA OBA SLG HR/Yr RBI/Yr
.304 .437 .612 35 91

Joe DiMaggio from 1936-1941

BA OBA SLG HR/Yr RBI/Yr
.345 .408 .626 33 136

It is close offensively, but DiMaggio gets a huge edge in batting average, a slight edge in slugging average, and a tremendous edge in batting in runs. Mickey comes out on top in home runs.

DiMaggio was better defensively and was a better baserunner, but Mickey was much faster, could bunt, walked, and struck out much more, and was a great base stealer.

It is difficult to compare two all-time greats, each of whom has become an American and even a worldwide legend, but the edge, although slight, must go to Joe.

References

Baseball-Reference

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Shaking his head and flashing a deprecatory grin, Joe DiMaggio started talking about it again.

“There has to be an element of luck to it,” he modestly told a group of baseball writers, “but the one thing that sticks in my mind is that whenever I kept the streak alive with a scratch hit, I always came through in that same game with an honest hit that could not be questioned. That’s what made it so satisfying.”

DiMaggio recalled one game in which he was facing the St. Louis Browns’ Eldon Auker, who was a tough submarine ball pitcher. Auker had held Joe hitless going to the ninth inning. The Yankee Clipper was scheduled to bat fourth.

Auker retired the first hitter, bringing up Red Rolfe, who worked out a walk. Tommy Henrich, who followed Rolfe in the batting order, called time and went back to the dugout to talk to manager Joe McCarthy.

“Joe, if I hit into a double play, DiMadge won’t even get to bat. Is it all right with you if I bunt?”

Despite the revisionist history with respect to DiMaggio over the last few decades, the truth is that his teammates respected, admired and were fond of the greatest of all New York Yankees center fielders.

McCarthy didn’t hesitate for a second. “Good idea. Drop down a bunt.”

Players knew how to play the game. Henrich was a power hitter who was expected to drive in runs, but in those days, all players were taught how to bunt when they were in the minors.

Henrich deftly sacrificed Rolfe to second, bringing up DiMaggio.

Joe stepped into the batter’s box, got into his wide stance and waited for Auker’s first delivery.

The 6’2″ right-hander checked Rolfe at second and fired a fastball over the inside corner of the plate. DiMaggio reacted immediately, slashing a drive into left field for a double. The streak continued.

Probably the closest call occurred against the Boston Red Sox. Joe had hit in 44 consecutive games, which tied the great Wee Willie Keeler for the longest consecutive game hitting streak in baseball history.

Facing Dick Newsome, who always gave Joe problems, Joe hit a drive to the outfield that seemed destined to break Keeler’s record, but Stan Spence made a circus catch as Joe’s heart sank.

In his second at-bat, Joe hit a drive into the deepest part of center field, but another DiMaggio, who might have been better defensively than even Joe, made a sensational catch to rob his brother of extra bases.

Returning to the dugout, Joe said to no one in particular, “It speaks well for the integrity of the game, but it wasn’t diplomatic, especially when Dom is coming over to my house for dinner tonight.”

Next time up, Joe made sure that only a fan could catch the ball as he blasted a home run to set a new consecutive game hitting streak.

Finally, there was the time that Bob Muncrief of the Browns could have ended the streak by walking DiMaggio in his last at-bat, but Muncrief would have no part of it.

“That wouldn’t have been fair to him or me. Hell, he’s the greatest player I ever saw.”

DiMaggio singled to keep the streak alive.

References

By ARTHUR DALEY. (1969, August 6). Sports of The Times: An Epic Accomplishment. New York Times (1923-Current file), 21. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2007). (Document ID: 89361979).

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I am the George Steinbrenner Plaque.

I am 760 pounds of solid bronze living in my new digs in Monument Park.  I’m seven feet wide, wider than CC Sabathia is tall. And I’m five feet tall, taller than CC Sabathia is wide.

I dwarf all these other plaques around me of famous Yankees.  Because I am the Boss.  People walk by and look my way and say, “God, look at the size of that plaque.”  It’s 35 square feet of STEINBRENNER! 

When I say I am bronze, I mean it.  I’m the color all these young muscle builders at the beach yearn to be. 

Hey you, Joe DiMaggio plaque!  How do you like ME now that I’m next door to you?  Are you able to get a Mr. Coffee out here, Mr. Joe DiMaggio plaque?  Does the ghost of Marilyn Monroe float by and say, “That’s my Joe’s plaque?”

Hey you, Babe Ruth plaque!  Mr. Bambino, I’m in your house now.  Aren’t you going to look my way?  What’s the matter, Babe? You think I don’t belong here with all the Yankee greats because I didn’t play ball?  I BUILT this new stadium; I mean GEORGE STEINBRENNER built this stadium.  I’m his plaque.  I belong. 

Hey kid, I see you looking at the Mickey Mantle plaque.  Why don’t you come over here and look at me?  Am I too big for you?  Yeah, get your Dad, have him come over here.  Read ME!  

Why does your Dad say my coat looks crumpled?  That’s the way they do a plaque, kid.  If my coat were smooth, it wouldn’t be interesting. 

Ask your Dad who was responsible for building this new stadium.  See that little girl over there?  She’s cute, huh?  Maybe she’ll come look at me…hang around, kid. 

The sun is just starting to shine in my direction.  Patina, kid!!!  Look at the richness of my bronze.  Check out the depth of me. That, kid, is what you call your bas-relief.  No, wait a minute, it’s actually your high relief.  Boss gets the HIGH relief.    Not all cast bronze plaques get this much relief.  Only the important ones.

I got so much relief I’m almost a statue. Pigeons have tried to land on my shoulder. Pigeons!   And check out my border; that’s one inch thick, kid.  Go ahead, you can touch it. You can’t hurt me, because I’m made of BRONZE.  Big Bronze in the Bronx. He’s the Bronx Bomber. I’m the Bronze Bomber. Get it, kid?

Hey, Mickey’s Plaque, did you see the kid checking me out?  He’s looking at you and you weigh 120 pounds!  I weigh 760 pounds.  Do you hear that, Mickey’s plaque?  You weigh less than Pee Wee Reese.  You weigh less than Wee Willie Keeler.  You guys are all shrimp plaques.  You were good ball players, but your plaques are shrimps.

Hey kid. Be sure to tell your friends to take a tour. Tell them, if they want to see the most gigantous, beautiful plaque in the world, come out here.  Thanks, kid.

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With his retirement now as a player and manager complete, Lou Pinella will wait for a call from Cooperstown as one of this generation’s most successful managers having won 1,835 games with five major league clubs.

A World Series-winning manager with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990, Pinella won six divisional championships in 23 seasons including a record 116 games versus just 46 losses with a Seattle team that included future Hall of Famers Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson in 2001.

The former 1969 Rookie of the Year and the first Kansas City Royal to see a major league pitch, Pinella managed one All-Star game (1991) while being named Manager of the Year three times (1995, 2001, and 2008).

For the history of Lou Pinella and his impact on the game cannot be truly told without telling the story of former New York Yankee manager and mentor, Billy Martin.

For like Martin, Pinella was tough, excitable, and obsessed with winning.

Not only did Pinella play for Martin in the glory years of the mid-1970’s when the New York Yankees won three consecutive American League Championships,  like Martin he fought with the late George Steinbrenner who gave Sweet Lou his managerial debut in 1986 at the early age of just 42.

Pinella would succeed Martin as Yankee skipper with a 90-72 record and a second place finish in the American League East. Martin lead the Yankees the prior season with a 91-54 mark.

Like Martin, Pinella would win 90 games in his rookie season as a manager (Martin won 97 with the Minnesota Twins in 1969). Like Martin, Pinella would only win 100 games once (2001) while Martin had his 100-game season in 1977 when both contributed as manager and player to the first Yankee World Series Championship since defeating the San Francisco Giants in seven games in 1962!

Like Martin, Lou Pinella was for the most part a utility player who rarely gained regular status in the lineup.

Both made the American League All-Star Team once, with Martin as a member of the Yankees in 1956 and Pinella as a member of Royals in 1972. Martin played 11 major league seasons while Pinella played 18 with the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Royals and Yankees.

Pinella had the distinction of succeeding Martin in 1986 and again in 1988 when Martin went 40-28 while Pinella finished the season 45-48 for an overall record of 85-76.

It would be Billy Martin’s fifth and final tenure of his beloved New York Yankees.

Martin managed three All-Star Games in 1977, 1978, and 1982, and was named AP American League Manager of the Year three times in 1976, 1982, and 1983. Some observers believe his years in Oakland developing the likes of “Billy Ball” and future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson were his greatest achievements as a major league manager.

For no baseball historian can tell the Lou Pinella story as a manager or player without the strong overtones of Billy Martin and his relationship as a manager and fellow Yankee.

Martin would finish his time as Yankee manager with a record of 556-385 in eight seasons for a .591 winning percentage. Pinella would would finish 224-193 over three years in Yankee pinstripes for a .537 winning percentage.

Lifetime, Pinella would finish with a .517 winning percentage after 23 seasons and 3,548 games managed. Martin would finish 1,253-1,013 for an impressive .553 winning percentage in 16 major league seasons with the Twins, Tigers, Rangers, A’s, and Yankees.

Martin would only miss the playoffs with Texas while Pinella would only miss the post season with Tampa Bay.

Given the obvious similarities in managerial style and approach to the game to say nothing of their personal relationship as former Yankee manager and player, it would be fitting that when Cooperstown calls Lou Pinella, that the name of Alfred Manuel Martin finally be given his due with the Hall of Fame status he most certainly has earned.

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