[legendsport]

I'm going to try something I've always wanted to do - model the managerial career of the fiery Billy Martin. What I'm going to do is set up a league in 1969, Billy's first season as a big league manager, and setup all the managers and coaches of MLB at the time, all in their specific roles (including Billy as manager of the Twins). Then I will play out the seasons and post stats and stories here, with a slant on the maangerial staffs being front-and-center and the more "Billy-centric" storylines being the center storylines.

I'm still deciding how to deal with when Billy moves to different teams - whether to follow history, or to make it somewhat dependent on how the universe evolves, what jobs open up, and how "his" teams do).

It'll take a little bit to setup (mainly getting the managers and coaches set up).

The plan is to use recalc, have expansion occur historically and run in commissioner mode so that I have the flexibility to do what I need to do, but hoping to interfere as little as possible. I won't actually run any teams and will let the universe evolve on its own, with trades, free agency (when we get there), etc being run by the AI. Rookies will debut with their real-life teams for simplicity's sake.

Stay tuned for more...

[legendsport]

Question Being Asked in AL Dugouts....

Why Did Twins Pass Up Martin As Choice for Club's Acting Manager?
By Milton Richman (UPI)
NEW YORK - Why was Billy Martin passed up?
That's a good question. So good, in fact, that it's being asked in a lot of dugouts up and down the American League.
Ballplayers are notorious busybodies. They like to sit around, chew the fat and gossip like a bunch of women getting their hair done at the beauty parlor.
Usually, they figure things out right. They did again in this particular situation.
They guessed correctly there would be a minor crisis at the top when Minnesota manager Sam Mele was set down for five days and fined $500 on Monday by AL President Joe Cronin for his run-in with umpire Bill Valentine.
They knew Mele would have to designate an acting manager and they figured it would not be Martin, who serves as third base coach with the Twins and normally would be next in the order of succession.
Maybe some fans were surprised, but few ballplayers actually were when it was announced that Hal Naragon, another coach, would fill in for Mele during his five-day suspension.
The obvious question is why Naragon, and why not Martin?
Since the best way to get any question answered is to ask it of someone who knows, I did, and here's the answer straight from the mouth of a knowledgeable spokesman in Minnesota's front office:
"Calvin (that's Minnesota president Calvin Griffith) and Sam sat down on Monday and decided on Naragon for two reasons.
"First, he was the only one of our coaches who had any managerial experience. And second, Billy (Martin) has done such a good job as third base coach for us that we didn't want to take him off the coaching line."
Pardon me if I have a little trouble swallowing that.
I have enormous respect for the man who furnished that information, and for all I know it may even 100 percent true, but a couple of things just don't add up.
Naragon's previous managerial experience, if you can call it that, amounts to two games. He handled the Twins during the last two games of the 1964 season while Griffith and Mele sat in the stands discussing plans for '65.
If you call that experience, then you can also call me an airline pilot because I once sat in a cockpit and was permitted to touch the controls.
It's also a bit difficult to buy that business about not wishing to disturb Martin on the coaching line. There's no rule against his managing and coaching at the same time, is there? Leo Durocher did it. So did Walter Alston, along with a number of others.
The plain unvarnished truth appears to be that Mele preferred Naragon over Martin for his own private reasons.


SAM MELE, TWINS MGR.

[legendsport]

Billy Martin in Scrap

Washington, D.C. (UPI) - Two members of the Minnesota Twins exchanged blows in the lobby of a hotel after the team arrived in Washington early Tuesday.
Howard Fox, the Twins' traveling secretary, suffered a bloody nose and a cut on the face in the fight with third base coach Billy Martin. Martin was not injured.
"Martin and Fox had words during the course of the flight here and again in the lobby as the team was checking in," said Thomas A. Mee, director of public relations.
Asked the cause of the fight, Mee said: "Nothing... it was just one of those things."
The fight climaxed a trip from Minnesota in which the Twins shared an airplane with the New York Yankees because of the airline strike. The Yankees were en route home from the west coast.
A source reported an argument developed on the plane among two Yankee players, the plane's chief steward and Yankee Manager Ralph Houk.
Yankee players Roger Maris and Clete Boyer reportedly were involved in the argument with the steward. Houk reportedly told Maris and Boyer that "anybody who wants to get into a fight has to take me on," and the incident ended.
Also on the flight, Fox and Martin exchanged words and when the team arrived at the Statler-Hilton hotel early in the morning, the two Twins had further words and then exchanged blows.
Four other Twins - Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Jim Perry and Harmon Killebrew - broke up the fight after several punches were thrown.
Fox appeared at D.C. Stadium where the Twins met the Senators in a twi-night doubleheader Tuesday. Martin was at his coaching spot.
Manager Sam Mele infomed club owner Calvin Griffith of the fight.
Martin, who at 38 is about six years younger than Fox, was a central figure in a night club brawl when he played for the Yankees in which a customer was injured at the Copacabana in New York.
A spokesman for the Twins said the Fox-Martin fight was the result of "a long, hot night." The airplane was four hours late arriving in Minnesota. The flight required special permission from the American League because of disaster insurance prohibiting two ball clubs from sharing the same plane.


TWINS COACH BILLY MARTIN

[legendsport]

July 28, 1966:Tigers Deny Report Martin Will Be Manager Next Year

Chicago (AP) - Billy Martin will be named new manager of the Detroit Tigers before the beginning of the 1967 season, Chicago's American said yesterday.
Martin, currently a coach for the Minnesota Twins, became the no. 1 choice of Tigers President John Fetzer after Al Lopez declined to succeed the ailing current Tiger pilot, Charlie Dressen, it was reported by the American's baseball writer, Brent Musberger.
The Tigers' general manager, Jim Campbell, commented on the story: "There's not a bit of truth in it."
A newsman who reached Campbell at a Chicago hotel asked if a new manager has been chosen.
"Absolutely not," he replied.
Dressen on May 16 suffered his second heart attack in as many years and coach Frank Skaff presently directs the Tigers. Dressen's original replacement, coach Bob Swift, also became ill July 14.
Musberger wrote:
"The selection of Martin was revealed to this writer by a member of the Tiger family, who indicated several players were aware of Martin's selection for next season and were quite happy with Fetzer's choice. Martin was a member of the Tigers in 1958 before he was traded to Cleveland."
Musberger said Lopez, retired as manager of the Chicago White Sox and current Sox vice president, told the Tigers his retirement from managing was final.
"Whether Martin will take over the Tigers before the end of this season is not known," Musburger wrote. "His one-year contract with the Twins expires this October. It is believed he will also have a one-year pact with the Tigers."


CHUCK DRESSEN, TIGERS MGR.

[legendsport]

Kaat Blasts Twins for Releasing Coaches

MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL (AP) - The reverberations over the Minnesota Twins' letting coaches John Sain and Hal Naragon depart for Detroit may still be rattling around the clubhouse when the Twins go to spring training in February.
Jim Kaat, the Twins' 25-game winner this season, dropped a bombshell in the explosive situation Wednesday night by making public what he called an "open letter to the fans of the Upper Midwest."
In it, he said letting Sain get away was "like the Green Bay Packers allowing Vince Lombardi to leave them" and hinted that he might have preferred to see Manager Sam Mele go.
Kaat concluded his dissertation with this remark:
"If I were ever in a position of general manager, I'd give John Sain a 'name - your - own - figure' contract to handle my pitchers. (And, oh yes, I'd hire a manager who could take advantage of his talents)." The parentheses were Kaat's.
Kaat's blast is certain to heap coal on the fire for a team already split by
dissension as a result of the Sain-Billy Martin feud of the past two seasons which culminated Tuesday in Sain and Naragon signing contracts with the Tigers.
Contacted in Los Angeles where is he is attending the World Series, Owner Calvin Griffith said Kaat's comments were regrettable, but "there isn't anything more we can do about it. Sain and Naragon are now working for Detroit."
Mele shot back, "Frankly, I don't feel Kaat knows everything about this situation."
Kaat said Sain was "the finest pitching coach money can buy, and now, suddenly, he's gone." He said he's "afraid this will to be known as a 'great mistake.' From a player's standpoint, I am qualified to say that this is the worst thing that could happen to our club at this time."
Already brewing was speculation that Mele may have put himself on the spot to win a pennant in '67 or face a quick dismissal by Griffith.
Griffith hints yes, but Mele says he doesn't look at it that way.


JIM KAAT, MINNESOTA PITCHER

[legendsport]

Mutiny on the Twins
Special from the New York Times

ORLANDO - Billy Martin, the firebrand coach of the Minnesota Twins, was at one end of the dugout, midway through the pennant-winning season of 1965. He was talking quietly to two infielders, explaining the mechanics of the suicide squeeze.
It wasn't often that he spoke quietly because the brash Billy the Kid has a sharp tongue and its sting has been felt by all Twin players, including the pitchers. And Johnny Sain, the pitching coach, had been building up a brooding resentment at any harsh words that were directed at his precious pitchers.

"When you're the runner on third," Billy was explaining, "you don't make a break for home until the pitcher gets rid of the ball. Otherwise, he knocks down the batter or pitches inside and you're out by 10 feet."
"It isn't that simple, Martin," snapped Sain from the other end of the bench.
Billy the Kid reacted as if he'd just been given a hot foot. In his fiery tempered fashion he walked over to Sain.
"It is easy," said the ex-Yankee. "And that's why we always won and you always lost. Any time you have something to say to me, Sain, say it in private and not in front of the players."

Manager Sam Mele never said a word. Sain got mad at Mele for not taking his side of the argument and moved his gear out of his locker in the room where the brain trust was located to one in the room with the players. A feud had been born.
By last season Mele was communicating with Sain only through Hal Naragon, another coach. After awhile Sam began to feel that Naragon had deserted him for Sain. So the manager demanded a showdown with Cal Griffith, owner of the team. Sain and Naragon would have to go. They went.

The news greatly distressed Jim Kaat, the 25-game winner, who felt that he alone had reached such imminence that he could serve as spokesman for the Twin pitching staff. En route home by train that day he wrote an open letter to the Minnesota fans. What's more, he distributed his protest to the newspapers in the Twin Cities. It was the last paragraph, dashed off as an afterthought, which caused most of the commotion.

The dismissal of Sain was characterized as the Great Mistake. And he described it as being comparable to the Green Bay Packers giving the gate to Vince Lombardi. But in his last paragraph he said in effect that if he were the general manager, he'd give Sain a blank contract and then hire the field manager. Naturally this was interpreted as a slap at Mele.

Not at all, hastily explained an embarrassed Kaat. He was speaking of a hypothetical situation where there was no manager. A few weeks later Griff brought in Kaat for a press conference to demonstrate that the mutiny had never even been started and therefore not a seed of dissension remained. But in the course of the discussion, Kaat dropped the offhand remark that he wouldn't mind a take-charge guy as manager if he really took charge. This also had to be construed as another slap at Mele. Sam wasn't present, but he did talk to Twin writers over the phone.

"I'll wait until I talk to Kaat," he said, in his easygoing way. "Plenty went on that Kaat didn't know."

The skipper and the pitching ace eventually kissed and made up. At least they made up. Harmony, it would seem, has returned to the Twins. Most of the disgruntled players were traded away, but not everyone here is convinced that Minnesota strengthened itself by the deals. That's especially true of the one with the California Angels.

Minnesota gave away two of its power hitters, Don Mincher and Jimmie Hall, for Dean Chance, who was a 20-game winner when he was only 23 years old. But success went to his head and he hardly has capitalized on his enormous talent since. Was Chance worth the chance?

"Pitching is the name of the game," said Mele, a master of the cliche, as he spoke yesterday with guarded words. "If I were to say we gave too much for him, I'd be implying that we made a bad deal. I don't think we did."

Sam has replaced Sain as pitching coach with Early Wynn, a tough guy, who never spared himself or his opponents on his way to enter the magic circle of 300-game winners. Wynn believes that pitchers can only gain condition by running their legs off, while Sain never did. So the Twin pitchers hit the road - or at least the outfield grass - with agonizing regularity. They grumble, but they run.
There are no signs of overconfidence as was the case a year ago after the capture of the pennant. Nor are there any signs of mutiny. But there is an uneasy feeling that the changes made have not produced the desired results. Maybe it's the wrong reaction, but it's there nonetheless.


EARLY WYNN, TWINS COACH

[legendsport]

Sam Mele Fired As Twins' Pilot

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL (AP) - Sam Mele was fired as manager of the Minnesota Twins late today.

A terse announcement by the Twins said President Calvin Griffith had relieved Mele of his duties as manager.

There was no announcement regarding a successor.

Mele, 45, had managed the Twins six years, with only Walter Alston of the Los Angeles Dodgers, showing longer tenure in his present job among major league managers.

The manager of the Twins' Triple-A farm in Denver, Cal Ermer, was named by Griffith to replace Mele. In naming Ermer, Griffith bypassed Billy Martin, peppery Twins coach who was regarded by many as Mele's eventual successor since he was hired as a coach in 1965.


CAL ERMER, TWINS MGR.

[CONN CHRIS]

Don't forget to give everyone the finger when you pose for your '72 Topps card!

[legendsport]

Singular Happiness Entwines Twins

MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL (UPI) - Calvin Griffith peered contentedly at the American League standings, noted the 1 1/2 game lead and seven-game winning streak of his Minnesota Twins and purred, "It's a real happy ship now; I think things are going our way."

It was the Twins' President's way of saying he senses a pennant.
The standings put him in such a generous mood yesterday that he extended Manager Cal Ermer's contract through the 1968 season for a "substantial increase in salary."

"They're all pulling together now," Griffith said. "Even Mudcat Grant is in a good frame of mine. I would say Grant has put away his thoughts of wanting to be traded."

Grant was discontented a few weeks ago because of inactivity and a fine slapped on him and several other Twins by Ermer for breaking curfew.
Ermer presumably had his contract raised to about $35,000. It was generally agreed when he took over the Twins' managerial post from Sam Mele on June 9 that Ermer got the prorated equivalent of a $25,000 annual salary for the balance of 1967.

The Twins are 40-25 under Ermer. "Since he's taken over the ball club," Griffith said, "he's done an outstanding job of getting things coordinated. He's used the coaches to advantage. And he's given men on the bench time in the game to keep them sharp. Now they're all contributing. I would say he's done an extraordinary job for us."

Ermer has had his rough times, despite the rosy situation at the moment. During the first few shake down weeks with the club, he was faced with the usual show-me attitude of a few veterans.

But the younger players, many of whom Ermer had managed at Denver in the Pacific Coast League, all immediately united behind him and that was one of his biggest advantages.

"The first month or so was more or less getting to know each other," Ermer said. "I got to know the players and they got to know me. I've got a feel for the club now. I know more what each individual can and can not do."

Then Ermer added, "I'm a better manager than I was at Denver, but the Twins are a better ball club, too."

[legendsport]

Angels After Billy Martin

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL (AP) - Billy Martin, Minnesota Twins coach who had hoped to be considered for the job of manager of the Oakland-bound Athletics, disclosed Friday the California Angels want to hire him.

"Bill Rigney (Angel Manager) called me and made me a real nice offer to be the Angels' third base coach," Martin said. "I haven't given Bill my answer yet, because I haven't talked contract with Calvin Griffith (Twins President) yet. He's been real fair with me and I'd talk to him before I did anything."

[legendsport]

Ermer Confident Of Twins' Pennant

CHATTANOOGA, TN (UPI) - Minnesota Manager Cal Ermer is looking ahead with great enthusiasm.

His Twins begin reporting next month to Orlando, Fla. for spring training and the start of the 1968 baseball campaign, which Ermer believes will see the American League pennant moved back to Bloomington, Minn.

Ermer, married to a former Miss Tennessee from Chattanooga, Gloria Williams, has been spending the winter here mapping his 1968 pennant plans. "It will be another good race this year. There won't be a pushover in the league," the Twins' manager said. "The Red Sox have improved themselves. Chicago, Detroit, all of the ones in it last year will be improved. The Baltimore club will be back in it and Cleveland will be tough."

Ermer, 44, a lanky 6-footer with prematurely gray hair, could pass for a distinguished business executive. But opposing managers know the former Marine Drill Sergeant is a scrapper in uniform, rarely without a big cigar or a man-sized chew of tobacco in his jaw.

He took over the helm of the sixth-place Twins from Sam Mele six months ago, after the club had slipped in the American League race.

Mele had been the toast of baseball two years before, leading the Twins to the pennant. The club was a preseason favorite but floundered in 1966, and was floundering again when Ermer took over.

Like Walter Alston of the Dodgers, Ermer never made the grade as a big-league player. His managing experience consisted of 15 years at the helm of minor-league clubs. But under his hand the Twins shook their slump and fought down to the wire, losing the pennant to the Red Sox on the final day of the season.

"Barring injuries, this year we'll be in it all the way," Ermer said. "I've been quite busy, looking at young players and getting ready for spring training and, of course, made that trip to Mexico."

The Twins are counting on half a dozen young players, including Jackie Hernandez, who played most of last season at Denver, moving to Minnesota near the close of the pennant race. "We feel Hernandez is a major-league ready shortstop," Ermer said.

The trip to Mexico was for the annual baseball convention, where Ermer and Twins swung a five-man deal with Los Angeles that the Minnesota boss feels is icing on the cake.

The Twins acquired catcher John Roseboro, lefthanded reliever Ron Perranoski and righthander Bob Miller from the Dodgers for shortstop Zoilo Versalles and pitcher Jim (Mudcat) Grant. Ermer figures Hernandez can replace Versalles and the Minnesota manager never hit it off with Grant.
"Roseboro's great," Ermer said. "We feel we picked up a fine reliever in Perranoski and we look for Miller to be the big surprise of the deal. He has one of the best arms in baseball and he could really be a sleeper."


JACKIE HERNANDEZ, TWINS SHORTSTOP

[legendsport]

from the New York Times

Surprise Package by Arthur Daley

Orlando, Fla., March 26 - When Billy Martin played second base for the Yankees, he was such a firebrand that even Casey Stengel accepted with amusement occasional explosive impertinences from his saucy young favorite. No other Yankee dared talked back to the boss. But Billy the Kid was too smart ever to overdo it and it was the front office that finally exiled him as a trifle too hot to handle.

Martin is now Cal Ermer's first lieutenant as coach of the Minnesota Twins and has mellowed so much that he has taken on the attitude of a Dutch uncle. His prize nephew as of the moment is Rod Carew, rookie of the year in the American League last season and the starting second baseman on the All-Star team.

At this time a year ago the Twins desperately needed a second baseman so that they could release Cesar Tovar for duty elsewhere. It seemed inconceivable that Carew, a 21-year-old greenhorn from the low minors, could make the leap to the majors. After a brief time, though, Martin said to Sam Mele, then the manager, "I think the kid can make it." Calvin Griffith agreed and Griff not only owns the ball club but had personally scouted the boy. These factors gave his opinions an extra weight. Since Carew was a willing worker, that endeared him to Martin, also a willing worker. Billy gave him the facts of life.

"Son," said the coach, "if you want to make this ball club as a regular, you've gotta listen to me and you've gotta hustle. One thing more. Don't ever lie to me. If you won't admit mistakes to yourself or me, you're going backwards."

"One day I'd been giving him hell and I walked over to him. 'Rod, I want to shake your hand,' I said. 'Why?' he asked me. 'If you can take what I have been giving you, I know you'll fight your way onto this ballclub.' I gotta confess I was giving him a bit of the con when he needed it most, but it worked.

"I thought he had good range in the field and a lively bat. What I didn't like was the fact that he didn't handle a ball to his right very well, that he had trouble coming in on a slow grounder and that he didn't know how to get out of the way of a base-runner on a double-play. The last thing I worried about was his own base running. Maybe I was misled by his 52 steals that year. I learned differently.

"He would foolishly go for an extra base when he had no chance of making it. He was so green that he didn't even know the runner approaching third was supposed to get the play from the third-base coach, me.

"The worse came one day when he was the runner on second with two out. The batter hit a grounder and should have been forced at first to end the inning. But he was safe on a close play and I'm trying to wave Carew in. He saw me too late and was thrown out at home. I lit into him.

"'In this game,' I said, 'you take nothing for granted. You can't assume the batter will be thrown out at first. On a close play the first baseman will usually turn to argue with the umpire, forgetting that you are racing home with a run.' I'm glad to say that Carew learned fast."


ROD CAREW, TWINS 2B

[legendsport]

Billy Martin Leaves Twins For Denver Managing Job

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL (AP) - Billy Martin, coach of the Minnesota Twins yesterday accepted the managership of the Triple-A Denver Bears in the Pacific Coast League.

Martin replaces Johnny Goryl, who was relieved of the Denver post Saturday.
"I would like to go down and get the experience and show people in baseball I can handle men," Martin said of his decision to leave his major league job to go manage in the minors.

"I think this is a great opportunity, because I think there are going to be some major league managerial jobs available in the future," Martin added.
Martin, who turned 40 on May 16, ended his playing career in 1961 with Minnesota after being with the New York Yankees for most of his career. He also played with Cincinnati and Milwaukee in the National League.

He joined the Twins as a scout in 1962 and became a coach under Sam Mele in 1965 - the year Minnesota won the American League pennant.

[legendsport]

MARTIN'S AGGRESSIVE STYLE SUITS BEARS

DENVER (AP) - Billy Martin, former firebrand player has imparted some of that heat to the previously moribund Denver Bears. Martin, who cut his teeth in the big leagues under the keen eye of Casey Stengel, came to Denver in May with the Bears buried deep in the standings with a 7-22 record. Since his arrival, the Bears have appeared to be a completely different team.

Martin introduced an aggressive, daring and gambling style of play - the same type of play he had exhibited as a player himself - and the fortunes of the club improved dramatically. Under Martin, the Bears have won 65 of their last 115 games, a vast improvement, and one noted in the parent club's offices in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Martin, who had been the Minnesota Twins' third base coach since 1965, took a demotion of a sort to come to Denver, but he took it willingly. "I was afraid that it would be a case of the club putting me out to pasture," says Martin. "But on the other hand, I also knew that it would be an opportunity to prove myself as a manager. Once I proved I could manage - which I always knew - I figured doors would open and I would get a shot at managing a big league club."

Whether or not Martin's gamble will pay off remains to be seen, but this much is certain: Billy Martin has proven that he can, indeed, manage.

[legendsport]

MARTIN'S COMMENTS INCREASE SUSPICION

BLOOMINGTON, MN. (AP) - Billy Martin looks, sounds and acts like the next manager of the Minnesota Twins, although neither he nor Calvin Griffith will confirm it.

Griffith, Twins' President, maintains he has reached no final decision whether to rehire Manager Cal Ermer who is completing a one-year contract, or let Ermer go and hire Martin or somebody else.

Martin, manager of the Twins' Class AAA farm team at Denver this season, returned to the Twin Cities Monday and watched the Twins nip California 4-3 on Rick Renick's ninth-inning home run.

"This is a good ball club," he said afterward. "Sure, I would like to manage the Twins, but Mr. Griffith and I have not discussed it. I'm going elk hunting in Montana for five days and I hope to talk to him about it when I get back."

Griffith reiterated that he does not plan to make a decision on his 1969 manager until after the World Series. "If we decide to make a change," Griffith said, "Billy would be a top contender for the job. But there are still some things I want to study."

Among other things, Griffith is known to be waiting to see if a reported feud between Ralph Houk and New York Yankees' front office is serious. If Houk becomes available, Griffith is apparently interested in talking to him.
Martin, however, talks confidently about the Twins' future. He sounds as though he expects to be involved.

For example, shortstop Jackie Hernandez, who failed to take over for Zoilo Versalles last spring, committed two errors in the fourth inning Monday to give California three unearned runs.

Yet Martin defended Hernandez and said he isn't convinced that trying to get Versalles back from the Los Angeles Dodgers - as the Twin Cities press has suggested - "is the answer."

"Hernandez has all the ability to be a great shortstop," said Martin, who had Hernandez at Denver this season and saw hit him .297 there.

"He may have a phobia because something has happened up here." Martin added, "I think, eventually, he ought to become a switch hitter because it would help him."


CALVIN GRIFFITH

[legendsport]

ERMER DISMISSED AS TWINS' PILOT

BLOOMINGTON, MN. (UPI) - Calvin Griffith, quoting Leo Durocher's phrase that "nice guys finish last," said today he would not renew Cal Ermer's contract as manager of the Minnesota Twins. The Twins finished seventh.
The club owner said Ermer had allowed the players too much freedom off the
field.

"I like Ermer personally and he's been a great organization man," Griffith said, "but I like to use Leo Durocher's phrase, 'Nice guys finish last.'"

Yesterday Bob Kennedy was replaced as manager of the Oakland Athletics by Hank Bauer, who had been released earlier in the season as pilot of the Baltimore Orioles. The A's finished sixth, and Kennedy became the eighth manager ousted by Charles O. Finley, the owner.

Besides losing control over the players, Griffith said, Ermer had shortcomings as a field manager.

"I thought he did all right in using pinch-hitters and removing pitchers," he went on, "but he never moved the infielders or outfielders around to fit the situation. We had no defense."

Griffith said he had discussed such things with Ermer "five or six times" during the season with "no great effect." He added:
"Some ballplayers are great in the minors, but never make it in the majors. Ermer may be that type of manager."

Ermer was not immediately offered another place within the Twins' organization.

Griffith said a manager would be named after the World Series and before the expansion draft oct. 15. The new pilot will have an opportunity to discuss the club's protected list for the draft and also help choose the coaching staff, since Early Wynn, George Case, Bob Oldis and Johnny Goryl were also released.

Griffith said three men were under consideration for manager. One was Billy Martin, the former Yankee, who finished his playing career with the Twins, then coached for three seasons before becoming manager of Minnesota's Denver farm club last June.

The others were with other major league teams, Griffith indicated, and he said he would not "tamper" with them without permission from their clubs.
Ermer, 44, took over from Sam Mele in June, 1967, after having managed 17 years in the minors, mostly in the Twins' organization. He guided the 1967 team to first place by mid-August, but they finished in a tie for second.

[legendsport]

from the New York Times:

MARTIN NAMED TWINS' MANAGER; KING TAKES OVER AS GIANTS' PILOT
Ex-Yank Promises A 'Hustling' Team

Two Pacific Coast League managers moved up to the major leagues yesterday when Billy Martin of Denver was named manager of the Minnesota Twins and Clyde King of Phoenix took over the direction of the San Francisco Giants.

At Bloomington, Minn., Martin, the 40-year-old former New York Yankee second baseman, promised hustle from his players and "whatever it takes to win," the Associated Press reported.

At San Francisco, King, 43, a one-time Brooklyn Dodger pitcher, said he hoped "we can launch the 1969 baseball season as successfully as they launched Apollo 7."

Martin succeeds Cal Ermer, who was deposed on Sept. 30, the day after the Twins finished seventh in the American League, 24 games behind Detroit.
King succeeded Herman Franks, who resigned and fulfilled a promise he had made that he would not be back if the Giants failed to win the pennant. They finished second for the fourth straight season under Franks.

Both managers were given one-year contracts. Their salaries were not announced.

Martin served as a Minnesota scout from 1962 to 1964 and as a coach from 1965 until taking the Denver post last May, when the Twins' farm club had a 7-22 won-lost record. The Bears won 65 games and lost 50 under Martin.
"We feel that after the kind of season we had in 1968, Billy Martin, with his inspirational winning attitude will get our ball club back on the right track," said Calvin Griffith, president of the club.

Martin said it was "the kind of challenge I've always loved, and one which I'm sure will bring the best out of both me and my ball club."

[legendsport]

WYNN, SILVERA HIRED BY TWINS

BLOOMINGTON, MN. (AP) - The Minnesota Twins have hired Early Wynn and Charlie Silvera as coaches for the 1969 season, team president Calvin Griffith announced today.

Wynn was the Twins' pitching coach the past two years under managers Sam Mele and Cal Ermer.

Silvera, a teammate of new manager Billy Martin's with the New York Yankees, had been a scout with the Washington Senators the past several years.

[legendsport]

from the Washington Post

IN STENGEL'S MOLD by Bob Addie

ORLANDO, FL. - The first thing Billy Martin did when he was named manager of the Minnesota Twins was to set his boss straight. His boss is Calvin Griffith, president of the Twins.

"I told him," said Martin today, "that the clubhouse was not a country club and that I was barring all unnecessary people including Calvin's friends. I don't want kids or hangers-on coming into the clubhouse. It's my indoor place of business when I come in from the field. I don't want tourists coming through my clubhouse."

Everyone except the players and coaches needs a clubhouse pass down here. Martin doesn't upstage the press. He's candid and he's enthusiastic, and it appears he will pattern himself after Casey Stengel. Martin played under Stengel for seven years when the old man managed the Yankees.

"After every game," Martin said, "I'm going to take a walk through the clubhouse. That way I can spot the players who leave early and those who stay around to talk baseball. I don't mean everybody has to stay after school, but I want to see that winning attitude and you don't get it by sitting around the clubhouse talking about broads and television shows and golf. You win in baseball by talking, thinking and living baseball."
It sounds like Vince Lombardi, doesn't it?

Martin said he heard that Robert E. Short, new owner of the Senators, desperately wanted him as a manager. "For one thing," said Martin, "I was already signed with the Twins. I was offered other managerial jobs before Calvin Griffith asked me to take over the Twins, but I figured Calvin had stuck with me for eight years and if I was going to manage in the big leagues it would be for him first."

Martin, when he was a coach, was accused of waiting impatiently in the wings to take Sam Mele's place as the Minnesota manager. But when Mele was fired during the 1967 season, Cal Ermer was hired.

"I have all the respect in the world for Ermer," Martin said, "but I discovered that when he took over my duties were getting less and less. So when Calvin asked me to manage Denver last May, I jumped at the chance."

It was apparent that when the Twins slumped after Martin was sent to Denver on May 28, Griffith made up his mind to dispose of Ermer.

What kind of manager will firebrand Martin make? He was known as one of the few baseball players in history who could fight. He didn't just throw dirty looks at ten paces. He successfully demolished a series of opponents including Jimmy Piersall, Clint Courtney and Jim Brewer.

The case of Brewer came back to haunt him. Martin was with Cincinnati in 1960 on an August afternoon when the Reds were playing the Chicago Cubs. He got into an argument with pitcher Brewer, walked to the mound and threw one punch. Brewer was out for the rest of the year with a broken cheekbone.

Brewer sued. The case dragged through the courts until a few weeks ago, when the pitcher was awarded $10,000 in damages. Meanwhile, it has cost Martin, who is appealing, almost that much in legal fees.

Then there was the incident when the Twins were flying into Washington and Martin, then a coach, punched Howard Fox, the club's traveling secretary, after a dispute.

"That's all behind me," Martin said today. "I'm truly sorry for the way I've acted on occasion."

Martin has joined the "What-Kind-of-a-Manager-Will-Ted-Williams-Make-Club."

"I analyze all the managers I must play against," Martin said. "I am a great believer in the theory that a man manages the way he played. So that means I'll be daring and go for the gamble. Jim Lemon (deposed manager of the Senators) was a conservative player. That's the way he managed. Gil Hodges is a resourceful manager because that's the way he played ball. Ted Williams was conservative, wasn't he? Make your own analysis. All I hope is that Ted gets the same percentage managing as he did hitting - .400.
"Seriously, I'm delighted Ted Williams is in our league and I wish him well except when he plays us."

Martin intends to introduce the "computer system" (his words) to baseball. He said he would have every opposing pitcher and batter charted and the information fed into a computer and the results given to his players.

"I'm going to platoon the way Stengel did," Martin said, "But that doesn't mean I'm always putting in a right-handed batter because a left-hander is pitching. It means that if the opposing pitcher is a low-ball pitcher, I'll go with my guy who likes to hit the low pitch.

"One thing my guys are going to do - hustle. The country club days are over."

[legendsport]

(NOTE: These are actual team previews by beat writers covering these clubs in 1969. It's interesting to note the common perception of these teams going into what was to be a very surprising 1969 season. Since I am covering Billy Martin, we'll start off with the Twins, but I will post a preview for all 24 teams before the simming begins - which will be very shortly).

April 6, 1969:

AL PREVIEW: TWINS by Dave Mona (Minneapolis Tribune)

Bloomington, Minn. - There was nothing wrong with the Minnesota Twins in 1968 that can't be cured by Billy Martin in 1969.

Blessed with a competent shortstop and Martin's needling direction, the Twins appear to be a solid favorite in the American League's weaker Western Division.

Martin, a fiery leader, was the popular choice to lead the Twins after the dismal seventh-place finish of 1968.

Under pressure of a tremendous letter-writing campaign, Twins' President Calvin Griffith gladly turned over to Martin the job of making a winner out of the team reputed to lead the league in late hours, men left on base, and potential greatness.

Martin, no stranger to the Twins (he played, scouted and coached for them before managing Denver last year), told the players there wasn't a thing he didn't know about having a good time.

The good times would continue, he said, only after the Twins learned two things - pride in themselves and respect for Martin, the fans, the opponents and themselves.

The results, as viewed in spring training, have already convinced many skeptics that Martin might build the kind of dynasty in Minnesota that Casey Stengel established in New York during Martin's playing days.

Minnesota managers have always played under the shadow, and sometimes hand, of Griffith. Martin chose to confront the problem directly and confers often with Griffith, disagreeing as often as agreeing. Griffith is so pleased with Martin that he yields in much of the decision making.

Martin says that by platooning he has personnel to equal any team in either league.

John Roseboro, the unhappiest of the Twins under Cal Ermer, likes Martin and is looking forward to a good year as the first-string catcher.

The Twins' pitching is excellent. In Jim Kaat and Dean Chance the Twins have as fine a left-right combo as any in baseball. Dave Boswell and Tom Hall look like the other two starters. Despite the retirement of Al Worthington, the bullpen looks sound with Bob Miller, Ron Perranoski, Jim Perry and Joe Grzenda.

Slick-fielding Rich Reese and Harmon Killebrew will share first, although Killebrew is likely to play more often at third, where he is less likely to be injured again.

Two-time All-Star Rod Carew should improve remarkably at second base under Martin's tutelage, and Frank Quilici provides good relief when Carew plays soldier.

Shortstop will be filled by Leo Cardenas, who was obtained from Cincinnati for southpaw Jim Merritt. The Twins figure they lost a dozen games at short in 1968, a problem that should be solved by Cardenas, a regular for six years with the Reds.

Martin will play hunches at third, choosing among Killebrew, still one of the game's great power hitters; handy Cesar Tovar, the Twins' most valuable player in both 1967 and 1968; slugging rookie Graig Nettles, who broke in with five home runs in four games last year, and reliable Ron Clark.

Bob Allison, now 34, will have a hard time keeping Nettles and Tovar out of left field.

Ted Uhlaender, the most improved Twin each of the last two years, plays an excellent center field and was fifth in the batting race last year. Tony Oliva brings the highest batting average of any active American Leaguer, .308, to right field.

"I didn't take the job to get the Twins back in the first division," Martin said. "I took it to get the Twins back in first place. We'll bunt, use the hit and run, the suicide squeeze and we'll steal home. We'll do whatever is needed. We may even cheat a bit, but we'll win."