Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 277

and following the season was sold to the Milwaukee Braves. His old manager with the Oaks, Dressen, led the Braves, but even he could not find a starting position for Martin. He had only six at bats for the Braves, with no hits, and on June 1, 1961, was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Billy Consolo. Martin, given the starting second baseman position, started well and finished well for the Twins, but in between had a prolonged batting slump. Between the Braves and Twins, he batted .242 for 1961, his lowest full season average. He reported for spring training in 1962, but was soon approached by manager Sam Mele, a longtime friend, and told that he had been released by the team. No longer able to compete on the field, Martin's playing career was over at the age of 33.

The last team for whom Martin played, the Minnesota Twins, gave him a job as a scout, and he spent most of the 1960s with them,

becoming a coach in 1965. He had proven himself a competent evaluator of talent while selling the Twins in bars across Minnesota. He urged the Twins to sign pitching prospect Jim Palmer, but Griffith was unwilling to pay the $50,000 signing bonus Palmer requested, and the pitcher went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Orioles. With his survival in baseball on the line, Martin kept his nose clean, his drinking moderate, and his fists unclenched.