Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 283

made it clear that he was going to run the team his way, and his clubhouse tirades for poor play even during spring training were reported in the media and concerned Detroit management. He had a well-publicized feud with slugger Willie Horton, whom Martin repeatedly benched and who kept himself out of the lineup with an alleged injury that Martin disputed. There were repeated conflicts with umpires, and with personnel off the field. He accused the organist in Oakland of trying to distract his players, and the scoreboard operators in Baltimore of spying on his team. After a poor April, Martin's players won seven in a row to surge to within four games of the top placing Red Sox near the start of June. The results helped establish Martin as one of the best managers in baseball, at least on the field. His generalship could not paper over the flaws in the ball club, and

the Tigers finished second, 11 games behind the Orioles. Nevertheless, Martin led the Tigers to a 91–71 record, a 12 game improvement from 1970, proving to many people that his success in Minnesota had not been a fluke.

Martin was rewarded with a new two year contract, through 1973, with an increase in salary. At spring training, Martin was relaxed and confident, his Tigers a favorite to win the American League East. The season started late, due to a player's strike, and the missed games were not made up, which left the teams