European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 30, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday june 30, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 21 Martin yanks manager Hurt and a Sappo need Over the Way he was freaked by club s front office by Milton Richman up sports editor new York up the smoke has cleared now. Billy Martin has had time to think the whole thing out. A emotionally and Ai Inlet realizes he has survived if Only barely because the Yankees changed their minds after having decided to fire him. It does t really matter to him who stayed his execution owner George Steinbrenner or club president Gate Paul. What does matter is that they had made up their minds to let him go. It he said. If i said it did t. I d be a liar. I suppose the Best word i could use to describe my feelings is disappointed i m talking about the Way the whole thing was Martin was talking in his office. He touched a match to the pipe he was smok ing and talked about both the future and the m still Gonna do my he said. I can t let the Yankee fans Down but what happened makes you regroup your thoughts about a Lotta things and a lol tap in. Ill Tell you this much if i had been. I d have gone out like a Man. Getting fired Over that incident though would be been a real Shock. I d pity any other Man Ager who would have come incident was the big blowup in Boston where millions watching on nation Al to saw Martin having to be restrained from going after Reggie Jackson in the Yankee dugout after he pulled the 3-Mil lion slugger out of the game and Jackson called him a name Many ballplayers use when they re hot under the Collar and can t immediately think of another s Okay Between me and Heggie now said Martin. We had a Good talk. I told him you think i enjoyed pulling you outta the game .1 i explained to him. Baseball is like life. It has peaks and valleys. I saw Casey yank Mickey out of a game. He tried to do it to Joe Dimaggio once but Joe waved the Guy Back when he came out to take Over his position. Did t Gil Hodges come out on the Field once and personally walk Cleon Jones off Martin would hate leaving the Yankees. Deep Down he has always thought of him self As a Yankee even when he was manag ing for the twins. Tigers and rangers. Two of the Best friends he Ever had Are Mickey Mantle and Joe Dimaggio. And they still arc close to him my reputation precedes me wherever 1 go and i suppose it always said Martin resignedly. I m like the proverbial gunfighter you Sec in the movies. He gets tired of fighting and wants to hang up his gun. But he can t. Somebody always comes into town gunning for him " even had the Yankees fired him. Martin would t have been out of a Job Long. Any number of clubs would t mind having him As their manager. A couple have gotten the word to him already they have a Job for him if he s Ever fired by the Yankees. Another measure of moral support was offered Martin shortly after the Yankees decided to keep him one of his players told him eight of them would have quit had he been fired. Whether they actually would have or not is in Mclinn else again but it certainly in do Martin feel Good to know How they Felt about bothers Hilly Martin More than anything else is How he keeps eing Char a Teriw As a severe critic of both Stein Brenner and Paul who fined him $2.500 last always make it sound like i m ripping Gabe and George he said. I Billy Martin gives amp Chin and lip. Controversy follows wherever he goes right hander Back in 76 form royals win on Leonard s hurling by Fred Mcmane up sports writer the Kansas City royals appear to have found the missing ingredient that has pre vented them from making a serious bid to retain their american league West championship the Strong right Arm of Dennis , a 17-game Winner last year performed poorly in the final six weeks of last season and began this year in much the same fashion As the royals struggled to remain in Contention in the division , since june 1 Leonard has been pitching the Way he did during the first Hall of last season and. As a result the royals have begun to get it together. The 2fr-year old right hander turned in his second Over powering performance in five Days tues Day night when he out pitched Frank Tanana and led the royals to a 3-1 Triumph Over the California Angels. Leonard who tossed a i rec Hiuer in blanking Oakland last Friday night Al Lowed Only two hits in stopping the Angels. Only a Solo Homer by Rusty Torres in the sixth inning prevented Leonard from Post ing his second straight Angels played without the services of Bobov Grich. Joe Rudi and Don Baylor. Yet for a while it appeared that Torres Homer might stand up As Tanana mowed the royals Down for seven innings. In the eighth however John Mayberry singled. Amos Otis tripled and Buck Martinez Dou bled to give Leonard All the support he needed. Hal Mcrae added a Solo Homer the ninth for an i surant run As the royals tagged Tanana with his fifth loss against 11 prepare for Tanana like i prepare for anybody else said Leonard. I let the hit a Roundup ters worry about opposing pitchers and i worry about the hitters. I m not in Awe of Tanana i Don t care who s pitching against you. When you re Down Only 1-0you still have a helluva Chance it s definitely harder to win the pen Nant the second time around because everybody Battles you that includes the Seattle mariners i know hat we can win this thing again but it s hard to say just How Many games i la have to win. Very body has to do the same thing on our club w Ith Leonard Back in form the royals have now won five of their last six games and Trail the division leading Minnesota twins by Only 3 to other american league games. Minnesota donned Milwaukee 8-3, Detroit beat Boston 3-2. Chicago walloped Seattle 10-4. Toronto topped new York 8-5, then lost 5-1 in 11 innings and Oakland squeezed by Texas 6-5 twins 8. Brewers 3 Dan Ford and Glenn Adams each drove in a pair of runs top ice the twins Over the Brewers behind the route going pitching performance of Rookie Paul Thormodsgard. Larry Hisle knocked in his 71st run for Minnesota while Rod Carew. The major league s leading hitter with a .407 aver age hit in his 10th straight be had some great hitting teams some teams which were capable of scoring runs but never anything like said manager Gene Mauch after watching his club clobber the Brewers this is a tremendous hitting team there Are so Many Fine hitters capable of driving in 3, red sox 2 Ron Leflore. Who earlier scored twice singled isme Phil Mankowski with two out in the ninth inning As the tigers handed the red sox their fifth straight loss. Mankow ski singled to open the ninth moved to continued on Page 231 know How that got started. I was talking with a couple of newspapermen after a game we lost to Seattle earlier this season and they were asking about me having Only two catchers when they knew i wanted a third one. The whole thing went like this ques Tion if you had a third string Catcher would you have used him today answer is next question when is he coming up from the minors answer that s not my department the headlines the next Day said. Martin blasts Steinbrenner 1 never blasted any body. Later on. I found out the editor of the paper apologized to the writer for the head line on the Story. Who got fined though Billy Billy says Jackson is pouting by Herschiel Nissinson Toronto api Reggie Jackson reportedly miffed because he was lifted for defensive purposes sunday dropped a Fly Ball setting up the go ahead run As the Toronto Blue jays Defeated the new York Yankees 8-5 in the opener of tuesday s twi night doubleheader. My right fielder is mad at me again and he s manager Billy Martin said just prior to the twin Bill. Who told me three coaches five players and two emis was another chapter in the running Battle Between Jackson and Martin i which they almost came to blows in the dugout at Boston june 18 when Martin yanked Jackson in the Middle of an inning because he thought the outfielder failed to Bustle after a Bloop said Jackson was upset this time because Paul Blair replaced him in right Field in the late innings of sunday s 5-4 Triumph Over Boston at Yankee stadium at the time the Yankees led 4-1. Boston tied the score in the ninth and Blair singled Home the winning Rui. In the Bottom of the ninth personalities Don t enter into it Martin said. Blair is the Best defensive outfielder in baseball. If someone shows me he s better than Blair. I la play him. I play the players who i think will do the Best was t the first time Jackson s out Field play was found wanting but he was t the Only culprit As the expansion Blue jays rallied with four tainted runs in the seventh inning Cente fielder Mickey Rivers misjudged a Fly Ball into a gift double while first baseman Chris Chambliss committed an error and Catcher Thurman Munson made a poor throw that helped prolong the the near fight at Boston. Martin came close to being fired two Days later but got a last minute reprieve from owner George Steinbrenner and club president Gabe before the doubleheader Pedro Garcia an infielder recently released by the Blue jays approached Martin to see if the Yankees could use him in their farm system i wonder if he can play Martin muttered As he went out and talked with Garcia. Remy named Angel Captain Anaheim i up Strund baseman Jerry Kemy has been named the second team Captain in the 17-year history of the California Angels. The Only other Captain in the club s his tory was Frank Robinson who held the Post for one month in 1974
