Getting closer–now all we need is Martin in a Yankee uniform before July 28 or so.

And yes, been to Tiger Stadium and Comerica. I prefer Tiger Stadium, mostly because they closed it before they started playing loud, blaring music between innings–you never get to hear the natural crowd anymore–and partly because in the new park the out-of-town scoreboard is invisible from the 1st base side. Instead, you are forced to look at the electronic scoreboard, which has everything but scores on it–quizzes, games, scams, images of the crowd, and other carnival sideshows. Like all new parks, they seem anxious mostly to cater to the non-baseball fans. So, I’d almost rather watch high school or college games, where the game is still the center of attention.

Have you been to both old Tiger Stadium and Comerica? What do you think of the new park?

Interesting. Do either of those books clarify what Martin was doing (or how he was employed) after he was fired by the Rangers and before he was hired by the Yankees.

I remember Martin with the Tigers (and with the Twins, too, for that matter). I live in the Detroit-area now but I was living in Boston in ‘73 & remember going to a September game between the Tigers & Red Sox (who finished second 1/2 game behind the Tigers–it was a strike-shortened/uneven schedule) which I think the Sox won and which I remember Woody Fryman starting for the Tigers. Those were the days when even in a pennant race you could by Sox tickets on the day of the game–a different world.

There are two very good books on Martin that I refer to. One is Peter Golenbock’s “Wild,High and Tight,” published in 1994. The other is “The Last Yankee,” by David Falkner, published in 1992.

In Falker’s book, he reported that outfielder Jim Northrup of The Detroit Tigers, claimed Martin had begun campaigning for the Yankees job as early as 1973. Of course Martin was managing the Tigers in ‘73.

Falker speculates that Martin “had been really campaigning for the Yankees job all his life- when in a child’s dream, he fused the idea of ultimate success in life with stardom for the New York Yankees.”

Besides the Tigers and the Rangers, Martin also managed the Twins in pre Yankees managerial life. He managed the A’s 80-82 and was then back as manager for the Yankees in ‘83. His wild ride in baseball did not end then either.

Thanks for reading John. BTW, A fine book on the Yankees during the Steinbrenner years (of which Martin was a big part) is “All Roads Lead To October” by Maury Allen.

I don’t see how Martin could have been campaigning for the job since Bill Virdon (if I remember correctly) already had it. The only thing that makes sense to me is that Martin was first hired as a coach for the Yankees after her was fired at Texas and so would have been somewhere on the field (or on the bench) as a Yankee enjoying Catfish before Dylan recorded the song (and if I’m right about when the song was written, that would mean Dylan added or rewrote a verse when they recorded it, which would not be unprecedented) but I have not been able either to verify or refute that suspicion. Has anyone written a biography of Billy? I haven’t seen one.

You bring up an interesting point about Billy Martin. He was fired by the Texas Rangers on 7/21/75 and was hired by the Yankees less than 2 weeks later (one date I have says he was hired on 8/1/75). I also remember it being likely he began campaigning for the Yankees job before the Rangers fired him.

I have started a new follow-up piece on Catfish, Finley, Dylan and more. We’ll cover a lot of ground. Please check back for it. Thanks for reading. Jeff

Hunter may have been willfully oblivious to Dylan and the cultural shifts when he was playing baseball. And that may have been just fine with him. It’s likely Dylan does not hold that against him.

You are so right about this being a fine effort by Dylan. He evokes the feeling of games at major league parks before it was decided they needed to drown us with noise and commercials during any potentially quiet moment. Thanks for reading. jc