The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 492 - Billy Martin - Part II

Episode Date: August 3, 2021

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine baseball great Billy Martin.SourcesTour DatesRedbubble Merch

When you're staying at an Airbnb you might be like me wondering could my place be an Airbnb and if it could what could it earn? You could be sitting on an Airbnb and not even know it. That in-law sweet guest house where your parents stay only part-time Airbnb it and make some money the rest of the year whether you could use a little extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.ca slash host. You're listening to the dollop on the all things comedy network. This is a bye

American History podcast for each week. I, Dave Anthony, read a story from American history to my friend. And Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is going to be about. Back to you at the intro Dave. You do though. Huh? You know what the topic is. Let's do it again. You're listening. Gareth Reynolds who this time is in the second part of a topic he didn't know in the first part but since it's a two-parter now knows what the topic is going to be about. Why are you holding your ear? So I can keep contact with the studio while I'm also conducting the show with you Dave. When's the last time you saw someone holding

their ear when they were... Thanks Charlie. That's right. Back to you guys. Yep. Go ahead Dave. That hasn't happened since like the 80s. Like nobody... More at 11 tonight. We'll see you there again. Go ahead Dave. Yeah. So are you time-traveling? I'm doing the show. I'm completely present. You're holding your ear. And there's talk of flurries. The shake? The McDonald's drink because that's the only kind we're gonna get. We will have a time where people will only know flurries from the McDonald's drink. They'll be like, what's a flurry? What's a McFlurry? They'll be like, well it was based on this thing. Remember white rain? We laugh because so many

people are gonna die. Back to you guys in the studio. Sorry about that. Dave Anthony got negative. Come on. This is where you play the intro. And called it, quote, his jam patch. Jam patch? I'm the fucking hippo guy. Dave, okay. My name's Gary. My name's Gary. Wait. Is it for fun? And this is not gonna become a tickly podcast. Okay. And a five-part coefficient. Now hit him with the puppy. You both present sick arguments. No sleep, no hippo. That's like no hippo. Action part. No. I sleep dad, my friend. No. No. We're back. Great. How are you? We don't need to catch up. We just did an episode. What's up? Stop with the sub stuff. Dave, we've got some shows to talk about. That's right, everybody. We

make our tour return this Thursday, sorry, Tuesday, September 14th. We will be at Wise Guys in Las Vegas. Then on the 16th, we will be at Wise Guys in Salt Lake City. And then we are at the Paramount Theater in Denver for the High Plains Comedy Festival. That is Saturday, September 18th. Join us there. That'll be a great time. September 22nd, we will be in Phoenix, but there's no ticket link, so just get ready. Then we'll be in San Francisco, November 5th. Saturday, November 6th, we'll be in Sacramento. December 10th, we will be in San Diego. And then Australia, we will be there in 2021 from October to who knows? We're not sure. But

go to dollapodcast.com for all the information there and join us for some live shows. And then I will be at CB Live in Phoenix, Arizona, August 5th. That's me, Gareth Reynolds. I will be at the Raleigh Improv, August 6th to the 8th. I will be at Hyenas, August 19th in Dallas. I'll be at the State Theater in Austin, Texas, August 20th. I'll be at the Rec Room in Houston, Texas, August 21st. Spokane Comedy Club, Spokane, Washington, August 26th, 27th. Tacoma Comedy Club, also in Washington. Go to GarethRounds.com for all the information. You've just been flipping me off the whole time. That's why I don't like doing the

camera stuff. You get like, you're like, you're not focused. You should be focused on the dates that I say. I'm a pro. You are a pro. I can't fight you there. You're a pro. How are you now? What are you gonna do? Do you shout a date for these? Fuck, I just thought of that. You know what? I should shout the date. Let me look it up really quick. What am I supposed to do? Delay. Delay. Oh, oh, bam. Delay. Okay, you got it. Hey, everyone at the show, from the Dallup Show that you're listening to. Just before we jumped in, I wanted to address something that I think is really important. And it's the topic that we really find crucial here at the Dallup.

July 24th, 1978. Whoa. Billy Martin, fired. Disgraced. From the Yankees. George Steinbrenner. After we're in the World Series, but getting drunk and saying shit. And George Steinbrenner getting multiple death threats. Death threats. People saying they never go to the game. Yankees, ex-Yankees coming out and saying they're never step foot in Yankee Stadium again. People burning tickets outside of the stadium. It's fucking mayhem. Right. The next game after he's fired. It's a home game. Oh, it was still in season. I forgot. Yeah, yeah. It's a season. And fans chant, we want Billy for 20 straight minutes. Jesus Christ. That is the ability sometimes for fans. Like

this, like the person who's always trying to lead the wave at the games. Like there's just certain, you're just sometimes really impressed by the energy of the lunatic fans. Yes, 100%. You know. They're amazing. Yeah. Reggie didn't play that game and I assume it's because they thought he'd get booed. Healthy scratch. Yeah, healthy scratch. Mantle Ford and other Yankees from the 50s team say would they never go to the stadium. Billy and George have a meeting. So he calls after like three or four days go by and it's like, it's like crazy. You can just tell that George Steinbrenner is crazy because if you're gonna make that move,

you have to be so sure that that is going to work out for you in some way to be on the phone a few days later, just like that, you know, shows. Hey, buddy. It's a big whoopsy. Yeah, it's a big whoopsy. That's a big whoopsy back to you at the studio. George tells Billy the Yankees aren't the Yankees without him. And, okay, so this is... So Billy probably had like tears streaming down his face while he got a boner. Yeah. It was just like a lot. It was just like, well, everything's good right now. You said like that's not normal. No, yeah, yeah. No, I know. But that's how I do it. Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. So this is... George says he wants him back if he

agrees to only drink beer. What? What a world. What a world. It is. It's like the idea of sobriety was like it wasn't a thing. It was just like... Do you remember the ads? The... I only drink beer ads? No. Okay, so I went online and tried to find them, but I really remember these around this time. They had... There were all these ads on, like, please stop being such an alcoholic, but... They were basically public service because people... Drinking so much. And there was one where the guy was like, you know, I was drinking two or three six packs a day and just thinking, what? It's just beer? And that was... The ad was like, hey, beer

is alcohol also. Like, it was the craziest fucking... Reminding people that like, hey, you know, if you drink a ton of beer, then it's like liquor. Numbers wise. No, no, hear me out. Yeah. Well, I mean, even as we've heard in the first part, like, the ubiquity of alcoholism, it's like, I mean, yeah, it just... It's crazy. Yeah. So, he hires Billy right there. What a weirdo. So, he hires him back. It's five days later. But he doesn't tell the GM this. What a weird... What is... Like, that's why you don't want to work for these kind of owners. You know what I mean? You did what? Yeah. Well, I hired your coach back, but I didn't tell the GM. So, things are pretty

bad. And they've already hired another manager. So, there's a guy that they immediately hired. I think his name's Bob Lemon. You got to treat it like a mistress manager, like we were talking about before, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Don't let him know. That's... Well, okay, you ready? No. So, the GM... He tells... So, George tells the GM and GM's like, well, that's fucking crazy. It's like getting married while you're married. It's like, didn't you... We just hired a guy. He hasn't done anything wrong. I know. I messed up in some way. I agree. No, but we can't... What? Yeah, you can't fire that guy because people are like, what are you doing to that guy?

I can't fire Billy. I just hired Billy. You shouldn't have hired Billy. I agree, but we are where we are. I got to find... What am I going to do? Don't say. We combine them into one person and they'll share a box. I thought you were going to say co-manage. Oh, great. Co-manage. It doesn't even matter. That's less science. No, it's terrible. Well, it's... I'll tell you. I don't know how we're going to get him to share a body. Your plan, at least, like, is tethered to reality in some capacity. No, just don't. He doesn't come back to manage. All right, we should dig up a body. So... Are we same-paging? No. Okay, different-paging. So, the GM is like, look, we keep the guy we just hired until

1980 and then we bring Billy back. So, we announce him now. Announce Billy? And then say he'll be the new manager in 1980. So, a year and a half away. What? He'll take over the team. What? Then everything is resolved, because the guy gets to keep his job for a little while, then Billy's coming back. Yeah, I feel comfortable knowing that he's coaching for a season and a half or whatever. I can't even... No, it's like... I'm trying to think of, like, they've had heir-appearance, like, very clearly, but you're never like, that's right, he's got another season and a half. And then he's done. And he's like, what? It's like, yeah, no matter how good we are, what state the franchise is in,

he's out of here. We got a new guy coming in. We're planning ahead, oddly, now. So, they all agree to this. They're like, great idea. Great. Okay, well, it's nice that we came to meet each other in the middle on this. Total aside thing, but the current manager called everyone meat. Called everyone meat? So, he would walk through the door and be like, hey, how's it going there, meat? Hey, nice hit, meat. Dave, I feel physically ill. I mean, a guy? Ugh, just flippantly calling, addressing you as meat? Hey, come on over here, I want to talk to you, meat. Me? I feel like, buddy, if you say meat again, I'm literally going to throw up. But the fact that that was his name for

everybody is the craziest... But it's like, I say, buddy, you know what I mean? And it's not great, but it's not meat. Meat. Hey, meat. Thank God that ever caught on. So... How are you doing, meat? Yeah. So, the next game is Oldtimer's Day. So, that's where the old guys come back and play a game before the... Right. So, Billy, they announced Billy at that game as the future 1980 manager, and the crowd goes, crazy. Seven minutes standing ovation. Some people are like, what? Hey, that's actually totally insane. This is really fucking weird. It makes no sense to actually be doing that, because it's not like he's getting another job, so why not just wait and play this one out and see how it goes a little bit? This

is fucking insane, right? It's a really strange move. Why are we applauding? This is crazy. Well, I mean, we're all clapping, but it is very strange. It's strange. Beyond fucking strange is insane. You should not be hiring a guy and then deciding that you're going to bring the guy you fired back in like a year and a half. Yeah, that doesn't make sense. It makes no sense. It shows you that he knows he messed up by firing him. Yeah, that's right. Which I don't disagree with, but I'd like to see this go through a little bit. But this is fucked up. It's fucking nuts. So Reggie asks why he wasn't warned.

Oh, Reggie's like, hey, you know, just as a player, this seems like you guys don't know what you're doing, just from the outside looking in. And George told him, quote, well, I didn't have to, Reggie. Well, Reggie, here's the deal. I'm not doing well lately at this. Don't give a shit. Yeah. Reggie would later call this the worst day of his life. Wow. Really? Billy, Billy, Billy apologizes to George through the press, but he doesn't apologize to Reggie. Right. Now, George is a hero, too, because he brought him back. Yeah, but after fire, he's a wash. It's like somehow it's a PR coup. Everyone's happy except for Reggie. But the press is also stupid to be like, George

Steinbrenner gets it right. He just undid the thing he did. Well, reporters are even more stupid, because reporters all think Billy's only going to drink beer from now on. Right. It was. The idea that that is in question. Again, it's, I mean, not to circle back on it because I kind of forgot about it, but it is just a crazy stipulation. Yeah. Listen, I need you in top form. Beer only. Only beer. Let it be low and brown. So that night, Billy goes out in parties with Mantle and Ford till 6 a.m. Mickey Mantle really puts up some numbers on and off the field. The Yankees win the World Series that year. Wow. So.

It's awkward. I mean, still got another year. The other guy's still got another year. Honey, we're going to get divorced in two years and I'm going to marry Sheila. No matter how good this goes, Sheila and I are going to end up in two years. That's fair. Yeah. It's just the deal I made. I'm happy. Everybody's happy. I fucked her. I don't know what else to do. Okay. Reggie became known as Mr. October for his playoff heroics. Right. Okay. So that would be because that's when I like the highlights that I've seen like right probably right around them when he's just fucking cranking. Yeah, he's cranking the homeruns in the playoff. So two months later, trying to kill the queen

in the naked gun. That's right. Important stuff. So two months later, Billy is in Reno. He's doing an appearance for a basketball coach friend. Like I think it's a college team or something, but he's like, Hey, can you come in and help us? Yeah, he's got like cones with beers and he's like, Now, see how many of these you can drink on that cone, kid. Come on. Billy's training you. So a young local reporter interviews Billy in a bar and Billy's shit face. And the reporter asks about a Yankee trade that had happened that day that Billy did not know about. Now, he's not the coach. He's not the coach, but he is the part of the organization waiting. He is and like probably has some sort of position in the front office

or whatever. Future coach. So this really pisses Billy off. Sure. And he tries to get the reporter's notes. He's like, grab it out. I've been trying to snatch the notes away because he regrets that he was so drunk because he, no, he just hates the information. Yeah, he's mad. So he thinks it's like he's being sandbag. Oh, you're surprising me with this. Right. Okay. And then he punches the reporter twice in the face. Sure. Okay. Great. So we're two orbital bones away from this story being that's how you stop an interview. Yeah, back there. The reporter had chip teeth and a gash above his eye. I think all the medical expenses are like 7,500 bucks. Okay. People in other countries like what are you talking about?

That's right. Oh, we, we have a great system where if you get punched in the face, then you have to pay the hospital people in this country are also probably like 7,500. That is an old fee and now that's not what it looks like now. It's way higher. That's right. Yeah. So the battered reporter's phase is published in papers across the country. Great. Okay. Charges are filed. Oh, you got the, you got the guy. Yeah, he, he has a nice shiner in the picture. And the George, so the reporter sues him for, you know, money on top of it all and face destruction, face destruction. And George says Billy's fate was up to the trial outcomes. He's like, what happened with the trial trials? That'll be, you know, what

happens with Billy. So there's a lot of trial. I mean, George Steinbrenner is again making it a little weird. Yes, it's completely insane. Oh my goodness. That eyeball is he got legitimately popped. Like his eye looks like a seagull's or like a, it's very strange. I'm more upset about the mouth and the mouth, the mustache is a bother to begin with. Yeah. Mustache is upsetting. So, so the, the, the negotiator are weird because they don't want to just pay the guy because then it'll make him seem like he's guilty. So they, they get the metal expenses paid through the basketball team that had invited him down to like make it like seem like he didn't actually do anything. And by the way, this is a good thing for the

kids at the camp to hear about, you know, you're trying to instill some lifelong lessons into these young go getters. And there's, they learn about the future sport and how to be a proper sportsman or sports woman. And, and it's just nice to know that a guy chipped the reporter's teeth across the street on a blackout. That's right. So one of your coaches. So the basketball team ends up paying his medical expenses and then Billy's supposed to the agreement is Billy will apologize at a press conference to the guy, but then Billy's reporter goes up and, and says like, Oh, they agreed on the everyone says they're sorry and blah, blah, blah. And then has them shake hands in front of everybody before Billy apologizes.

So now that puts the reporter in a really bad situation. He can't be like, Oh, you say you're going to apologize because it looks to everybody like they've shaken hands and made it. But one will, I mean, I'm not exactly sure where we're going, but one would assume that Billy would still be like, Hey, I owe this guy an apology. But Billy's like, Hey, all right. Fucking cheater G said of a bitch. Well, Billy doesn't think he knows of apology. Right. But, but he agreed. I mean, at first Billy was like, he tried to punch me, but he didn't try to punch right. He threw his eye into my hand. So that's it. George afterwards says Billy could sign his new contract. Well, George Steinbrenner feels like a good guy

at the helm. Yankees are bad again. And George fires the manager well before 1980. So Billy so the manager who won the won the World Series is now just like he does just like he did with Billy. It works out really well for Steinbrenner, who really was making some crazy calls and like, Oh, thank God, we suck. So Billy's back. And he tells right away he's like Reggie's the key to this team. And Reggie has to be traded. Okay. And he just keeps asking to be traded. And George finally says quote, I keep telling Reggie that he should try Billy again. The first time I ate broccoli, I didn't like it. The second time I didn't like it. Now it's one of my favorite vegetables. It's just, I mean, seriously, what are we

doing here? What? They call it analogies and they this is very good one. You know, that analogy reminds me of when I was trying to eat shit. Yes, I couldn't do it. And I no matter how many times I try, I just won't go down. That's right. So yeah, that's a good point. Thanks. Somehow Reggie took this advice and called Billy and they talked and then look, Billy, you're like broccoli. You know what I'm saying? I do. Yeah, yeah. Thanks. Thanks, Reggie. I go down and you're you're like a salmon. Together we are a weird dinner, but a good one. Yeah, yeah. Broccoli and salmon. Yum. So Reggie comes to play the next day. Now a few months later, August 1st, Thurman Munson died when he crashed his private plane.

Okay. And he's Billy's favorite player. Billy's the catcher that was the heartbeat of the team. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Billy's just crushed. Well, so is Thurman to be fair. Yeah. During a moment of silence before the next game, Reggie convulsed in tears in right field. Oh, Jesus. They had such a weird relationship because I read quotes where he was like calling a man word and like who was Thurman Munson and Reggie and so to his face and they read you. Ha ha. Like it was all so fucking weird to read. I mean, you know, this is the 70s and now it's it's obviously 40 years later, but it's 50 years, right? But it's still you reading like, wait, what? I don't know. It was just but so he Reggie is creased by. Yeah, he's upset by it. But the fucking Thurman Munson

hated him. I don't know. It's just it's I mean, they did win together. So who knows what that meant? You know, these guys are yes all over the fucking maps. Right. So the Yankees don't make the playoffs that year because obviously that's tragic. Billy's divorce from Gretchen is finalized and he meets Heather or Valeno, who is 24 years old and she looks 16. Everyone is like, Oh, my God, Billy's dating a teenager. Good, good. Just because I was going to say, just make it look weirder is now from the outside, things already look really crazy and not good. This will help. Yeah, let's make it as creepy and awful as possible. Hey, that old drunk guy is dating a teenager. Have you seen the Yankees coach his new girlfriend? Yes, she's very young. They become

very serious. In October, he goes to Minnesota to hunt with a friend. Sure. And while he's in a bar, never good. This feels like this always sets up poorly for old Billy. A marshmallow salesman starts telling Bennett Billy his baseball opinion. Oh, anybody eat a marshmallow? How are you, sir? Just curious if you like snacks. Do you like to eat things? I do, yeah. Oh, well, do you like weird consistencies? Yeah, I guess I like it. Would you say you're open to uncommon luxuries? Yeah, I love uncommon luxuries. Now as far as a snack goes, are you open minded? Yeah. Why then, sir, allow me to open this briefcase here and show you what I've got. Look at these things. Look at that. Looks like something you'd put on your door to stop it from banging into your wall,

right? That's a marshmallow. You've seen these before? Oh, yeah. Well, there's something different about these. What? They come with a curse. A what? No, they don't. They're just regular marshmallows. You want to buy one? No. Why would I buy a marshmallow out of your suitcase? You don't have to buy one. You buy them in 12s or 24s to 36s. Or you can get a marshmallow the month membership. You could become a marshmallow. You want to be a marshmallow, sir? No. That's where every month, we don't know how many marshmallows we're going to send you. Could be none. It's $15 a month. Have you ever sold any marshmallows? Sir, are you in or are you out? I'm out. Well, I'm going to have to ask you to reconsider. Have you considered putting those in bags and selling

them in bags? It's a lot of bags. That's a lot of overhead when it comes to the bag budget, which we don't have. Nobody wants loose marshmallows. Well, I mean, it's mixed in with some of my cards and pens because I'm not what am I going to carry two briefcases? Yes. Well, that sounds like now. Now who's great. Now who's sounding crazy? No, these are you. Look, sir, just shut the fuck up for a minute and listen to me. Do you have any interest in buying a bunch of these marshmallows? No. I have more in the car. Where? In the car, in the front seat. In the front seat? Yes, sitting there. In a pile? I mean, you know, yeah, yes, there's a bunch of them. Yes, in a pile. Well, I can't put them all in the briefcase with my pens. Why are they in

bags? I don't, sir, I'm not going to sit here again and break down the bag budget. All right. I can't believe you've never met a marshmallow salesman before. You're acting like that's crazy. It's crazy. It's not. I sell marshmallows. You can just go to a store and buy them. Why do that when I'm right here offering you a great package? I don't want to be around you. I don't, nobody does. Karen left. So this marshmallow salesman starts telling Billy his baseball opinions. You know, when you sell marshmallows door to door, you have a lot of time to think. Baseball captures my thoughts. Including talking about how bad the Yankees were that year. Billy, finally, quote. Oh, no. Tell you what, Joe, I bet you 500-year penny that I can knock

you on your ass and he put $500 on the bar. The marshmallow salesman quote, let's go. I love the marshmallow salesman. As they walked out, Billy punched him in the mouth. Oh, Jesus. The hotel police were called. So then the hotel police, like the next day or whatever, told the press that gets out. Billy tells the press the salesman fell and cut his lip. You know, these marshmallow salesmen are always falling. That's why they work in such soft materials. George didn't believe Billy and he launches an investigation. Five days later, Billy is fired as Yankees manager. So the tenure was what? I don't know. Like not weeks? No, it's a long time. He made it into the next season. Okay. So about a season, probably? Maybe less. Okay. But still. Okay.

Well, no, it's about a season because it's after, no, I don't know. The marshmallow salesman's at a bar during the day shows you how good the job was going. I mean, look, that's just what, I mean, if you've ever read the marshmallow salesman chronicles. It's not. It's dark. Yeah, it's very dark. So yeah, so he's fired. He Billy Billy is what year is this? This is a 79 and a marshmallow salesman. I think it's 80. So Billy goes back to California and hang out with his family. He's very despondent, very upset. And he's resenting George because he had followed all of the George's rules. Yeah, he only stuck to beer. He got along with Reggie. No problems with the press. No problems with George. You didn't tell me I couldn't whoop a marshmallow salesman's ass. You should have put

that in the contract. Well, now I know. Don't ruin marshmallow salesman. So he thinks the fight thing is just a random unrelated event. It has nothing to do with the Yankees. And I was a coach when I beat up the marshmallow. My hat on and my uniform on. Plus, if you can't beat up a marshmallow salesman, what are we doing? Honestly, we need to get rid of them. Now, the Oakland Oakland, the Oakland Athletics are a terrible team, right? They've lost 108 games that last year. Sports writers called them the Oakland Pathetics. Sure. So I'm going to call those sports writers. Pathetics. Yes. It's about getting about 3,700 fans at games. Wow. And they're just like, so you could get a row. They're four years off being one of the best teams of all time.

Right. So they immediately hired Billy, two year contract, $125,000. His wife, his wife, his sister says she's very relaxed and happy again because it's hometown, right? Right. So he told the A's, gets a team together and he goes like, you guys, you guys are going to steal home eight times this year. Stealing home is crazy. Yeah. Like you'd be lucky if 18s did it in the season. Right. Right. It's just an insane thing to say. He and they told Ricky Henderson, quote, you're going to break Ty Cobb's record for stolen bases in a season. Ricky's brand new in the league and he's like, but that's fucking crazy. Ricky's born and raised in Oakland. He didn't speak great. So people didn't realize he was a baseball genius. And and he said to Billy, quote,

that's 96 bases skip. And Billy said, quote, we don't stop until you've got at least 100. And Billy quickly taught the A's how to rattle opponents like he'd done before. Right. And this is when it became known as Billy Ball. Okay. Oh, I thought that was a picture. It's just me. I was like, what's the picture? No, it's very pretty. Thank you. They stole home nine times that season. Stealing home is so hard because like if you're going to steal first to second, the pitchers got like, you're not in his field of vision. But if you're on third base, if you're on third base, the whole idea is there's something called the Bach. If you Bach, the so backing is like you don't come to a complete stop when you're pitching and start going again

or you step the wrong way. There's like a bunch of ways you can Bach. But so you have to be very, very strict and regimented when you're pitching. And if you go off a little bit, the player gets an extra base. So the whole reason one of the reasons to do that is to to rattle the pitchers. So he might Bach, right? It just fucks with his mind. Like he sees you running. He has to keep his motion the same, right? But it throws him. Right. Right. Yeah. So, yeah, so nine times is crazy. They stole home twice in one inning. So fans are just going, this is just fucking amazing. Fans are going crazy. They're doing hidden ball tricks. They're throwing balls in the dirt to scuff it so the pitcher can then use it to

throw better. They learn how to throw spitballs. Ricky is stealing bases like crazy. Game attendance goes up from 3700 to 12,000. Okay. Ricky, quote, the other team starts grousing and complaining. They're half angry and half embarrassed and we're smiling. I tell you, it was fun. So they're having a fucking blast. Billion Ricky have a bond. He's also being from Oakland. He takes care of Ricky. And Ricky's odd. Okay. Ricky's an odd dude. He calls other players by nicknames. Meet? Not meet, but just everyone he gives a nickname to. And a few of his teammates thought it was because he didn't know their names. Right. That's a good move. I mean, you got to be good with those nicknames. That's a good move. One example is later in his career, he's on a new team

and there's a teammate there that, you know, he just started and the teammate has a batting helmet on and he goes helmet is John Oliver. He goes, he asked me if he always wore the helmet in the field. He doesn't because the guy wears it in the field when he's on defense. And he says, quote, we had a guy on the Mets last year who did that too. And Oliver says, quote, yeah, Ricky, that was me. I was your teammate for a whole year and I wore the helmet. So yeah, that hurts. Ricky once got a also he wore the helmet and he got hit in the head. So if he got hit in the head again, he would die. So yeah, don't make me feel bad. No, I'd see you really. Just was asked a question. You're like a marshmallow. So that's unbelievable.

So Ricky one time, Ricky got a $1 million bonus at the end of the season. And after a few months, the team called because the check hadn't been cashed and Ricky had framed it and put it on his wall. Wow. Well, with like a break in case of emergency glass or something. Wow. That's amazing. That's like, you do that with the one, your first $1 bill or whatever. Look, he also goes on to be the best leadoff hitter in major league baseball history. Like he's amazing. So Billy hung out at the Danville Hotel in a bar where no one bothered him. Like it's his new bottom of the barrel. But on the road, the fights with the marshmallow salesman and the young reporter gave him a rep. So before he was battling Billy who fought on the field and was

a tough guy. And now he's known as a drunk bar fighter. So he was a marked man just like back in the day in Berkeley. Drunks want to take on the most famous bar brawler in America. Yeah. Billy quote, it would escalate. The guy would say, did you get fired today or why don't you take a swing at me? Come on. You don't look so tough. Billy son is older now. Billy son quote, I watch hundreds of big, bruising guys come up to my dad in a bar and say they're going to kick his little ass. I'm telling you, it never stopped. I'm no, I'm no marshmallow salesman. Billy, why don't you try beating me up? I mean, it is important that we celebrate the marshmallow salesman throughout the story and keep his memory alive for, yeah, future generations.

Oh my God. I'm not no marshmallow salesman. It's like, yeah, no one else is. That was the only one ever. There was never another marshmallow salesman. Another quote. I remember one night, the guy sitting next to him just kept flicking his cigarette ashes on Billy's arm and hand. Billy kept asking him to stop. The guy just stared at him and kept flicking the ashes on him. I saw a guy kick another guy's ass for ashing on him a few times and it was, everyone was like, you are within your right to do what you better do. But so he is, as much as he's the brawler, he also is holding back. Like he's not. On the road, fans began to pelt him with marshmallows. Oh no. I mean, the marshmallow guy had to be at home like, that's right, you son of a bitch.

You beat me up, but I made millions. Much millions. Wow. But if you're going to have things thrown at you, there's not a lot of better things. I would just open my mouth. Yeah, right. I think he's eating all of them. In Minnesota, hundreds of people during a loss through marshmallows at Billy's. But in New York, fans gave him, again, a standing ovation. They still loved him. He was named manager of the year for improving the ace record by 29 wins with the exact same players. They didn't get a new player, same team, 29 more wins. They chew 500,000 more fans. Wow. They gave him a five year contract. Yeah, I was going to say. The next spring training, a British rock star photographer who hung out with the stones and

the who came to take pictures of the team. That's right, everyone. Yeah, you know, that household. Just not the right vibe for the environment. Well, you've got these silly little bats and things. Move that out of the way. Come on, everyone. Get on the drummies. Kick a soccer ball. There you are. Yeah. Quote, I've been around a lot of crazy shit, but Billy, his coaches, and some of the players, they kept up to that level. It was all alcohol based. But some of these older guys were serious professional drinkers. Some mornings at the batting cage in spring training with the coaches staying there, it didn't smell like alcohol. It smelled like someone had dumped a court of gym beam on home plate. Wow. So they are just fucking. Wow. What a crazy. What a crazy.

I mean, it's just like so counter to what you would think an athletic organ. I mean, it's just, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Let's invite impairment into every level of this. I mean, that's fucking nuts. Yeah. So the A started that season with a 17 in one record. And they're drunk. And yeah, and the coaches are, and they're fucking, and then again, this is Mike Norris who was on the Bs, the Coke guy, Coke guy, and this is like. As long as they have some cocaine, I didn't know that cocaine too, probably. Time Magazine put Billy on the cover under the headline, It's Incredible. So he's on Time Magazine's cover because. You'd just be like, we need to drink more. We're doing so good. Can we get IVs? Yeah. It's just vodka and marshmallows. But in May, Billy was suspended

a week for bumping an umpire. You know, the umpires union were done with Billy. That's called Bumpire by the way. Bumpiring. The umpires union were considering suing Billy for assault. Okay. Another ump called Billy quote, probably the meanest, most unfair man of all on the field. Okay. Now Heather's living in his house in gated black water with her brother, mother, and father. So how can I scream? Explain black. Black water is like a crazy fucking rich housing place that is walled off and it's in the East Bay and it's like just super fucking rich people. Okay. So he's, she's living there with her brother, mother, and grandmother. At his house? And I can't really figure this out. Like he's living there, but he's not. Like he'd also stay at the hotels. Like it's

weird. Okay. It's also weird to move in every member of the family. That is also weird, but she didn't want to go without her family. So and you know, if you saw, if you saw Blackhawk, you'd be like, all right. Right. Yeah. Okay. In July 1980, he meets Jill Guiver, who was a 25 year old photographer. Oh dear. Oh, Billy. Oh, Billy. They're very soon inseparable. Okay. That's going to be a problem because why? Well, he's separable with someone else right now. I'm sorry? He's in the separable thing already. Yeah, but this is a different person. Oh, right. No, I think that's still, my point still stands that they should. No, she's a different, so he can be. Yeah, but he's got the one. So you can't be inseparable and carry on two relationships. Oh, hold on. Oh,

she was his road girlfriend. Well, to Shea, friend. Billy thought he had better morals than his players who had one nightstands on the road. Disgusting. Get yourself a road wife. He probably told an A's executive that he only had one woman on the road and one at home. I keep it pretty good where I come from. I'm not looking for any stress or drama. The A's made the playoffs. Good for road wife. She's like, oh, whoa, more at a time. But then they lost to the Yankees in four games. Okay. At the after party, Yankee, Greg, Nettles, decked Reggie Jackson. Okay. Okay. And they won. Reggie's just awful. He's just fucking awful. Billy was now more famous than ever. Sure. Billy Ball was trademarked. The team got most of the profits, but it's trademarked.

He had tons of endorsements. Sears wants to now sell a Billy Martin casual wear line. Oh my God. He dressed him like cowboy. It's one pant legs off. Okay. It's going to be tons of fucking money. Like this is like this is striking it rich. Right. So Sears sends a private jet to bring him to a meeting at their headquarters. Okay. Unfortunately, the jet had scotch on it, so Billy showed up wasted and they canceled the deal. Okay. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Smart. That's fine. It's okay. Okay. He could use it because in late 1981, the IRS said Billy owed $200,000 of back taxes. What the hell is a back tax? You didn't say anything the year it happened. I told you.

Remember when I told you, I said, you have to pay taxes on these checks for your depositing? They were for commercial things. No, that doesn't matter. I tried to explain to you. It wasn't me. I was pretending to be someone else. No, no, no, no. That's not how it works. You got money as Billy Martin. All right. Well, look, just tell them I now know. Tell them. Them? Yeah. Who? IRS. Just tell them you know. Now I get it. Right. But you still own money. Bullshit. They didn't tell me anything. No, they didn't have to. Everybody knows that. That's why I told you. I told you. I was like, you got to pay taxes. All right. Tell them this. They owe me money. Let's go at them.

So he's very distracted by his money problems. Sure. And he's very distant. Shame they had Scotch on that plane, huh? He's very distant in spring training that year. That's good for a coach, right? Yes. He had a trailer outside the left field fence and he just stayed in it for hours. No, that's good. That's how you can coach. Yeah. For sure. Just treat it like a tornado unit. That's right. Like a twister van. The players all feel abandoned. And then that year. Because their coach lives in RV outside of the field. Outside the wall. Yeah. It's not great. Yeah. So the pitchers all start falling apart that year and they'd been the key to 1981, but now they all had injuries and people started blaming Billy and the pitching coach for using

them too much the year before. Okay. Overusing them. So they're saying it's his fault. And one day that season, after they lose enough games, Billy comes into his office and just fucking destroys it. Okay. Billy ball. TV, fridge, desk, wall out. Wall out. Let's toy on the wall. I mean, literally destroys the, they try to fix it overnight. Sure. So the owners don't find out, but the owners find out. Right. And they start thinking Billy's a little unhinged. Why? Because he ruined the office. They tore even outlets. Right. Okay. It's not great. So after this season, they fire him. Okay. Now in November, Billy's in Manhattan with Jill. And a photographer takes a picture of them standing very close. And it goes in the paper and Billy

flips the fuck out. Sure. And he's like, I got to call Heather. And he calls Heather. And he proposes to her. What the fuck? Dude's are just so crazy. Dude's are just crazy. They are crazy. There's no like the whole situation is nuts. But like the level of insanity he gets himself to, just being like, if she sees it, she'll like the fear that the relationship can generate in a guy. Like he's completely acting out of fear. Yeah. And it's just a picture where they're not standing like super far away from each other. He could make up any reason. Yeah. Or at least let her start it. Be like, hey, I saw a picture in the paper. But instead he's like, honey, look, I got some to tell you. I have to marry you. Wow. So they get married in the same month that he proposed

in New Orleans. Like a couple weeks later, they get married. Okay. Jill is still his road lady, though. Road lady. But she didn't know he got married. Well, of course not. That's not on the road. Now George, George, you got through three managers that year alone. Oh my God, are they going to? Yankees finished fifth. No. George hires Billy again as manager in January. Wow. Third time. Can't quit him. At the first home game, 55,000 fans cheer. And the marketing campaign is Billy is back. Right. Team not good. Sure. George had told reporters he wouldn't interfere with the team until halfway through the season. He said he wouldn't. That was his. That I won't interfere until just when it gets important. Then I'll start messing with it. I'm not going to start

fucking with anything until until halfway through. And then I'm going to really just fuck everybody get crazy. So in May, he can't help himself. He doesn't make it to halfway through the season. In May, he goes into the clubhouse and he scolds the team and just tears into him. After he leaves, Billy tells the player, just fucking ignore him and the players all laugh. On July 24th, the Yankees are playing the Kansas City Royals and their best player, George Brett, hits a game winning home run in the final at bat. Okay. And the entire team is celebrating. And as they are, Billy strolls out to the umpire at home plate and asks him to check the bat to see if it was illegal. So players could put something called pintar on the bats on the bat. So the hand,

the hand where you're handling a grip sticky. Right. And it couldn't be above 18 inches because they didn't want pintar getting on the ball. Right. Hit. Right. So Billy's request is not really what it's intended for. It's not about hitting it. It's about pintar. It's about pintar. So you would normally be like, Hey, it's getting sticky stuff on the ball. When Billy makes his request, Brett yells from the dugout, quote, if they call me out, you're going to see four dead umpires. Jesus, Brett, learn how to talk shit. We don't get there right away. Straight to murder. Yeah. It's just like it's just like early aggressive. Be open. And they call him out. Wow. Okay. Because of the pintar. Yeah. Brett loses his fucking mind. Well, he better be killing four umpires. Otherwise,

he doesn't hold to his word. Yeah. And he storms out of the dugout like a madman to try to get at the umpire. Another umpire has to grab him by the neck to hold him back. I mean, he's a fucking madman. Okay. Now the Yankees finished. That's that's one of the biggest moments in baseball history. Like everyone knows that moment. But they just know George Brett. No one realizes that on the other side of it is Billy Martin being his little fucking genius. Right. You know, is that why is it famous just because it's bullshit? It's famous because of George Betts reaction. Okay. Right. Going crazy. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. There is trying to kill the umpire. Yeah. No, there's definitely I like the way that I like the guy in there.

Get the lady down there. Just yeah. Yeah. But it's also there's one, two, three. They're standing on a line like we don't worry. We'll defend him in a line. Yeah. So the Yankees finished that season 91 and 71, which is a really fucking great record, but not enough for the playoffs back there. And then George fire. Sure. Whatever. Well, he did fire him. He replaced him with Yogi Berra, but he made sure everyone knew Billy wasn't fired. Just moved to a new position, advisor for trades and personnel. Quote, I don't like to talk about firing managers. I don't fire them. I rehouse them. Yeah. So he's very after the past time, times of firing Billy, he really doesn't want to get into it. And so he's like, no, it did. He's not fired. He's new

hired. He's just not there. He's different job. He's in another office with another name plate. At the beginning of the next season, Jill's on a plane when a Yankee wife asked her, quote, so what are you doing now that Billy's married? And that's how Jill found out Billy was married. I can't believe that. That's crazy. Crazy. She goes back to Newport Beach and Billy flies there and they get into a huge fight on her lawn. And the cops are called and Billy is arrested for public public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Okay, good. So now his wife, Heather. Yes. Well, the New York Times headline, quote, Martin jailed as drunk. The papers were harsher than they had ever been before because new younger reporters didn't understand why Billy hadn't always been

reported on as a drunk asshole. Right. So there's this change in culture media and culture and they're like, what the fuck? He puts with this drunk guy that you're all, you know, acting like he's awesome. He just drinks beer. I don't know why, but one, I think it was the AP reported that they had fought over a horse and that must have been to cover for him because they would cover for ballplayers back then. They fought over a horse. They had a horse fight. Come on. That happens. Billy told Jelly was going to leave Heather. And in a year they did. They divorced. Jill. Look, I want you to get your stuff and get out of here. And that goes for your mom, your dad and your grandma too. Whoops. It's so crazy. Jill and Billy became closer, but his

friends and family did not like Jill. Okay. Nobody liked Jill. They felt like Jill pushed them all away from Billy. She didn't approve of his drinking outings with his buddies and she didn't like the hunting trips. But the family's like, you're trying to change him. He's a full on alcoholic. He's been having a drinking problem. Quit trying to take the Billy out of Billy. The next season the Yankees start six and 10 and Yogi Berra was fired and Billy was named manager of the New York East. I did not know that George Steinbrenner was like this. I knew he was crazy. I've enjoyed Seinfeld and the Steinbrenner oppression and Billy. Yeah, he's nuts. I mean, it seemed nuts, but this is nuts. This is like a guy who's like, how do you get famous from firing

people? I know how. I mean, he's really out of his fucking mind. It's crazy. I mean, you'd just give a guy like 11 games and then be like, no, you're done. Yeah. I mean, just, and how many times can you fire and hire the same fucking guy? Yeah. You know, I should hire, don't say Billy. Billy. But now fans weren't happy because of how Yogi Berra was fired. You don't fire a guy 16 games into a fucking season. That's crazy. There's 162 fucking games. Yeah. Also, they were like, how many times is Billy going to get hired? People are disgusted without George runs the team. And for the first time when Billy was announced, it was just a quick ovation. And also for the first time, so random booing. Late that season, they are in a race to win the division. And it's like,

this is like 10 days of maybe the worst 10 days in Yankee history. So they have a bad series against the top team. And then George shows up in the press box the next game. And he starts reading the stats of several Yankees from that series that didn't do well. Reading where? Of his play in the press box with all the press. Okay. Griffey, 0 for eight. Baylor, 0 for seven. Winfield, 3 for 11. Quote, where's Reggie, where's Reggie Jackson? We need a Mr. October or Mr. September. Winfield is Mr. May. The big guys are not coming through. The guys who are supposed to carry the team are not carrying the team. Good. So good. Good. So that's how you, that's how you run the team. Yes. This became known as George's Mr. May speech. For some reason, the team is fucking pissed. What happened? What

did they didn't like the idea that he's just shitting on the personnel to the people who write about it? And particularly Dave Winfield, because Dave Winfield is a guy who would just like run full force into the fence to catch the ball. Like he just gave it his all. Right. And he went 3 for 11, which isn't fucking terrible. Right. That's like 3 for, that's like a good, that's a good series. Right. So the next day, George said, quote, if they're not embarrassed, they should take the uniform off and walk away from the pay window. Okay. So he doubled down. Yankees are more pissed. A couple of days later, Billy asks a right-handed batter to hit left-handed. The guy had been, the guy had never hit left-handed before, but he started practicing trying to hit

left-handed. And so Billy was like hit left-handed. He strikes out. They lose that game and people think Billy's gone absolutely fucking crazy. Yeah. Now the Yankees have lost six in a row, and they were in contention to win the division. And then there's just picture on the team that no one likes. He's a redneck guy named Ed Whitson. The players hate Ed. The fans hate Ed. He's, you know, the fans jeered him and booed him like nobody fucking likes Ed. He's so bad under pressure. So they're in this six game losing streak and Billy's like, I cannot have fucking Ed Whitson pitch. So he... Billy, am I starting today? I feel good. I just got to get a couple pitches. I should just get my arm loose and then I'll be ready. There's water out there, right? Or can I

call for... There's no water. Oh boy. Marshmallows. We have a contract. I understand. I respect it. So Billy tells, instead of just saying he's not good under pressure, Billy says, well, his arms hurt. Okay. So then the press goes to ask Ed, and Ed's like, no, my arm's not fucking hurt. My arm's fine. He goes killing me. Yeah. And now Ed's fucking furious. So after the game, the players are out of, if you can imagine, out of... Bar? Yeah. What? Why? What happened? First time in a bar. Charity stuff? Quote, Whitson was agitated and talking loudly about Billy Martin. And then Whitson starts arguing with a guy at a table next to him. Okay. Just some random dude. Sure. And they get into it and they stand up and they get in each other's faces.

And Ed grabs him by the throat. Now Ed knows martial arts. Okay. So he grabs the guy by the throat. They always say you're not supposed to use that unless you're drunk. That's right. And Billy comes running over to stop it. Let me beat his ass. And he gets in between them and he says, quote, Eddie, you're drunk. You don't need this. And then Eddie called Billy a motherfucker and punched him. For Billy, this must have been very strange. That's me normally. So now they start fighting. Okay. And sports writers are there watching and just taking notes. First thing I'd try to do is hurt his arm to be like, told ya. See, can't bend it. Ed is out of his fucking mind, screaming, throwing punches. They get separated and they

lead them through the lobby to take them up to their separate rooms. It's pretty amazing that one's the coach. Now, Ed's so crazy that they have his arms pinned to his side as they walk him. Okay. But he breaks free and he kicks Billy in the balls so hard it lifts Billy off the ground. Oh my God. What? No. This is like Mel Brooks. Like this is, I mean, that's possible. Yeah. To kick a guy's balls so hard he flies? Yeah, it's a thing. Oh my God. Billy crumples to the ground and then he stands up and he takes it. Bits his nuts out. He takes a deep breath and he looks at Ed and he says, quote, now I'm going to have to kill you. Oh my God. I mean, if a guy kicks your nuts so hard you go off the ground. You have to come back

with some heat. He knows. He knows you got a counterpunch. Now I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you. You understand? Ed is pushed out of the lobby as Billy comes after him. So the way this is described, it is described like a crazy monkey dodging everybody who tries to block him. Billy. Yeah. Billy is now. People are trying to keep him blocked. See, there are some people who would rumble at the pain of the ball kick, but Billy somehow harnesses and he takes the fire into his belly and his fists and now he needs to just get it out. That's what makes me strong. Can't come again. So, so he's just dodging and faking and weaving and he gets past the last guy. And now there's a group of players who are surrounding Ed trying to move him away and Billy

rushes at the group and they start trying to punch each other over everybody and then everybody falls over in a giant pile. Billy hits his head on the ground. The back of his head hits the pavement and so he's dazed. So they grab Billy and take him back to the lobby. They take Ed over to the parking lot and then they take Billy to a Billy to a back elevator and they take him up to the third floor and as the doors open, the other guys have got Ed right there. Hey, we're just gonna put Ed in here. Oh, shit. Round four. No, more. So, yeah, so they go at each other again and they finally get him separated for the, all the fighting 25 minutes. Oh my god, and an elevator ride. In an elevator ride. George hears about it the next morning.

I'm gonna hire Eddie to be the new manager. How do you think about that everybody? George. Ah. Billy has a broken arm, cuts on his face and back. Before the game, reporters asked Billy what happened to his arm. Quote, I heard it bowling. You know how bowling is. Those pins shatter. So George conducts another investigation. Good. And then he announces neither guy's gonna be punished. Okay, George. Nobody, this one was fine. Sure, George, whatever you want to do. He's like, Billy wasn't looking for a fight. He was trying to stop a fight and but I don't know why doesn't punish Ed. Uh-huh. Ed hit him first. I was gonna fight with another. Sure. Well, here's the reason because he's not really mad about the fight. He likes it. Well, he had set a curfew

for 12 p.m. and he's now furious that the players were out drinking in the bar after midnight. Okay, George, you do you, baby. You do you. For the rest of his life, Ed never spoke of the fight. Okay. Wow. Oh, Jesus. The Yankees did not make the playoffs, but again, they finished 97 and 64 again. Here's a amazing record. Oh, geez. Yes. So he's got a broken arm there. Good Lord. And look how old he looks like. Yeah, he's an old guy. And look at the Dan Ackroyd cop behind him. That guy's not enforcing much. Certainly not. So look, that's an amazing record. Still not enough to make the playoffs because somebody was better, but everyone's excited about the next season. Like we've been sure people are optimistic. Billy gives, I guess it was tradition for at the last game for

the manager to give a summary of the season in front of the players and reporters. Okay. So he did. And during that, he says he wants a race. He wants a race? Yeah, during the, he explains how the summer of the season, how great it went. And then he says, I want a race. That's why he got fired before. Oh, right. Okay. Sorry. Turns out the IRS had put a lien on his salary. Oh, a raise. Raise. Yeah. Okay. What'd you think I said? Race. Oh, no. Oh, yeah. He wants to race Edwardson. Okay, good. That's how the sausage races started at County Stadium. Okay. Rumors quickly start that ex Yankee Lou Pinello would replace him. Now, Billy does not go back to Heather after the season or even talk to her. He just stops.

He'll figure it out. This whole thing of having to communicate the end. It's not necessary. People figure it out. True. If you just go away forever, she'll figure it out. How hard can it be? She's what? She doesn't have the power of deduction. She'll notice. She files for a divorce. The court papers, the divorce court papers said he did not come home after the 1985 season. Yeah. And she, and what happened? She got it. She figured it out. She figured it out. And Lou Pinello has made the new manager. Okay. And then fired nine days into the season. Well, this is the craziest one. Hired a parrot? It must have just been because he asked for a raise because he, 97 and 64 is an amazing record. Well, I mean, he did, he did get into a fight with it. Yeah. He had like a family guy

fight with one of the players. So it's sort of like, you know, I mean, I don't know. So Pinello's new manager, Billy is not fired. He has moved to baseball assistant to George, which is a totally vague, made up job. That's a great job. Now you can work for him directly. It's literally never been. You can glean all the information that Steinbrenner doesn't have off of it. This is a totally not real thing. Yeah. Papers are now using Roman numerals for Billy's manager stints. Billy IV was over. Is it IV or one V? Well, that would, yeah, sure. But George gave Billy a big raise and wiped out a loan that he had given him $150,000. So he's still like taking care of him. Yeah, it's weird. Billy and Jill got engaged. Friends and family

were very upset. Sure. She took over his finances. She worked as PR. The next season, the Yankees had a Billy Martin day and they retired his number. Until they rehired him later that afternoon. His family came to Yankee Stadium for the first and only time and while they were there, they fought with Jill for the entire time. That's crazy. That's the first time they've ever been. Isn't that? Yeah, that's really weird. Billy said to the fans, quote, I may not have been the best Yankee to put on the pinstripes, but I am the proudest. That's like a huge quote that people say. So his divorce from Heather's finalized, his drinking eases up a bit. He has a very quiet season. And then in October, George announces Billy is back as manager.

He retired his number. He retired his number. You know what I mean? He retired his number. He'll coach under a different number, god damn it. Wow. Five V. Billy Martin Yankees of V. Five. That's crazy. This time, I think we'll figure out if he's right or not. And not over like 20 years. Like this is like just five years. So Pinellas moved to GM. And then Pinellas the G is like Steinberg is like, that's what we need. He'll be the GM instead. That's better. And I'll be my own assistant, god damn it. Billy marries Jill at a huge wedding. The night before the wedding, his friends try to talk him out of marrying her. That's always nice. That's my favorite part of a wedding. The night before,

when you try to get the guy to bail. Don't fucking do this, man. She's a psycho, bro. She's psycho. I just don't want to lose you. Yeah, what the fuck, man? It's been nice to see everybody, but come on. So on May 6th, they played a game in Texas. And afterwards, Billy, Mickey Mantle and a couple other guys. That's good. Already I got a good feeling. Got a good feeling. Go out drinking. I got a good feeling. They end up at a strip club called Lace. Lace, nice. Mickey gets so drunk that the other two guys have to escort him home. I can't walk. Okay. Billy was left there. Billy was never supposed to be left alone. Oh god, this is a manager. He should be very comfortable alone. So he's taken a leak in the bathroom,

and he's at the urinal. That's good, at least. Two guys come in, and one hits him on the head with something. Okay. Probably a blackjack, like they hit him with something really fucking hard. Quote, I've never been jumped like that before. I was still standing there peeing. I had my deal still out. And I wanted a raise. So he's knocked down, just kicked and punched, and then they drag him out the back door, and they take his head, and they drag it across the jagged stucco wall of the building outside. My god. Quote, the ear was all but sheared off. Oh my god, they stuck out his ear off? Yeah. Jesus Christ. At the hotel, the Yankee crew, the players, the team, there's a bunch of people there, and someone pulled the fire alarm, so everyone's outside

the hotel. By the way, shout out to the prankster, good one. Always, always a great prank. George is in a silk rope. Of course. He should look like a worm. A cab rolls up, Billy rolls out, covered in blood, holding a jacket to his just bloody ear stump. Hey, me. Wow, okay. So George is like, okay, this is good. Yeah, so everyone. My ear's coming in another ride. That's why I hired you. What? Never mind. We'll talk later. We'll talk later. Later. Yeah. Yeah, I'll talk to you later. They take him to Arlington Hospital. He needs 50 stitches. He has a swollen eye, a gash in his cheek, huge bruises, the ear, contusion on the back of his skull, like he's really fucked up. Billy told reporters, quote, I just feel embarrassed

because I got caught off guard. I didn't think I'd get hit in the head in the toilet. It's fair, fair, fair. That's like holy ground. Like you shouldn't be able to attack a guy at a urinal. No, that's true. The police said, Billy, it did absolutely nothing to provoke it. George said he was the victim. But we're firing him anyway. That's it for you, because it's great because I'm crazy. The next day, Billy's in the dugout. The players are amazed and horrified. Trish. One of them said, quote, he was really messed up this time. There was blood caked in his ear and along the stitches. It was kind of scary. Oh my gosh. Hey, Skip Frankenstein. Oh my God, blood cake, the blood cake, like that's, here's the deal. Wash it. Well, until

you're, until it's coming out from being able to wash or, you know, time, then you can go back. It's not the time to be working if you have the dried blood. I think back then you couldn't get stitches wet, right? Probably. That would not surprise me. By the way, what a great face. Don't let these get wet. It feels like a movie plot now. So they go back to New York and reporters are fucking horrified by his appearance. Sure. And the fact that it happened in a strip club made it all worse. Right. Yeah. His rep takes another big hit. George, quote, he's a 60 year old man. And when I saw his ear was hanging, he shouldn't have been there. He has to use better judgment. Yeah, it's true. Yeah, that is,

it's weird. It's not a good look. So a little while after this, they're in Oakland and the ump makes a bad call and Billy charges out, rips his ear off and throws it at him. Take that, you son of a bitch. He charges out and he tries to throw dirt on him, but it's hard clay. So he gets down. I'm going to make him a vase. He gets down on the ground. Oh, I've seen this. And he tries to shovel it. Right. And it just looks, it's embarrassing. Yeah. It's like a kid in a sandbox. He can't like get enough dirt and it's just, it's, it's weird and sad. Right. Riders are not kind. The New York Times asked sports psychologists for opinions of Billy's display in Oakland. One quote, dirt adds another quality filth,

ultimately meaning contempt. It's an expression of contempt. So they're just. Yeah, no shit. And what he's expressing here is displeasure. He, the dirt adds an element. He's basically essentially consciously, unconsciously saying to the efficient that he does not believe in what he is saying is law. And he's doing that by analogizing the soil to the consistency of the calls. So it's nuanced. It's difficult to read. It's a bit like a Rosetta Stone situation. No, it's very obvious. He was kicking dirt on him. He is telling him through action, the dirt is my expression of displeasure, which is strong. You're a professional. Absolutely. I paid a lot of money, which is why I am forming this sort of triangulation here

of the clay near your appendages. It's my way of saying, this is a roadblock. I'm not into this. It is dirty. It is filthy. It is below me. And he's sort of, we've never seen anything quite like it before. Has anybody tried to kill you? Oh yeah. Yes, absolutely. I used to sell marshmallows. But so, and we have made it into this pile. And it's an objection, but it's also a way of setting a message, discounting the opinion. And I would like to die. Yes. Yeah. Well, that's how the efficient probably felt at the moment. But it's very nuanced. Again, not a layman is not going to be a wakey, wakey. A layman is not going to be able to pick up on something like this. That's a good thing you brought me in for that. So that'll be $800,000. Please. Billy was suspended for three games

and the empires were pissed. They wanted a lot more. Sure. The empire's union said Billy wouldn't be allowed to leave the dugout. Quote. I like their legal. I'm like, we technically have jurisdiction over the field. Yeah, I know. Quote, he's going to have to fold his hands, shut his mouth. And that's it. Otherwise, he's going to be ejected, ejected, ejected, ejected. Every time for the next couple of weeks that he comes out of the dugout, he'll be ejected. This is the weakest threat. He better follow the rules. And if we're going to give him a couple of weeks where he has to. So they ejected him every time he came out of the dugout. So he's still coming out. He essentially can't do his job. Right. I mean, the manager has to come out of the dugout like he can't usually.

Does he? Yeah, there's times you have to go out to the pitcher. Sometimes. But I always feel like those are bullshit conversations. I mean, essentially he's going like, you think he can still do it? And the guy's like, yeah. And he's like, no, I don't think he can. Get out of here. So now because the empires are riding Billy, George starts taking shots at Billy again. Right. Of course. George. And the team's doing well. The team's doing well. That's irrelevant. George is just, Georgia turns out as upset because he ordered the pitchers to do a specific training program every day, but then the team ignored it. Right. Because again, he has no connection to athletics and no understanding of reality. So he, he goes to Penel and he goes,

I'm going to hire, I'm going to get rid of Billy again. Can you be coach and Penel is like, I don't want to be like Billy, you keep hiring and rehiring. No, no, then he'll be the GM. But then then he's like, well, I'm going to order this. I'm going to hire this guy who's outside the Yankees organization. And Penel is like, oh, you can't hire a non Yankee. Yeah, it's not. No, no, no. That's, I don't even know how that would work. What's that going to look like? So Penel takes the job and George is fired as Yankee. And Billy is fired. Billy's fired. Sorry, Billy's fired. It's the 15th Yankee manager in 15 years. Wow, that is something. And they've won a lot of championships. And their record, they have these 97, 91 wins. Like those are crazy

good seasons for a baseball team. Billy didn't hear about it from George. His lawyer called him. Right, great. And he's in shock as are the fans because the team was fucking doing well. They had a 40 and 28 record. Wow. Fourth best in Major League Baseball. Fans attack George on talk radio. I think George, maybe just as a fetishist. Other people, however, say Billy needs rehab, right? They're like, well, this guy needs help. Most are worried about him. George still keeps him on the Yankee payroll. He's still got that position advisor or whatever. So he goes in and meets with George a month later. George is very remorseful, but probably because the Yankees were not, they immediately were bad as soon as he was not manager. They were not good. Dave, he better

not be fucking hiring again. No, it's not. How could that happen? Don't. How could that? I mean, he's about to hire him again. George gives him a race. Okay. Yeah, he deserved more money for not really being in the round. So Billy and Jill moved to a farm in upstate New York. They installed a 24 karat gold plated urinal in the bathroom because Billy missed the toilet so often late at night. And he's probably looking for people to be hammering him in the head every time he goes now. He's got a bathroom PTSD. Yeah. Yeah, he's got PTSD. Well done. They had a sheep, a ram, geese, ducks, Billy putters around a tractor. Jilly walls off Billy completely from his family, his friends. Yankees finished in fifth place. Okay. But he's living a small town life and he's

liking it. Right. He goes and does an occasional appearance. Yeah, I'm sure every now and then he'd go like murder a stranger in the woods or something just to get the feeling again. He's still a team advisor. He talks to George on the phone. George fires Lou Panella and hires Dallas Green who is the outsider. Okay. Right. That they were worried about. Right. And he's terrible. Okay. He fires Green and hires Bucky Dent. It's nice to see him play the field a little bit. I feel like no, there's other talent out there. Billy begs him for a more active role in the team because I want to do more. I want to start a picture, Billy. So George's idea is to put Billy in a uniform and just have him around. This is a mascot. Even if it's hanging out in

the owner's box. What sort of weird? You're going to pretend to be you 10 years ago. What sort of weird? Well, a lot of people think it was George's idea of having a manager and waiting for a split decision firing. Oh my God. He has like a like how some people hide cigarettes. The manager in the wings. I might have to fire a Panella. Now managing the New York Yankees for the rest of the game. In late November, after the season's over, George and Billy talk in his office. George has a giant mitt chair and he makes people see it because it makes them look really small. Okay, so let me know if he's a weird guy. They talk in his office, then they walk in. You're a ball. You understand? You're out.

Do you get it? You're tiny. No, I get it. You're in a little mitt. Yeah. Look at the size of me. You're a big man. Yeah, you're in a small chair. You're a little ball. Yeah. Okay. Your insides are like string and stuffing. Okay. Is there a point to this meeting? Yes, of course. You're a little ball. Okay. So tiny. I'm going to go. Get out. Get back. That guy's gone. You're a little ball. Oh, okay. So they talk in his office and then they go down to the field and then talk some more and then they shake hands and the secret's out. Billy V1 is here. Billy's six is coming. If it outdoes Rockies, it's a problem.

He's calling the coaches that he's going to hire. They're in love. Yeah, it's really crazy. And they just can't quit. They just can't stop it. They can't. He's plan B for the 1990 Yankee season. 1990. Then his mom dies. Okay. And he is fucking devastated, inconsolable. A childhood friend quote, he kept saying, I'll never be the same. His friend, Bill Reedy, who is now his closest friend, comes up to the farm to hang out. You know, my mom died coming around me. And they head out to town on Christmas day and end up drinking it. Morrie's the local bar. Sure. Billy was hitting the vodka hard. For some reason, the bartender there was an ex baseball player. It's just all so crazy. Okay. Cheers. What? Like cheers. Yeah,

like cheers. That's right. He's just talking about spring training. He's just fucking thrilled about spring training starting. Billy is. Yeah. He's going to be a manager. Yeah. They leave the bar. Reedy's driving. The pickup truck is going too fast for the icy road and slides into a ditch and Billy's neck was broken. Oh, shit. He died on Christmas day, 1989. Jill called his son, his daughter, and then George in that order. Wow. The IRS. George is like, I'm not going to fire him. I think he can still coach this year. What do you think? The IRS quickly attached a lien on his estate for unpaid back taxes. So nice. He would have lived if he had been wearing a seatbelt. Wow. Thousands came to his funeral. St. Patrick's fucking packed, like more people

that are supposed to be in there, street outside, thousands of people. All these guys, he really meant something to, like a guy named Bob, sorry, I came from New Jersey, quote, I was a fan of Billy all my life. He stood up for the little guy, one of us. That's why we're all here. Also very diverse crowd. On June 6, Bucky Dent was fired as manager of the Yankees. We're hiring Jill. Fuck it. We are going to actually employ Billy's ear. We found it. Cyberator died on July 13, 2010. Wow. That is quite a... Isn't that fucking crazy? Yeah, it's crazy. That whole, that whole life is crazy. I mean, it's like kill bills. The second one is very different, but it's still totally crazy. Yeah. There's the whole lead thing.

What? Leaded gasoline, made people more violent and crazy. Billy was drinking it, right? I mean, look, Billy grew up in a really rough time. His mom's a street sex worker, and that's going to lead to, that's going to lead to some fistfights alone. Right. But you're raised by, she's probably an alcoholic, I would imagine. Right. So he has a temper problem, but then he's the guy who cries. Yeah. And everybody loves him. His fucking teams love him, except for the occasional Rachel Jackson. But everybody loves Billy. The other managers who work on him are like, he's the smartest manager that's ever lived. Right. But he's so fucking volatile. Yeah. No, but I mean, there are like, I mean, there are

like the whole, I mean, even players or athletes, like part of the thing sometimes is, you know, finding the way to harness the talent and focus it. Because it's just scattered. Yeah. And so it's like, with someone like this, like the passion is what's getting your players motivated and is what's like working your system. But it's also the guy who's going to fucking chip a reporter's tooth at a bar that he's blackout drunk at like, yeah, it's good and bad, you know, and you kind of just have to, if you're the manager too, especially his situation with Steinberg, it's like, nobody's going to give you baby corrections. Like they're just letting him do whatever. And so, you know, he's an old dog, no new tricks, really. And so you just, but yeah.

It's really crazy. It's a fuck. It's also such a fucked up time, although, you know, we obviously live in a fucked up time now. What? But people were so much the fights. The alcohol too. I mean, that the level of alcoholism, right? But kids don't seem to fight as much as we did when we were like people would brawl all the time. And yeah. And I talk to kids now and it's not a thing like it was. I mean, I'll bet you that the, you know, the idea and like it's like road raging. Like you used to be able to talk shit when you were driving to people. Yeah. Like you used to be able to, you know, you had a guy with your car on purpose. You deserved it. But but you used to be able to like, you know, be like, Hey, you fucked up back there. But now it's like that. Like that.

Now people are like, I'll kill you. You know, and you're like, Oh, okay, never mind. Shouldn't do that. So maybe there's some version of that. Like there is maybe, but you know, I don't know. I think that society was much more violent back then. Yeah. But also drunk. Drunk. Well, that and that's the other thing, you know, they, they, they drank in the dugout. I mean, not the dugout in the club house and everyone was drinking up in the press box. Yeah. And then, you know, in the seventies came around and they were all doing fucking speed. I mean, there was bowls of speed and like that was helping them get more drunk. Yeah. I mean, it was just, yeah. I mean, they were using speed to sober up essentially. Yeah. And now like the thing most guys seem to be doing is

smoking a little bit of pot, you know, how dare they? Yeah. Fuck that. There's opiates to get hooked on. That's right. Yeah. No, but no, it's like when you used to see coaches smoke on the sideline, now you're like, what the fuck is going on? Just insane. Players are smoking. I mean, I don't think you can't chew tobacco anymore, but those guys just all have big wads of tobacco in their mouth. Yeah. No, no. I mean, the, the line between like athlete and regular human was so much more blurred. Now you're like, though, they're a different species of human. But back then you're like, Hey, this guy's like, also runs a Zamboni company. Like, you know, just like actual humans. But yeah, alcoholism is cool. Huh? Alcoholism is pretty cool. You've enjoyed

growing up. Yeah. Yeah. I like it a lot. Yeah. Call me, they call me fan number one. No, they, I mean, they, my grandfather was like a huge, huge alcoholic. And my brother, when he tells me stories, he's like, he was fun, but he was shitfaced. Yeah. You know, like, but that's just how it was. It wasn't a regular to be like drinking at lunch. Like every lunch you'd have drinks and that would not be great. You go out with someone now and you order drinks. People are like, is everything cool? Like, did we talk? Like, you would need to be predetermined that you're getting day drunk. You didn't just be like, Oh, three gin martinis. I gotta go back to the office. I'll drive there. I'm not driving back to the office, obviously. Yeah, it's really crazy. Well, cool.

Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. Yeah. Well, there we go. Finally. I've always wanted, I've always wanted to hear the opposing coach's experience on 10 cent beer night. So to contextualize that, we're all a little bit forming. I should read the sources. Oh yeah. Yeah. And when you do it, say a source is a source of course. A source is a source, of course, of course, a source is a source, of course. A main book by Bill Pennington. A main source is a book by Bill Pennington and Billy Martin Baseball's Flawed Genius. There's also some New York Times articles and then a meeting article called Billy Brawl. But that one is very pro reggie and it doesn't really hold well. But there's some stuff in there. There you go. Yeah. Well, that's, there you go. There's

everybody. There you go. So signing off. What? To catch you on the flip side. Cut it, Eric. Cut the fucking thing now. Got it. Cut it. Cut.