2007-11-08 13:52:37 · 11 answers · asked by gkoz316 2 in Sports ➔ Baseball
Martin certainly wasn't a great player - that .300 OBP is horrible - so his chance would be as a manager. He had a decent winning percentage and won a couple of World Series, but that was more a case of right place, right time than any genius on his part.
The sign of a good manager is the ability to win without great players, and Martin never did that. When given poor players like his 1982 A's team, he would lose. Given that star-studded Yankees team, he won. To me, he's standard fare among managers and doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.
2007-11-08 14:05:29 · answer #1 · answered by Craig S 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Yes, Billy Martin is easily a Hall of Famer. As a player, no. He did appear in the World Series and had 12 hits and 8 RBIs in one, but he was a Yankee and not hardly the reason they were there.
But as a manager, he went to the post season with 4 or the 5 different teams he managed. With Texas all he could do was take them from 6th to 2nd. Not bad.
He won with Minnesota, Detroit, Oakland, and New York, AL.
He took the Yankees to 3 straight World Series, winning 2. If a manager can win with any club he manages, that's a pretty good clue of his ability.
Martin was perhaps the most well known manager of his day and certainly an icon. If the Hall of Fame were all about numbers there would be no need to elect anyone. It is about greatness however and Billy was one of the greatest. In with him.
2007-11-08 19:53:19 · answer #2 · answered by Sarrafzedehkhoee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Any Hall of Fame should be difficult to enter. Only the best should ever be allowed in. Martin was a solid player, but that was it. He's not a Hall of Famer. Perhaps he could have gotten in like Torre...another solid player....with a exceptional managerial career, but Martin didn't really have that either.
So while Martin may be comparable to some of the players that are in the Hall of Fame (alot of the veteran's committee picks don't belong) he is not a Hall of Famer.
2007-11-08 14:00:51 · answer #3 · answered by Shawn C 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, nor should he be. His managerial career was reckless in many ways, and while he carried a high profile while in NYC, he really doesn't carry the sort of historical weight the Hall tends to prefer.
I'll be cobbling together my thoughts on the upcoming Veterans Committee candidates on my blog over the weekend, most likely. The only name of the 20 that I'm high on already is Marvin Miller, but I've been in favor of his induction for decades.
2007-11-08 16:21:15 · answer #4 · answered by Chipmaker Authentic 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He's not in yet, but between his playing and managing careers, he should be in now. Will there ever be a more memorable manager than Billy?
2007-11-08 14:02:18 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Oooppps.. I originally said yes but he in not a member , at least as of yet. He had a rich but spotty career. I could keep him out.
2007-11-08 14:00:06 · answer #6 · answered by michael g 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a manager, I think he is. He is being considered as a manager. As a player, he was very good, but not HOF material in my book.
2007-11-08 14:29:16 · answer #7 · answered by Toodeemo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. His names comes up before the Veterans Committee next month.
2007-11-08 14:03:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
As a manager.
2007-11-08 15:34:56 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
he was good as a player, not great. and about the same as a manager. depends on how people remember him, personally i say no.
2007-11-08 14:06:41 · answer #10 · answered by tomjohn2 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋