Billy Martin – Back Home With Baseball and Beyond

While researching my last post about Jackie Robinson’s iconic steal-of-home in game one of the 1955 World Series I made a remarkable discovery. I was studying the box score of that game reprinted on BaseballAlmanac.com and was dumfounded when I read the following baserunning notes:

SB-Robinson (1, Home off Ford/Berra). CS Martin (2, 2^nd base by Newcombe/Campanella, Home by Bessent/Campanella).

Say what? Billy Martin was caught stealing home in the same game as Jackie Robinson’s iconic steal??

“Tis the truth!” Nobody ever talks about it, but Billy Martin tried to steal home in the same game as Robinson’s famous steal. And two innings earlier.

Billy Martin out stealing home in the sixth inning game one of the 1955 World Series

According to an article in SABR Martin tripled to deep left off Don Newcombe with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Martin had already been caught stealing second earlier in the game. Joe Collins had hit a two-run homer in the inning and the Yankees had a comfortable 6-3 lead, so it was not a bad strategy to try to steal an insurance run with the bottom of the order coming up. Don Bessent had just replaced Newcombe on the mound when Martin took off for home and was tagged out by Dodger catcher Roy Campanella. The fiery pepper-pot Martin took exception to the high tag and took a few steps toward Campanella but decided instead to retreat to the Yankee dugout. He later said that he thought he was tagged in the throat. After the game Campanella spoke to the press. “Tell that little so-and-so that I missed. I tried to put the ball in his mouth.” Undoubtedly Campy knew that Billy had labeled him “spike shy” before the World Series started and so there was some bad blood between them.

It’s also quite possible that Robinson’s steal-of-home was instigated by Martin’s brazen attempt. Martin’s exceptional World Series play* had been a thorn in the Dodgers’ side for years and perhaps Robinson had had enough of Martin and needed to finally show up Bad Billy on the big stage.

Here’s a bit more psychoanalytic baseball. Remember how Yogi Berra reacted to Robinson’s steal. He basically went ballistic. Well in another World Series game one, this time in 1951 against the New York Giants, Monte Irvin, the Giant’s dynamic young outfielder slid safely past Yogi’s tag for a steal-of-home. When Robinson accomplished his feat four years later ol’ Yogi must have been thinking “not again” and went crazy.

Monte Irvin steals home in game one of the 1951 World Series

So how rare is a straight steal-of-home in the World Series? In the 119 World Series going back to 1903 there have been only 13 attempted steals-of-home and only five were successful. The last attempt occurred in 2020 when Manuel Margot of Tampa Bay was nailed in game five against the LA dodgers.

Manuel Margot out stealing home in game five of the 2020 World Series

Lonnie Smith of the Cardinals was out stealing home in game 6 of the 1982 World Series against the Brewers.

In 1955 game one Robinson was safe, and Martin was out.

Monte Irvin was safe in game one 1951.

We then have to go back 30 years for the next attempt and there were two 1921. Bob Meusel stole home for the Yankees in game two (Babe Ruth also stole two bases in that game, but not home). Mike McNally stole home for the Yankees in game one.

There were six attempts in the dead ball era and only Ty Cobb was successful when he stole home in game two of the 1909 World Series. He was out stealing home in 1908. Cobb was credited with a remarkable 32 steals-of-home in his career.

Fred Snodgrass was called out in 1911. Johnny Evers was out twice, 1907 and 1909 and Tommy Leach was nailed twice, in 1903 and 1909.

So back to Yogi’s lament as he commented on Robinson’s steal of home calling it a bad play. He may have been correct in theory. Of the 13 attempted steals-of-home in the World Series only five were successful. A .384 percentage. Good for a batting average not so good for baserunning when you consider the many other ways to score from third base even with two outs—any kind of base hit, a wild pitch, a passed ball, an error, a balk. And only once did the team with the successful steal home go on to win the World Series. That of course was the Dodgers’ by Jackie Robinson which we are still arguing about, but which may never have happened if not for Billy Martin’s brash attempt that nobody remembers.

References: Baseballalmanac.com; SABR; Matt Kelly for MLB

*Check out my Billy Martin post from 2022.

Billy Martin had a long, illustrious and many times controversial baseball career. Described as pugnacious, irascible, a fighter and a brat, Billy Martin was anything but boring throughout his four decades in Major League Baseball. Billy’s ten-year playing career was average at best. A good glove man but a light hitter he ended with a .257 batting average, 877 hits and 64 home runs. He found much more success as a manager where he compiled a .553 winning percentage over 16 years. He also made too many headlines for the wrong reasons—throwing a bat at a pitcher, sparing in a New York City night club brawl, tussling with his eventual hall-of-fame outfield slugger, and punching out a marshmallow salesman in an elevator. But what is many times overlooked and always underappreciated was Martin’s truly spectacular performance in the World Series. Participating in our nation’s premiere sporting event in the 1950’s, the scrappy Billy Martin was one of the best ever.

Over his long career Martin was part of seven Fall Classics, all with the Yankees, five of which he was on the winning side. In two he was the manager—winning against the Dodgers in 1977 and losing against the Reds in 1976. In the 1951 Series against the Giants, he pinch ran once and scored a run. But it was in the ’52, ’53, ’55 and ’56 World Series where Billy really excelled. Martin’s lifetime WS batting average over 28 games was an impressive .333 and the wiry second baseman’s slugging percentage was a powerful .566. In fact, Martin’s WS average and slugging percentage in a similar number of games were better than such sluggers as Musial, Mays, Maris, and Jackie Robinson.

Martin had his first significant playing time in the 1952 World Series against the Dodgers where his sixth inning three-run homer propelled the Yanks to a 7-1 victory in game two. But what he is most remembered for in that Series was his spectacular grab of a wind-blown pop-up in the seventh inning of game seven. With New York nursing a 4-2 lead in that pivotable game, Jackie Robinson came up with the based loaded, two outs and lofted a short infield pop-up that confused all the Yankee infielders and seemed certain to drop scoring the tying runs. But Martin came out of nowhere to make a lunging grab by the pitcher’s mound to save the day for the Yanks.

In the seventh game of the 1955 World Series, it was Martin, who with a walk, started what could have been the game-winning Yankee rally if not for Sandy Amoros’ incredible snag of Yogi Berra’s deep fly into the leftfield corner.

In the 1956 World Series Martin was once again in the middle of a New York Championship belting two home runs, knocking in five and scoring eight runs.

But Martin’s best performance was in the 1953 World Series against the Dodgers. “Billy the Kid” batted a scintillating .500 with 12 hits including two triples and two home runs. His 23 total bases bested the record of 19 set 30 years prior by none other than Babe Ruth. And it was Brash Billy who contributed the game-winning, series-winning, walk-off hit, knocking in Hank Bauer in the ninth inning of game six.

Billy Martin without question was the Wonderkid of the World Series.

On a personal note, I was too young to ever see Billy Martin play as a New York Yankee though I did spend years rooting for him and cringing for him during his tumultuous and mostly successful years as the Yankee manager. But as a kid what I most remember was that my first baseball glove was a Billy Martin model. I didn’t really know who he was as Gil McDougald had taken over second base for the Yanks and soon after Bobby Richardson would don Billy’s number one. But there was something magical about that glove. Back then we played baseball all the time, everywhere, and every variation of the game—stickball, whiffle ball, three flies six grounders, any base, infield practice, outfield practice, you name it. And I always brought my Billy Martin baseball glove. It got so worn out that at one point my brother and I ripped out the padding and all that was left was a flapping piece of worn-out leather. But I loved it and continued to take it everywhere and I did pretty well with it. As a matter of fact, I began to get a reputation as a pretty darn good fielder for a little squirt. My older brother would even take me to play with the big kids, but he made sure I took my Martin. By that time, we were referring to the chunk of leather as simply the Martin. Soon other kids began to take notice. “Hey. Nice catch, kid,” they’d say. Then they’d take a glimpse of my glove and say, “you made that catch with that scroungy glove?” Soon everybody wanted to take a look at my Martin. The big kids would say, “yeah you can play. But make sure you bring the Martin.” At the time I knew very little about Billy Martin. I didn’t know that he was a good fielding second baseman who had a special talent for getting big hits when it mattered. And that he was a scrappy competitor, often overlooked and even at times ridiculed, but possessing an undeniable touch of magic. Just like my glove.