59-703: As coach Cletis Leroy " Clete " Boyer (February 9, 1937 – June 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball third baseman — who occasionally played shortstop and second base — in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics (1955–57), New York Yankees (1959–66), and Atlanta Braves (1967–71). Boyer also spent four seasons with the Taiyō Whales of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In his 16-year big league career, Boyer hit 162 home runs , with 654 runs batted in (RBI), and
118-533: A Dick Gernert ground ball in which he dove to his left and threw Gernert out, also from his knees. Boyer's offensive numbers improved in 1962 : career bests in batting average .272, home runs (18) and runs batted in (68). He also came within nine assists of the third base record of 405 set by Harlond Clift of the 1937 St. Louis Browns . Once again, the Yankees won the World Series , this time in seven games over
177-605: A season-ending 8–5 loss to the Detroit Tigers on September 30, 1973, in the final game at Yankee Stadium prior to its closure for a two-year renovation. While first-year team owner George Steinbrenner 's commanding style has led some to think the new owner influenced Houk's departure, he told Bill Madden of the New York Daily News it was the constant booing of Yankee fans that pushed him. Houk even said that Steinbrenner insisted he'd get some new players to restore
236-609: A .242 batting average , in 1,725 games played . Born in Cassville, Missouri , Boyer grew up in Alba, Missouri , as one of fourteen children. All seven boys in the family played professional baseball, with two of his older brothers also reaching the major leagues: Cloyd was a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in the early 1950s, and Ken became an All-Star third baseman for the Cardinals. Boyer
295-478: A bad back after the 1965 season) and the trading away of Maris, Clete Boyer and, during the 1967 season, Elston Howard . Houk continued to manage the Yankees from 1967 until 1973. His best season was 1970 , when the Yanks won 93 games, but finished 15 games behind the eventual World Series champion Baltimore Orioles . Despite two years left on a three‐year contract, Houk announced his resignation immediately after
354-663: A finish of sixth or worse. After his first three championship seasons, he never appeared in the postseason. Houk served with the Minnesota Twins as a special assistant to general manager Andy MacPhail , Lee's son, from 1987 to 1989 before retiring from the game for good. He thus enjoyed one additional world championship season, when the Twins defeated the Cardinals in the 1987 World Series . Colorful opinions about Houk can be found in Jim Bouton 's classic 1970 memoir, Ball Four . Houk
413-464: A lineup that featured the likes of Hank Aaron , Joe Torre , Felipe Alou , and Mack Jones ; Boyer batted cleanup behind Aaron. He also continued his mastery of the glove, leading National League (NL) third baseman in fielding both in 1967 and 1969 . In the latter year, he finally won the Gold Glove Award that had eluded him in his Yankee years; with brother Ken having won the award five times,
472-484: A manager, though he didn't elaborate on the reasoning. To succeed Berra, he then hired Johnny Keane , who had just resigned as manager of the champion Cardinals. Houk had admired Keane as a competitor in the American Association from almost a decade before and, according to author David Halberstam , the Yankees had made overtures to Keane during the 1964 regular season about becoming their manager for 1965. But
531-556: A national sensation. By 1978 , Houk had restored Detroit to respectability and the Tigers won 86 games -- their first winning season since 1973, and the first of 10 consecutive winning seasons -- with future stars of the Sparky Anderson -led 1980s Tigers such as Lou Whitaker , Alan Trammell and Jack Morris . After the 1978 season, with the roster's average age a youthful 26.3, Houk retired from baseball. Houk's name had been linked by
590-489: A potential star, the general manager of the Yankees, George Weiss contacted the general manager of the Kansas City Athletics, Parke Carroll , whom the Yankees had a friendly relationship with, to sign Boyer with the final intention of eventually acquiring him (by trade or sale of his contract). In 1955 , Boyer broke into the major leagues as a utility infielder, at age 18. With no minor league experience, he played
649-951: A restaurant named "Clete Boyer's Hamburger Hall of Fame" in Cooperstown, New York, just a few miles south of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The restaurant features sandwiches and hamburgers named after various Yankees' immortals such as: " Yogi 's Special meatball sub", "the Mickey Mantle Cheeseburger Deluxe", "the Reggie Veggie Burger", "the Bobby Richardson Cheeseburger", "the Roger Maris Hamburger Deluxe", and "the Whitey Ford Blue Cheese Burger". Boyer could often be found at
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#1733084611303708-460: A season and third rookie manager to win a World Series. He was the first manager to win World Series titles in his first two seasons and the first manager since Hughie Jennings to win three pennants in his first three seasons. A native of Lawrence, Kansas ( Stull Community ), Houk was a catcher working his way through the Yankees' farm system when the U.S. entered World War II. He enlisted in
767-510: A total of 124 games for the Kansas City Athletics from 1955 to 1957. On June 4, 1957, the Athletics traded Boyer to the Yankees to complete a deal that had been made prior to the start of the season. On February 19, the Athletics had dealt five players, including pitchers Bobby Shantz and Art Ditmar to the Yankees for seven players, most notably Irv Noren and Billy Hunter . The trade also involved three players to be named later , two going to
826-440: Is a member, describes Houk as "rough, blunt and decisive" and his tantrums in arguments with umpires earned him 45 ejections as a manager in the majors. Houk is tied with Billy Martin for fourteenth place on baseball's "most ejected" list. The early 1960s Yankees responded to Houk's leadership; the 1961 team led by Roger Maris (61 home runs ), Mickey Mantle (54 homers) and Whitey Ford (25 victories) won 109 games and beat
885-669: Is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since
944-588: Is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in
1003-548: The 1964 team slumped under Berra, especially Boyer, who batted .218 on the season. As Berra's managing improved, the team improved with it and won its fifth straight pennant by one game over the Chicago White Sox and two over the third place Baltimore Orioles . The Yankees faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series with Clete playing against his brother Ken. The Yankees lost in seven games, but not before Ken and Clete became
1062-524: The Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox , but Houk and the Yankee ownership quickly became disenchanted with his work and in late August they made up their mind to fire him regardless of how the season turned out. After the Yankees' seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1964 World Series , Houk sacked Berra. Later, Houk said that the Yankee brain trust had concluded Berra wasn't ready to be
1121-492: The China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with
1180-725: The Cincinnati Reds in five games in the World Series . His 1962 club won 96 games, and were victorious over the San Francisco Giants in seven games in the Fall Classic . In 1963 , the Yanks won 104 games and rolled to the pennant, but were swept in four games by the Dodgers in the Series . Not all players found him to be a stellar players' manager, though. He was featured a handful of times in Jim Bouton 's book Ball Four , as Bouton
1239-607: The Denver Bears of the American Association . Following three highly successful seasons at Denver, culminating with the 1957 league playoff and Junior World Series championships, Houk returned to the Bronx as Stengel's first-base coach from 1958 to 1960. From late May through early June 1960 , Houk served as acting manager of the Yanks for 13 games while Stengel, 70, was sidelined by illness. (The team won 7 and lost 6.) Then, after
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#17330846113031298-514: The San Francisco Giants . In Game One of the Series, Boyer's seventh-inning home run off starter Billy O'Dell broke a 2–2 and gave the Yankees the lead for good; they won the game 6–2 in what would be the last of Whitey Ford's World Series-record 10 victories. The Series ended with Bobby Richardson catching Willie McCovey 's line drive with runners on second and third. If just a few feet to either side, Richardson could not have gotten his hands on it, and
1357-676: The 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues,
1416-552: The Atlanta Braves for Bill Robinson , that year's Minor League Player of the Year. During the off-season in 1964, Boyer appeared on To Tell the Truth as an imposter for a sponge diver. Boyer received three of the four possible votes. In 1967 Boyer had his best offensive season. Playing in hitter-friendly Atlanta Stadium , he established career highs in home runs (26) and RBIs (96) in
1475-713: The Boyers became the first brothers to win a Gold Glove. On August 31 of that year, Clete fell victim to Morganna , the famed buxom "Kissing Bandit." Prior to the kiss, he had been mired in a 1-for-17 slump; in that very at-bat, Boyer drove in a run with a single. He got two more hits later in the game, then eight more hits in his next 15 at-bats. In the 1969 season the Braves won the Western Division title (both leagues now had Eastern and Western Divisions, after each expanded from 10 teams to 12) for their first post-season berth since losing to
1534-514: The Giants would have scored two runs and won the Series. In 1963 Boyer batted .251 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs as the Yankees won another pennant, however, they were swept in the World Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers , the first time this had ever been done to a Yankee team in a World Series. Dodger ace Sandy Koufax won the first and fourth games, striking out a series record 15 batters in
1593-513: The Major ", was an American catcher , coach , manager , and front office executive in Major League Baseball . He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New York Yankees from 1961 to 1963, when his teams won three consecutive American League pennants and the 1961 and 1962 World Series championships. In 1961 he became the second rookie manager to win 100 games in
1652-625: The Major Leagues as a third-base coach with the Yankees and the Oakland Athletics , mostly with former teammate Billy Martin as manager. Boyer's teammates recognized his defensive ability. "When I think of Clete, I think of the outstanding defensive third basemen in baseball," Richardson said. "I know Brooks Robinson got all the Gold Gloves, and he's every bit deserving of the Hall of Fame, but Clete
1711-534: The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ")
1770-413: The Yankees fired Keane two weeks into the season, and Houk returned as manager. However, Houk's second managerial stint was far less successful than his first. With their talent and farm system both depleted, the Yankees finished dead last — the first time they had done so since 1912 . After a season in which he hit .240 with 14 home runs, Lee MacPhail , who replaced Houk as general manager, traded Boyer to
1829-468: The Yankees in the 1958 World Series as the Milwaukee Braves. However, the team lost in the playoffs to the eventual World Champion New York Mets . Boyer continued to sparkle at third base until he was released by the Braves on May 28, 1971, after a bitter feud with General Manager Paul Richards and manager Lum Harris over mismanagement. (Boyer has complained that the organization didn't teach
Clete Boyer - Misplaced Pages Continue
1888-455: The Yankees, and one to the Athletics. One of the players to be named was Boyer, fulfilling Weiss' original intent of making Boyer a Yankee. After joining the Yankees, Boyer spent the better part of three seasons in their farm system until he was called up late in 1959 . He became the Yankees' regular third baseman in 1960 , beating out three others (including Gil McDougald , who had announced in spring training that this, his tenth season in
1947-584: The Yanks lost the 1960 World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates —and with Houk one of the hottest managerial candidates in baseball—the Yankees "discharged" Stengel (to use Stengel's own words) and promoted Houk. Houk was known as a "player's manager"—albeit one with a quick temper. Future Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda briefly played for Houk at Denver and called Houk the best handler of men he ever played for, and modeled his managerial style on him. The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame , of which Houk
2006-676: The armed forces, serving with Company I, 89th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized) of the 9th Armored Division in July 1944. He rose to the rank of Major (the source of his Yankees nickname). He was a combat veteran of Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge , and was awarded the Silver Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster and Purple Heart . Returning to baseball after
2065-451: The core of another pennant winning ballclub (in this case, the 1986 Red Sox ) to his successor, John McNamara . His final record, over 20 years with the Yankees (1961–1963, 1966–1973), Tigers (1974–1978) and Red Sox (1981–1984) was 1,619 wins and 1,531 losses (.514), plus eight wins and eight losses in the World Series. In twenty seasons as manager, he had eleven winning seasons, with six finishes of third or better and five seasons with
2124-445: The end of the season no matter what the Yankees did) and replaced him with Johnny Keane , who had managed the Cardinals to the World Series victory over the Yankees. In spring training of 1965 Boyer was involved in a fight in a Fort Lauderdale bar with a male model, Jerome Modzelewski. During the season, he did bat .251 with a career-tying 18 home runs, but the Yankees slumped to sixth place, their lowest finish in 40 years. In 1966
2183-533: The first 20 games of 1966 , Houk fired Keane on May 7 and named himself manager, assuming that job for the second time. Houk (eventually succeeded as general manager by Lee MacPhail ) thus began a second, and far less successful, term as Yankee manager, finishing the 1966 season. Their talent and farm system both depleted, the Yankees finished in last place for the first time since 1912 . A long rebuilding process followed, including Bobby Richardson 's retirement (Richardson's roommate, Tony Kubek , had retired because
2242-433: The first brothers to hit home runs on opposing teams in a World Series game. In the 7th inning of that seventh game, Ken homered off Yankee pitcher Steve Hamilton and exchanged nods with Clete. Clete returned the favor in the 9th after homering off Cardinal ace Bob Gibson . After the 1964 Series, Houk unceremoniously fired Berra (in mid-season the management, dissatisfied with Berra's work, made up their mind to fire him at
2301-492: The great postwar Yankee dynasty was aged and crumbling, the farm system had seriously deteriorated, and the Kansas City Athletics were no longer a reliable source for major league talent. Keane, a longtime minor league manager, was better suited by temperament for managing young players than established and aging superstars, and his hiring was a failure. The team fell to sixth in 1965 —their first losing record since 1925, and only their second since 1918. When they won only four of
2360-496: The inning and lost 6–4, ultimately losing the Series in Game 7 on Bill Mazeroski 's home run off Ralph Terry in the bottom of the ninth. Boyer didn't play in the Series again until Game Six. After the Series, the Yankees fired Stengel. Ralph Houk replaced him as manager and had a confidence in Boyer which Stengel did not. Houk saw something special in Boyer's defensive prowess, and gave him
2419-462: The interim for the remainder of the 1973 season . Aware of the challenge he was going to face, he stated, "I'm more concerned with winning than rebuilding, but we have to rebuild, there's no doubt about it." A veteran team -- Detroit's 1973 roster averaged 31.8 years of age -- the Tigers were five years removed from winning the World Series and had just had won the AL East in 1972 under Martin. But
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2478-738: The major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at a black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Ralph Houk As manager Ralph George Houk ( / ˈ h aʊ k / ; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed "
2537-499: The majors, would be his last) for the starting job. He batted .242 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs as the Yankees won the pennant. However, he had a humbling moment in the first game of the World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates . With two runners on base and the Yankees trailing 3–1 in the second inning, manager Casey Stengel , never confident in Boyer's hitting, replaced him with pinch-hitter Dale Long , who flied out to right fielder Roberto Clemente . The Yankees didn't score in
2596-511: The media with the Boston Red Sox ' managerial job since his days as a Yankees' coach. After two years of retirement, in the autumn of 1980 , Houk, then 61, was ready to get back into baseball. In late October, when the Red Sox called about their opening after they had fired Don Zimmer , he jumped at the chance. Although not as daunting as his Detroit assignment, Houk faced another rebuilding job:
2655-542: The opener. Boyer was the only Yankee regular not to strike out against Koufax. During each of Ralph Houk's first three seasons as Yankee manager (1961–1963), Boyer led all American League (AL) third basemen in putouts , assists, and double plays , finishing ahead of rival Brooks Robinson — yet Robinson, not Boyer, won the Gold Glove Award each year. After the 1963 season, Houk was promoted to general manager and Yogi Berra replaced him as field manager. Early on,
2714-488: The opportunity to play every day. The 1961 team (with Mickey Mantle , Whitey Ford , Roger Maris , Elston Howard , Yogi Berra and Moose Skowron ), which defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series , was considered by many as the best ever, with sluggers Mantle and Maris chasing Babe Ruth 's 1927 record of 60 home runs (Maris eventually broke the record on the final day of a 162-game season) and Ford winning 25 games and losing four. Boyer batted only .224 during
2773-407: The other in 1952 ), batting .500. During his last five years as a major-league player (1950–1954), Houk played in only 31 regular-season games, made 30 total plate appearances , and caught 83 innings . By 1953 he had transitioned to becoming the Yankees' full-time bullpen coach, effectively beginning his managerial apprenticeship. In 1955 he was named manager of the Yanks' Triple-A affiliate,
2832-510: The other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly
2891-559: The players the proper fundamentals. Richards countered that Boyer was a troublemaker.) Boyer left Major League Baseball and resurfaced in Japan, where he played professionally for the Taiyō Whales, from 1972 to 1975 . While playing in Japan, Boyer’ s roommate was Sadaharu Oh . After retiring following the 1975 season, he was the defensive coach for the Whales in 1976. Afterwards, Boyer returned to
2950-494: The powerful Boston team of the 1970s was about to lose marquee players such as Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn and needed to retool its roster. But Houk rose to the challenge, and in four seasons produced three over-.500 teams. On his watch, Boston broke in young players Wade Boggs , Roger Clemens , Bruce Hurst and Marty Barrett . When Houk retired from managing permanently in October 1984 , just after his 65th birthday, he bequeathed
3009-431: The regular season, but more than made up for it with his defense in an infield that also featured the double play duo of Tony Kubek at shortstop and Bobby Richardson at second base. In the first game of that World Series, Boyer displayed his defense by making two spectacular plays — one on a Gene Freese ground ball in the second inning, in which he backhanded the ball and threw Freese out from his knees, and another on
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#17330846113033068-434: The restaurant chatting with visitors and graciously signing photos and other memorabilia. Boyer died on June 4, 2007, in an Atlanta area hospital from complications following a brain hemorrhage . Brother Ken Boyer (1964 National League MVP ), former St. Louis Cardinal, predeceased Clete in 1982. Boyer's family had his cremated remains placed in a New York Yankees urn. Professional baseball Professional baseball
3127-449: The team was in need of a rebuild and began moving on from their longtime stars -- including future Hall of Famer Al Kaline , who retired after Houk's first season. The low point came in 1975 , when Houk's team lost 102 games -- at the time the second-most losses in a season in franchise history -- but the 1976 Tigers improved their record by 14 games behind the heroics of rookie pitcher Mark Fidrych , who won 19 games while becoming
3186-755: The team's greatness. "And he did, bringing in Catfish and Reggie , " Houk told Madden in Pride of October. "That'll make you good in a hurry!" Apart from a brief stint with the Tigers' Class B affiliate in Augusta, Georgia , he had spent the first 35 years of his adult life on the Yankees' payroll. Houk signed a three-year, $ 225,000 contract to join the Tigers in a similar capacity just less than two weeks later, on October 11. He succeeded former Yankees teammate Billy Martin , who had been fired on September 2 and Joe Schultz , who served in
3245-461: The war, Houk eventually reached the major leagues, serving as the Yankees' second- and third-string catcher behind Yogi Berra . A right-handed hitter listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 193 pounds (88 kg), Houk played in only 91 games over eight seasons (1947–1954), finishing with a batting average of .272. Although the Yankees participated in six World Series during that period, Houk had only two at bats (one in 1947 ,
3304-456: Was Bouton's first big league manager and sparred with him over contracts when Houk was the Yankees' GM. Houk was portrayed by Bruce McGill in the 2001 film 61* . He died on July 21, 2010, in Winter Haven, Florida , just nineteen days before he would have turned 91. At age 90 he was, at the time, the oldest living manager of a World Series-winning, pennant-winning or post-season team. He
3363-431: Was as good as anyone who ever played the game." Richardson and Boyer remained friends after their careers ended. Kubek, also a lifelong friend of Boyer, thought he was as good at playing third base as Graig Nettles , Brooks Robinson , and Mike Schmidt . In 1986, Cletus Seldin , who later became a champion boxer , was named after Clete Boyer, as Seldin's grandparents were close friends with Boyer. In 2000, Boyer opened
3422-527: Was originally scouted by the New York Yankees while he was still high school. But because the Yankees had already signed two other highly touted " bonus babies " ( Frank Leja and Tommy Carroll ) prior to scouting Boyer, the team decided that they could not sign him due to the rules in which bonus babies had to be on the Major League roster for their first two professional seasons. Knowing Boyer might become
3481-402: Was reminiscing about his time with the Yankees in 1969. Houk was described in one instance as "sometimes...99 percent pure bullshit." Houk moved into the Yankees' front office as general manager on October 23, 1963, replacing Roy Hamey , and Berra, at the end of his playing career, became the Yanks' new manager. The Yankees won the 1964 pennant under Berra after a summer-long struggle with
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