Word: houk
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...American League champion Baltimore Orioles disproved another notion: that pay is related to performance. Bauer, who gave Baltimore its first pennant in 69 years, signed a new two-year contract for an estimated $50,000 a year-$25,000 less than the last-place Yanks pay their manager, Ralph Houk...
Forty-seven is a little late in life for a man to change his whole philosophy. But give Ralph Houk credit for trying. "Winning is all that counts," he used to say. Houk was a winner then. Now that he's a loser, he's learning to act like one. Alibis: "Injuries have practically killed us." Complaints: "The umpire really blew that one." Pleas for sympathy: "We're going through a period of unexpected events." Promises, promises, promises: "We have some outstanding prospects...
...Since 1925. A tobacco-chewing ex-Army officer and supernumerary ballplayer who hung around the big leagues for eight years (although he got into only 91 games), Houk was known as the "Miracle Major" when he bossed the New York Yankees to three straight American League pennants before retiring to the front office in 1964. Another miracle was obviously called for after the Yankees slumped to sixth place last year, got off to a miserable start in 1966. So last May, when Manager Johnny Keane was fired, Houk took over the job again himself...
...totality of the Yankee collapse seems to baffle Houk as much as anybody. "I've never been with a losing club before, either as a manager or a player," he mutters. Pitcher Mel Stottlemyre, a 20-game winner last year, is a 17-game loser this season. Leftfielder Tom Tresh, a .279 hitter in 1965, is batting .238. The team as a whole is batting .237. They have lost 33 games by a margin of one run, and they have been unable even to beat their old patsies, the Washington Senators and the California Angels...
Matter of Age. The chances were that neither Keane nor Houk could revive these Yankees. Old age had destroyed their skills. Slugger Mickey Mantle, at 34 and in his 16th season, was playing with his shaky legs encased in tape; his right shoulder was still sore after an operation for a bone chip, and he had yet to hit his first home run. Roger Maris, 31, the second half of the M. & M. twins who tore the league apart a few years ago, sat out 116 games last year because of injuries. He seems healthy enough now, but his batting...