With owner George Steinbrenner upstairs and not...
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With owner George Steinbrenner upstairs and not talking with the press, Billy Martin was introduced as manager of the New York Yankees--for the fifth time.
Lou Piniella, newly appointed general manager and the man Martin replaced, attended the news conference.
Martin and Piniella were surrounded by approximately 100 reporters, two dozen photographers and 14 camera crews for the meeting one floor below Steinbrenner’s office in Yankee Stadium. A cable television network and a local radio station covered the occasion live.
Martin said that past rifts between himself and Steinbrenner had been started by reporters but that he was able to forgive the media and himself.
“I go to Mass Sundays,” Martin said. “The Guy Upstairs knows me. I’m sure he’s not reading the papers.”
During the 1987 season, Martin, who led the Yankees to the American League pennant in 1976 and a World Series victory the next season, served as an adviser to Steinbrenner. Late in the season, Piniella told people that Martin had been back-stabbing him, but that, too, apparently has been forgotten.
“Nobody’s gonna drive a wedge between Lou and me,” Martin said.
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