Sitting at my computer desk trying to determine just what the hell is unfolding in our country at the moment, I am struck by the numerous similarities between President Trump and the legendary, swashbuckling former baseball player and manager, Billy Martin. For the younger crowd, Martin's name signifies a shrug and a "who's that?" response, but to the somewhat seasoned crowd and baseball fans, the name represents anti-establishment stances, controversy, arrogance, winning, and an everyone's picking on me mentality . . . but he was a fearless fighter who challenged anyone who interfered with him. Ironically, his numerous disputes created the persona that he was a tough guy, but so many of his fights ended up with his getting thumped. For those reasons and more, I sense a strong similarity with our president.
Growing up in a somewhat antiquated time that allowed me to get our primary news via The Daily Times, The Dover Reporter, or The Evening Chronicle and periodicals like Sports Illustrated and Sport with the occasional televised "Game of the Week," I was able to follow professional baseball mostly through the written word. Yes, I listened to the Indians games with the legendary Jimmy Dudley at the mike and the Reds games with Al Michaels, Marty Brenneman, and, of course, Joe Nuxhall calling the action, but my primary understanding came from sportswriters, those media members who created pictures with words and allowed readers to visualize what action had occurred. Of course, videos were rare, so my understanding was dependent on the writers' descriptions. In time, however, television's rise to prominence sprouted, so, eventually, I was able to actually view the various exploits of the baseball stars and, specifically, the numerous temper tantrums and press conferences of managers like Earl Weaver, Lou Pinella, and, of course, Billy Martin . . . and what tantrums they were.
Of course, it goes without saying that the world I knew and the world I know are unlike in many ways. However, the spirit of humans really has not changed as much as we might like to believe. Larger-than-life personalities have always been present, but today's easy access to television, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, . . . has allowed us to be more aware of people's deficiencies, creating a much more sensationalized and nit-picking public. Along with that, my friends, comes much more analyzing and/or dislike . . . just as most of America is doing today when discussing our political climate. I digress, I realize, but to make my point, the foregoing needed to be said.
Billy Martin was a master at creating distractions; he loved to keep his clubhouse on edge, recognizing that in a long 162-game season, players would be disgruntled with his decisions. Rather than be specific with his individual players, he created a climate where basically all the players hated him at various points. His philosophy focused on a shared hatred--hate me but pull together and win the damn games. On the outside, he was not an easy touch who soft pedaled his players; no, he stirred controversy to deflect the pressure to him rather than to his players' performance. Be not mistaken: he loved the limelight and wanted recognition and acknowledgement, and, on so many occasions, it worked to his advantage due to his aggressiveness and fearfulness. Similarly, President Trump appears to be in his element when he casually distracts the story of the day to another story of the day. On one hand, he thrives in creating his version of organized chaos, and I sense he silently chuckles to himself at the frenzy he often causes with his unpredictability. Just like Martin, he wants to color his way, not necessarily inside the lines.
Martin was an egomaniac; his most famous confrontation occurred when he challenged his Mr. September, Reggie Jackson, to a fight in the dugout. Jackson, as many remember, was a stout, well-muscled, home run hitting machine with a superstar ego. Although many smaller incidents led to Martin's dislike of Jackson, Jackson's "I'm the straw that stirs the drink" comment particularly irked his manager, ultimately culminating in a dugout skirmish viewed by millions. Martin was not going to allow anyone to show him up--particularly on national television--basically echoing our president's words, "I hit a point where I'll fight back, and it won't be pretty." I sense that most observers would agree with the belief that President Trump has an oversized ego that has allowed him to push and maneuver most everybody out of his way for the better part of his life. In today's political world, he is facing the same battles, but I sense that he will back down from no one, whether he is right or wrong. Stubbornness has a way of creating controversy --both Martin and our president would understand that, I presume.
Baseball managers are accustomed to being in control of players and situations; they operate with the idea that their philosophy is what got them to their major league positions and that is what will keep them there. Any interference from general managers, sportswriters, fans, or owners is generally seen as an attempt to undermine that philosophy. Therefore, it is not unusual for those same managers to have short careers. Most notably, Martin feuded with the legendary Charlie Finley and George Steinbrenner, then owners of the Oakland A's and the New York Yankees respectively, ultimately resulting in his firings on several occasions. To coin a phrase, he "did not like anyone else playing in his sandbox." President Trump seems to reflect that same approach; he has been obviously successful in his corporate world and typically could confront and defeat those nasty underminers who challenged his philosophy. The major contrast, though, was that he controlled the sandbox and really had to answer only to himself. In that sense, he has pretty much always had more power than Martin, but the similarity is obvious: neither were overly tolerant of dissenters, as evidenced by Mr. Trump (or his corporations as he often equivocates) having been sued over 3,500 times including 98 times regarding golf courses he has purchased.
Interestingly, Martin was extremely popular in the baseball world with a strong base of devoted followers simply because he was a change agent. Owners brought him in for one reason: change the culture. For short bursts, he did just that. In time, however, his act got old, his antics grew wearisome, and his controversies became old news, eventually leading to his ouster from Major League Baseball. Similarly, President Trump campaigned as being a change agent for our country, appealing to educated and well-read Midwesterners, Southern evangelicals, rednecks, and numerous other classifications of people throughout our country. His act worked, and as we know he is our president. Many sense, however, that his antics are growing increasingly wearisome and his controversies seem to be never ending. How this soap opera will end remains to be seen, but Americans certainly cannot ignore his presence. Like Martin, his swashbuckling personality is always in the forefront.
Martin was viewed by his managerial peers with "backdoor" respect because he was not immune to challenging those same peers, occasionally criticizing them for instigating controversy and routinely lambasting them for anything he did not like. In fact, his criticisms were usually quite biting referring to several as being guilty of overmanaging while trying to make names for themselves. In short, it was not unusual to compare himself with other managers, to which he found himself to certainly be superior. Along that same line, President Trump has made no bones about how much better he is than most all other presidents, proclaiming that he has done more in his short-time presidency than most all his predecessors. His fixation with former President Obama is a constant in his numerous tweets. Just as Martin's chief rival was Earl Weaver (Baltimore Orioles), Mr. Trump's chief rival is his immediate predecessor--both Martin and Mr. Trump have self-created the arrogant image of "look at me; I'm the best!"
As stated in previous blog entries, I am disturbed by the current state of our country. Most concerning is I clearly recognize that changes are needed in our immigration policies, tax codes, national security, as well as other hot areas. However, what I fear is that even though both Martin and Mr. Trump have been labeled as change agents, both could/can only accomplish so much before their self-fulfilling arrogance emerges as key factors. In any persuasive situation, the ethos (credibility) of the persuader has major influence on the message's effectiveness. As Martin eventually burned out as an effective manager due to his combative personality (ultimately being killed in an unrelated automobile crash), I sense that our president's effectiveness as a deal closer may, too, burn out. Bottom line is that Americans may eventually (if not already) just begin to hear "blah, blah, blah" when he speaks because his act has gotten old. Pity our country, I suppose, but he is our president . . . I can only hope that his overbearing personality and unpredictable decisions are part of a grand master plan currently unknown to anyone other than him . . . and that plan will ultimately benefit us--not just him. I am figuratively holding my breath.
