Voting Station

Gene Michael

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Baseball Player

The Resume

    (June 2, 1938-September 7, 2017)
    Born in Kent, Ohio
    Shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1966), Los Angeles Dodgers (1967), New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers (1975)
    Career batting average .229
    Managed the New York Yankees (1981-82) and Chicago Cubs (1986-87)
    Managerial record: 206 wins, 200 losses
    General Manager of the New York Yankees (1980-81,1991-95)
    Vice President of Major League Scouting for the Yankees (1996-2002)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was nicknamed ‘Stick’ for his skinny build (6’2 tall, weighed 180 pounds during his playing days).
    He admitted he lacked the upper body strength to be a good batter.
    During his first stint as Yankees manager, he complained to the press about George Steinbrenner’s threats to fire him, declaring ‘I’d rather he do it than talk about it.’ A week later, Steinbrenner did just that.
    He was arrested for driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident after hitting a utility pole, driving off and refusing to take a Breathalyzer test (March 29, 1995).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He earned a dual scholarship to Kent State, for both baseball and basketball.
    He was a master of the hidden ball trick, tagging out five runners who assumed the pitcher had the ball.
    As general manager, he looked for young players who showed promise, departing from Steinbrenner’s habit of spending heavily for free agents.
    He signed many of the players who were the core of the Yankees late 1990s dynasty, including Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.
    Buck Showalter called him ‘the best baseball talent evaluator I ever saw.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 90.91% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 177 Votes: 57.06% Annoying