R.I.P. - Ralph Houk

Ralph Houk, who passed away at 90 on Wednesday afternoon, left his mark on two of baseball's most storied franchises, first as a manager for two New York Yankees World Series champions, and later with the Boston Red Sox.



He also was a witness to history.



When Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle staged their race to 60 (and 61) home runs in 1961, it was Houk who guided the club through a season of death threats for Mantle.



He saw Whitey Ford win 25 games, and witnessed the highest of highs and deepest valleys with Mantle.



And, as the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo points out, Houk, in his final season as Yankees manager, had to deal with the infamous Mike Kekich-Fritz Peterson wife-swapping incident in 1973, a scenario soon to be immortalized in film.