would finish third in the newly formed American League West. Indeed, Schultz managed to keep his patchwork team within striking distance of .500 for most of the early part of the season. However, a 9–20 July effectively ended any chance at respectability, and the Pilots finished last in the new West, with a mark of However, it can be argued that Schultz's efforts were hamstrung by the Pilots' off-the-field problems. They played at Sick's Stadium, an aging minor league park that was clearly inadequate even as a temporary facility. The Pilots were also plagued by an unstable, undercapitalized ownership; they were nearly broke by the end of the season. Schultz was relieved of his duties as manager in mid-November, and was replaced by Dave Bristol as the team struggled in limbo during the 1969–70 offseason. Only weeks before the 1970 season opener, the Pilots were purchased by a group headed by Bud Selig and transferred to Milwaukee, where they have remained since. The Pilots' year of existence was immortalized in Ball Four, the best-selling, controversial memoir of the 1969 season by Seattle pitcher Jim Bouton that was published in 1970. Bouton tells humorous anecdotes about Schultz and some of the motivational speeches he gave to the Pilots. According to Bouton, Schultz's speeches were heavily laced with profanity, even with some original curses (his favorites being the seemingly interchangeable and used for all occasions: "shitfuck" and "fuckshit"). The author claims that Schultz was well liked by his team, but some of his choices were questioned by the players. In a later anthology on managers Bouton edited, I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad, Bouton noted Schultz's sense of humor and added that, given the circumstances of the last-place team, "I couldn't have had a better manager than Joe Schultz." Remainder of career Schultz coached with the Royals (1970) and the Detroit Tigers (1971–76) before leaving baseball. After Billy Martin was fired with 28 games left in the 1973 season, Schultz took over as interim manager for Detroit for the rest of the way, compiling a mark of 14–14. Counting his interim stint with the Tigers, he had a career record of 78–112 (.411) as a major league skipper. Apart from that assignment, Schultz never managed in the majors again after the Pilots collapsed. Death Schultz died in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 77, and is interred at