The Mick

[Halldan]

At the time I was too young to understand his human flaws so there was never another athlete that I admired more. I copied everything he did on the baseball field, to his home run trot to his never trashing verbally an opponent.

Every single baseball uniform I ever had was number 7 and I have a ton of his memorabilia which I wouldn't sell for any price. It means that much to me.

The Commerce Comet: The Life and Legacy of Mickey Mantle – Page 36

entertainmentglow.com

 

[shu67]

And did you copy his batting stance and technique at the plate like I did? And you won't see a single Yankee player today copy any of the great Yankee hitters (not batters) like Mick, Yogi, Dimaggio, Ruth, Gerhrig, etc.. I guess they know better today. Hahahaha! It shows in the results. The lone exception is Judge.

 

[Seton75]

I hated the Mick when he played on the good NYY teams. Koufax striking him out in 63 was as close as my 10 yr old body could get to orgasmic. In later years, looking back, I admired his great play. Had a few beers at his bar on Central Park West, but was never lucky enough to see him there. I read some praise of Kershaw recently, and it was about how his teammates respected him. Reminded me of The Mick....a great teammate...!!

He dealt with his alcoholism with grace and the realization of what he wasted I am sure gave him great anguish.

 

[Harty9]

I hated the Mick when he played on the good NYY teams. Koufax striking him out in 63 was as close as my 10 yr old body could get to orgasmic. In later years, looking back, I admired his great play. Had a few beers at his bar on Central Park West, but was never lucky enough to see him there. I read some praise of Kershaw recently, and it was about how his teammates respected him. Reminded me of The Mick....a great teammate...!!

He dealt with his alcoholism with grace and the realization of what he wasted I am sure gave him great anguish.

I took my son to a game in NY for his "drinking" age birthday We stopped and Mickey sauntered in. Great night.

 

[SPK145]

Mickey Mantle was my absolute idol, I still cherish the game program I have from seeing him play in person at Yankee Stadium in 1968.

 

[shu67]

By the way unlike the fragile athletes of today Mick played many games hobbled with a bum knee. Did not asked to be taken out of the lineup either. Still put up great numbers on one leg. Also regarded as one of the fastest runners from home to first until his knee gave out. And he was regarded as a darn good center fielder his whole time as a Yankee.

 

[shu67]

Mantle hit 536 career home runs while batting .300 or more ten times; he is 16th all-time in home runs per at-bat and 17th in on-base percentage. Mantle won the Triple Crown in 1956, when he led the major leagues in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and runs batted in (RBI) (130). He was an All-Star for 16 seasons, playing in 16 of the 20 All-Star Games that he was selected for. He also had a solid .984 fielding percentage when playing center field, winning a Gold Glove in that position. He appeared in 12 World Series, winning seven championships, and holds World Series records for the most home runs (18), RBIs (40), extra-base hits (26), runs (42), walks (43), and total bases (123), and he has the highest World Series on-base and slugging percentages.

 

[Seton75]

1960 - 7 yr old kid goes crazy over Maz's HR
61, The Reds? Pinson and Robinson, not even close
62 - on the playground with radios blaring, and McCovey scorches one to Bobby Richardson for the 27th out
63 - Nirvana/Heaven -4 in a row. Tho my Dad hated the Dodgers after they left, my bro and I saw it a some version of payback
64 - still great, but the great team is getting human

Was it 68 when McLain grooved one for a milestone HR. Heard that after school, walking past a kid waiting for his ride home with a radio in hand

Just amazing CBS let the Yanks become what they became

Was a NYY hater and memories of Mick fill my head to this day. He even had the perfect name!

 

[Seton75]

thinking of another yankee, tony koubek. sure, was a terrifis ss. but i loved him as an announcer.

athletics vs reds is WS. Bench is up. runner on first. my facts are blurry, but i think the runner steals 2nd on a 2-2 count. A's mgr (maybe dick williams) tells his pitcher to walk bench. 3-2. koubek says imagine if the A's take off the walk sign. he does and bench strikes out. loved tony calling a game.

 

[HALL85]

Diehard Yankee fan and saw him play many games growing up. He was my older brother’s favorite player so I chose Bobby Richardson. Fast forward to late 80’s and at a company dinner in Dallas at Ruth Chris and the Mick is sitting at a table next to us with his wife, son and daughter in law. I was devastated. He was so drunk, waved of an autograph seeker, fell asleep hunched over in his plate and left the place draped over his son. Tough to witness an idol like that.

Great player that was lightning fast before a brutal knee injury, stepping into a drain pipe in center field at the stadium.

 

[shu67]

Mickey Mantle's longest measured home run is widely cited as 565 feet on April 17, 1953, at Griffith Stadium. The term "tape-measure blast" originated from the subsequent measurement of this hit. While he also hit a 643-foot home run in 1960 that was once recognized by Guinness World Records, this was later found to be an overestimation, and the Babe Ruth 575-foot home run is now generally considered the record for that era.

 

[Halldan]

When you see these tape measure HRs they're are most always massive men. Mantle was listed generously at 6 feet tall.

He was an absolute freak athlete who if not severely injured at an early age and not having access to the type of surgery back than that they have now probably would have challenged Ruth's HR numbers at that time and probably would have surpassed them.

Retired at 37 years old and because of injuries maybe should have done so a lot sooner.

 

[Seton75]

Who puts a metal drainage thing in center field?

 

[HALL85]

Who puts a metal drainage thing in center field?

Ironically on a ball hit by Willie Mays in the World Series.

DiMaggio called him off and he stopped short to avoid collision. Players wore metal cleats back then and he caught one in the drain cover.

 

[shu67]

When you see these tape measure HRs they're are most always massive men. Mantle was listed generously at 6 feet tall.

He was an absolute freak athlete who if not severely injured at an early age and not having access to the type of surgery back than that they have now probably would have challenged Ruth's HR numbers at that time and probably would have surpassed them.

Retired at 37 years old and because of injuries maybe should have done so a lot sooner.

That injury plus he was a notorious late nighter and heavy drinker. Unfortunately he played with guys who did not help him with his drinking and partying issues like Ford and Martin. Mantle was very gifted but did not take care of his body and abused it. He could have put up even greater numbers (which are already incredible) if he actually took care of himself!

 

[Halldan]

Yeah, don't buy his explanation that he didn't take better care of himself (drinking and late nights) because he thought he would die early like so many relatives in his family.

He loved to party and like you said, so did Martin and Ford and they were a very bad influence on him.

 

[halltheway]

Dan, I sort a buy it....my favorite also.

 

[HALL85]

Yeah, don't buy his explanation that he didn't take better care of himself (drinking and late nights) because he thought he would die early like so many relatives in his family.

He loved to party and like you said, so did Martin and Ford and they were a very bad influence on him.

I don’t think this unique to the Yankees. It was part of the game. Players don’t take care of themselves like they do now with the contracts they are playing for.

 

[HallLine69]

At the time I was too young to understand his human flaws so there was never another athlete that I admired more. I copied everything he did on the baseball field, to his home run trot to his never trashing verbally an opponent.

Every single baseball uniform I ever had was number 7 and I have a ton of his memorabilia which I wouldn't sell for any price. It means that much to me.

The Commerce Comet: The Life and Legacy of Mickey Mantle – Page 36

entertainmentglow.com

I've been a Yankee hater my entire life, but I always did--and still do-- admire Mickey Mantle. God knows he had his demons but on that field he was a true force and a class act.

 

[HALL85]

I've been a Yankee hater my entire life, but I always did--and still do-- admire Mickey Mantle. God knows he had his demons but on that field he was a true force and a class act.

Feel the same way, but one thing that gave me pause was how he jumped the line due to his celebrity to get a liver transplant ahead of others that were more in need. And he ended up passing away only a few months later.