In response, Joltin Joe's plaque was hung one inch higher than Mantle's. July 10, 1956, Griffith Stadium, Washington - Pitcher Warren Spahn. [24][35], Mantle announced his retirement at the age of 37 on March 1, 1969. Where what happened yesterday is being preserved today. After fouling off a few pitches, he hit a towering home run over the 402-foot sign by the bullpen. Either way, the demand for this card remains sky high. His lifestyle was restored to its former luxury by his leadership in the sports-memorabilia craze that swept the U.S. beginning in the 1980s. Mantle served as a part-time color commentator on NBC's baseball coverage in 1969, teaming with Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek to call some Game of the Week telecasts as well as that year's All-Star Game. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He homered for the third Yankee run in a 32 Game 6 win and he knocked in the winning runs in the 42 Game 7 win, with a homer in the sixth inning and an RBI single in the seventh inning. Canale, Larry. On August 28, 2011, Derek Jeter passed The Mick and finished his career the new all-time leader with 2,747 regular season games played the most in New York Yankees' history. Mantle was able to hit for both average and power,[4] especially tape-measure home runs,[5] a term that was born when a play-by-play caller reacted to one of Mantle's 1953 home runs. On August 12, 1964, he hit one whose distance was undoubted: a center field drive that cleared the 22-foot (6.7m) batter's eye screen, some 75' beyond the 461-foot (141m) marker at the Stadium. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. He still holds World Series records for home runs (18), RBIs (40), runs (42), walks (43), extra-base hits (26), and total bases (123). In 1958, The Mick hit an inside the park home run on May 9, 1958, another on May 20, 1958, and a third on June 5, 1958. update=copyright.getFullYear(); [78] When Yankee Stadium was reopened in 1976 following its renovation, the plaques and monuments were moved to a newly created Monument Park behind the left-center field fence,[78] which has since been replaced by a new Monument Park at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. [75], On Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium, June 8, 1969, Mantle's number 7 was retired and he was a awarded a bronze plaque to be hung on the center field wall near the monuments to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Miller Huggins. [8] Despite his accolades on the field, Mantle's private life was plagued with tumult and tragedy, including a well-publicized bout with alcoholism that led to his death from liver cancer. He also hit his second All-Star Game home run that season. Retrieved December 9, 2012. Mickey Mantle hit 536 home runs during his career, 266 while playing at home, 270 while on the road. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. [Answer], 2017 - Mickey Mantle passed away in 1995, prompting Topps Baseball Cards to "retire" #7 in their base card sets (excluding inserts). Following a two-year stint in the minors for the Independence (KS) Yankees, Mantle was promoted to the big league club as a right fielder in 1951. . Those words were carved on the plaque marking his resting place at the family mausoleum in Dallas. . Mantle was not entirely discreet about them, and at his retirement ceremony in 1969, he brought his mistress along with his wife. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and watched the rest of the World Series on TV from a hospital bed. [Answer] Or 1967? Although he was a feared power hitter from either side of the plate and hit more home runs batting left-handed than right, Mantle considered himself a better right-handed hitter. At Mantle's funeral, Eddie Layton played "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on the Hammond organ because Mickey had once told him that it was his favorite song. Mantle returned to the hospital in late July, and the cancer was found to have spread throughout his body. [Answer], 3 - Mickey Mantle was not just incredibly strong, but he was also incredibly fast. Two Armed Forces physicals were ordered, including a highly publicized exam on November 4, 1952, which was brought on by his All-Star selection, that ended in a final rejection. Mantle became a Christian when his former teammate Bobby Richardson, a Baptist, shared his faith with him. He is the only player in history to hit 150 home runs from both sides of the plate. He delivered a farewell speech on Mickey Mantle Day, June 8, 1969, at Yankee Stadium. [51], Mantle worked as a customer-relations representative for the Dallas Reserve Life Insurance Company. Willie Mays had a .301 average over his career. One Yankee, in 2018, collected two inside the parkers do you remember who it was? Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Mantle finished in second place in MVP voting for 1964, as Baltimore's Brooks Robinson won the award. [11] Mutt named his son in honor of Mickey Cochrane, a Hall of Fame catcher. Six decades after Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle dueled for Babe Ruth's hallowed single-season home run record, the legacies of that 1961 season endure and its scars remain. Do you have a sports website? http://www.courtsidetweets.comMickey Mantle of the New York Yankees may have been on the other side of his career in 1965, but that didn't stop him from bein. Baseball scholars often ponder "what if" had he not been injured, and had been able to lead a healthy career. He was selected an All-Star as the starting center fielder, but for the first time he could not make the 25-man roster because of the foot injury. Although his injury affected his upper cut from the right side, it still can be said he was not injured in 1958. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. On May 14, 1967, Mickey Mantle hit career home run number 500 and became the first switch-hitter to join the 500 Home Runs Club. Separates the men from the boys." [46] Over the next decade, Mantle experienced increasing difficulty hitting from his left side. document.write(update); [55] In an autobiography, Mantle said that he had married Merlyn not out of love, but because he was told to by his domineering father. Mantle was selected an All-Star every season during his 18-year career except 1951 and 1966, and did not play in the 1952, 1963, and 1965 seasons. He slugged 536 home runs with a .298 batting average and 1,509 RBI in his . 37 in its "50 Greatest Athletes" series. Mantle joined Babe Ruth (who reached the 50-homer plateau four times), Jimmie Foxx (two times), Ralph Kiner (two times), Hack Wilson, Hank Greenberg, Johnny Mize and Willie Mays as the only players to record at least 50 homers in one year. [citation needed] He outlived all the men in his family by several years. The Cardinals won the World Series in seven games. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. As the years passed, Mantle frequently used a line popularized by football legend Bobby Layne, a Dallas neighbor and friend who also died in part from alcohol abuse: "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken a lot better care of myself. [66] Doctors observed that it was among the most aggressive cancers that they had ever treated, attributing the antirejection drugs administered to Mantle for his liver transplant with helping the cancer spread so quickly. The Epic Battle to Beat Babe Ruth's Home Run Record In a pressure-packed 1961 season, Roger Maris hit 61 home runs, outdueling his more famous New York Yankees teammate, Mickey. a privately run / non-commercial site in need of financial assistance. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. On May 14, 1967, Mantle became the sixth member of the 500 home run club. 20 June 2011, Page 150. However, even "Muscles" once had a brief slump early in his career which was described in Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes (Fadiman, Clifton. 1 September 2000. During the 1957 World Series, Milwaukee Braves second baseman Red Schoendienst fell on Mantle's left shoulder in a collision at second base. The first, he often was not. The home run was his 16th in a World Series, breaking Babe Ruth's record of 15. He admitted that he had often been cruel and hurtful to family, friends, and fans because of his alcoholism, and sought to make amends. He won 3 MVP Awards and was selected to play in 20 All-Star Games. Krause Publications. Also helping Mantle decide to enter the clinic was sportscaster Pat Summerall, who had played for the New York Giants football team at Yankee Stadium, by then a recovering alcoholic and a member of Mantle's Dallas-area country club. On August 25, 1996, about a year after his death, Mantle's Monument Park plaque was replaced with a monument bearing the words "A great teammate" and keeping a phrase that had been included on the original plaque: "A magnificent Yankee who left a legacy of unequaled courage." All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. If you have additional information on these homers, you can mail Bruce at 2130 Martha Washington Rd, Clarkrange, TN 38553. Willie Mays played for 4 teams; the Birmingham Black Barons, New York Giants, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at-bats a season. Free shipping. But he struggled with the Yankees and was sent down to their farm team in Kansas City, where he went 0 for 22 in a strong slump. After its presentation by Joe DiMaggio, Mantle gave a similar plaque to DiMaggio, telling the crowd, "Joe DiMaggio's deserves to be higher." inDallas,TX, Buried: When he arrived, he started packing his son's clothes and, according to Mantle's memory, said "I thought I raised a man. [10], Mantle began his professional baseball career in Kansas with the semi-professional Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. The Daily News reported it as a 502-foot homer. Mickey Mantle Memories and Memorabilia. (Another story says, he was badly injured playing touch football, at home, in the late summer of that year). Mickey Jr. later died of liver cancer on December 20, 2000 at age 47. In the 1960 season, he hit what is still believed to be the longest home run in history. In 1957, Mantle had a career high .521 OBP, the Major League record for highest on-base percentage by a switch hitter in a single season. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (19511968) with the New York Yankees as a center fielder, right fielder, and first baseman. At the time, Mantle did not know that most of the men in his family had inhaled lead and zinc dust in the mines, which can cause Hodgkin's disease and other cancers. Danny later battled prostate cancer. A history of the Sports Reference Sponsorship System. var pfHeaderImgUrl = '';var pfHeaderTagline = '';var pfdisableClickToDel = 0;var pfHideImages = 0;var pfImageDisplayStyle = 'right';var pfDisablePDF = 0;var pfDisableEmail = 0;var pfDisablePrint = 0;var pfCustomCSS = 'https://www.baseball-almanac.com/css/print.css';var pfBtVersion='2';(function(){var js,pf;pf=document.createElement('script');pf.type='text/javascript';pf.src='//cdn.printfriendly.com/printfriendly.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(pf)})(); Mickey Charles Mantle was a Major League Baseball player who spent his entire 18-year career playing for the New York Yankees (1951-1968).