Posted on 01/09/2015 7:11:36 PM PST by gusopol3
The date Jan. 9 is significant insofar as baseball is concerned because the objectively wonderful TV show "Home Run Derby" first took to (s)wing.
In commemoration of this important day, let us take a look back at the first episode, which featured Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, who, as it turns out, were both good at baseball-related tasks and duties. Come with us, won't you?
Considering Mickey was playing with osteomyelitis his entire career and playing with injuries for a lot of it, one can only imagine what he could have been if he’d been healthier.
As close to the perfect swing as I've ever seen. We should teach kids to swing like Mickey Mantle.
He was a great bunter, too.
Mantle was in Seattle for a Bond drive push for a possible future Domed stadium, (with Joe Cronin, Yaz and Jimmy Piersall_), in either late 1967 or early ‘68. Mick was also in Seattle at Sicks Stadium doing color for the Saturday Game of the week, 5/31/69. Other than those 2, I do not know.
According to some MLB sites....Hank Greenberg made 100,000 his last season in 1947 and Joe D. made 100,000 his last few seasons. (Maybe Ted Williams towards the last years of his career to). Ruth topped out at 85k.
I argue that even with osteomyelitis, Mantle from 1954 to 1963 had the finest ten years of any baseball player ever. You could get some competition from Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, but Mantle would win. Of course, Ruth was a pitcher for some of his prime, and Williams was busy serving his country, so there are mitigating factors. Fair or not, Mantle gets the nod for best ten consecutive years.
Mark Scott: “Well Mickey, how do you think you are going to do today against Willie? Mickey: “Well, Billy and Whitey kept me out all last night hoisting a few so I’m not to sure. Hey, my eyes are killin’ me, anybody have any Visine?”
OK, who is smart enough to figure it out. Ross Porter is naming names as they show clips of certain hitters.
The first is not Duke Snider, the 2nd is not Eddie Matthews, the 3rd is not Rocky Colavito. The 4th is indeed Mickey Mantle. Is Killebrew 5th? Is Jim Lemon 6th? Willie Mays is 7th. Is Jackie Jensen 8th?
Is the first one shown Gil Hodges? He wore #14.
This site -— http://www.baseball-reference.com/friv/numbers.cgi?number=36&year=1960 -— has numbers worn by players for every year. Let’s figure out who is being shown.
Great post. Thanks.
Giancarlo Stanton vs. the rest of MLB
FY64. JFK's last submitted budget. Only $99 billion. Payable in silver to US residents, in gold to furriners.
From the video...not a home run, but perfectly centered and in control.
Thanks for the info. Was that from your memory, or do you have a source/link for the info. Please post link.
Mickey was physically gifted.
A natural mesomorph with predominantly fast twitch fiber muscle.
Power and speed.
No anabolic steroid phoney cheat was The Mick.
In fact he didn’t much work out, to the point of not doing his rehab after his 1951 World Series knee injury.
Drank and caroused too much. Had a hangover one game and deliberately got himself thrown out of a game in his first at bat because he had such a bad hangover.
Mantle was booed unmercifully early in his career, even at Yankee Stadium because the fans expected him to be even better than he was. He was never an obnoxious jerk and as years passed be became loved and respected by teammates and opponents alike. You might find this vignette interesting. It comes from David Falkner’s 1995 book The Last Hero, The Life of Mickey Mantle, pages 180-181.
“Dave Nelson was a rookie second baseman for Cleveland in 1968, Mantle’s last year. He was not much of a hitter, but he was quick, could steal a base, get his bat on the ball, and make the plays in the field. His first trip to Yankee Stadium, he said, was memorable in ways he never anticipated. ... ‘I was just a young kid then, just turned twenty-three, I think, and there I was in the big leagues, in Yankee Stadium, and I’m just in awe of the place. I don’t remember who was on the mound - maybe it was Al Downing,’ he said, ‘but Mickey was on first and I knew his knees were gone. I had no clue at this time that other clubs had decided some things among themselves out of reverence for him. So, in this one at bat, I pushed the ball, push-bunted right between the pitcher and first base and they had to go for it. I had great speed so it was a base hit. I turn around halfway down the right field line, and there’s our first base coach walking towards me, and he stops me and tells me ‘Hey, Dave, we don’t bunt on Mick out of respect for him.’ I go to myself, ‘Oh-kayyy.’ So then I walked back to first base and I’m standing next to Mickey Mantle. I’m looking at this guy’s arms and they look like tree trunks, and I’m saying, ‘Man, he’s gonna pinch my head off,’ and then he pats me on the butt and he says, ‘Nice bunt, rook.’ And I look at him and say, ‘Thanks, Mr. Mantle.’”
thanks
So Giancarlo Stanton makes about as much per game, or a little more, as these guys did per year ( no inflation adjustment). Yankee stadium was the “House that Ruth built,” I’m guessing there wasn’t much public funding of it. So ,the money the teams don’t spend on stadiums any more, is paid out in salaries to the players. The players ought to pay for tickets for everyone in town at least a couple games per year.
Do you happen to know who was throwing the snowballs for the Mick?
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