Posted on 03/25/2011 9:19:30 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
His longest home run ever was at Griffith Stadium in D.C. Measured at 565 feet - giving birth to the phrase “tape measure home run”. Look it up and see the pics with a dotted line showing the flight of the ball. It was an absolute BOMB.
Still wondering how anyone managed to keep a straight face.
Full Disclosure: The Baltimore Sun once had a story explaining that Brooks was a World War II buff and once showed up at a costume party dressed as Irwin Rommel. The story had a nifty caricature of Brooks wearing a German Army outfit with boots...
I still say Brooks Robinson and Mark Belanger are under-rated.
Cheers!
My bro-in-law, who had season tickets, took me to a game there the year before it was torn down. I was amazed to see foul balls go completely out of the park. I didn't realize it was that small.
Mantle’s 1st book THE MICK was so rib hurtin funny, you would think someone was chanellin Dan Jenkins
The old Home Run Derby was done at LA’s Wrigley Field. The Angels played their first season, 1961, there before moving to Dodger Stadium in 1962.
I love the Orioles. Strange thing, it happened because of the `70 Series when Brooks destroyed the Reds with his glove. The only team I love more, ironically, is the Reds (I’m a Cincy boy). 4 twenty game winners in 1970, Brooks’ glove on the hot corner, Frank slugging everything, Paul Blair running everything down in Center, Belanger up the middle and the Booger digging Brooks errant throws out of the dirt.
How they only won two World Series between 1966 and 1975 mystifies me.
Belanger always caught grief for his hittin
..it was said Belanger could not hit the ball outta a livin room but he could catch a comet
How'd you feel about Lee May going to the Orioles?
Incidentally -- in 1969, 1970, and 1971 the Orioles won 109, 108, and 101 games. Yikes.
Cheers!
Same year Denny McLain had 31 wins, right?
Cheers!
Today's baseball is contemptible mess. In the old days, many of us have stories of meeting our heroes in person. Mays, Aaron, Kaline, Maz, Brock, Billy Williams, Drysdale, Maury, Frank and Brooks, Jim Palmer...I met them all. Even the guys who weren't particularly nice like Gibson and Reggie would be civil and decent. I loved that game so much.
But Mantle is a figure of supreme legend, and most of the Yankee players of the 50’s and 60’s were tremendous fellows, even with their drinking and womanizing and wildness, They knew what is was to be idolized and loved by kids, and were very very good to us. God rest you, Mickey.
They changed the mound after 1968, because pitchers were so darned dominant.
And the Orioles still had four twenty game winners in 1971.
Of course, if we're talking The Birds, we have to mention Cal Ripken Jr. What a terrific player and role model, a work ethic for the record books and a very selfless player. When it came time for him to sit one out and end the streak, he did so knowing it was best for the team that he do so.
Oh, shut up, don't remind me. :-)
Mets beat them in 1969, the same year Namath beat Unitas in the Super Bowl...
Orioles (well, OK, Brooks Robinson) beat the Reds in 1970.
It still hurts that the Orioles lost to Pittsburgh in the World Series (both times it went 7 games) in 1971 and 1979.
1979 sucked all the more in that the Orioles had a 3-1 lead and Palmer, Flanagan, McGregor due to pitch, IIRC.
NO cheers, unfortunately.
Growing up in NJ, I always had a soft spot for the Birds going back to the late '50s and early '60s, the days before playoffs. You had to win your league just to get to the Series, otherwise, done. The O's would field some very strong teams back then and win 90-95 games, but still finish behind the Yanks, who'd win 102-103 games a season. Nowadays you'll get a shot sometimes if you win 85 games.
Of course, my sentimental side still didn't stop me from rooting for the Mets in '69...:-)
Great story. He was prolly cheap like 99% of ball players and did not want to tip the porter.....In Bob Feller’s youth his strength training and endurance came from farm work. I don’t think he lifted any back then.
Ahh yes, those were the days when the players had names everyone could pronounce and could speak and understand English, sigh............
A kinesiology expert once told me that one way (maybe he said the best way) to increase muscle strength is to completely fatigue the muscles when exercising. If you lift weights, the last rep of each set should feel like you’re exhausted, and can’t do even one more rep.
I read that when Mickey Mantle worked in a quarry, one of his jobs was to break rocks with a sledge hammer. Mantle said he and one other guy worked together, and took turns swinging hammers. One of them would swing until he was exhausted, then the other guy took over while the first guy rested.
Mickey developed his natural abilities without a fitness advisor, fancy gym equipment, or performance-enhancing drugs.
Mickey was the original “Natural”
The 4 ‘twenty game winner’ season was 1971. Dobson, Mcnally, Cuellar and Palmer.
See post 61. This is what I always thought was Mantle’s longest bomb and recognized in the MLB fraternity as such in that era. Who knows huh? He hit one heck of a lot of ‘em and I saw a heck of a lot of ‘em. Great player and if he hadn’t so many terrible injuries, (and took care of himself better), I think he might have been the best ever.
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