No other team would have a player rated higher than Joe DiMaggio when reflecting on their list of all-time greats, yet when it comes to the Yankees we find that there are still three more to look at before reaching the summit of our Mount Olympus.
Our number three is perhaps the most endearing, and at the same time tragic, player to ever wear the pinstripes. He was tasked with stepping into the shoes of the Yankee Clipper and somehow not only managed to do so, but in the process set his own standard of greatness for center fielders that followed him.
Mickey Charles Mantle, aka “The Mick”, came to the Yankees from Commerce, Oklahoma and was the son of a lead miner. Named after Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane, Mantle grew up learning to hit from both sides of the plate by batting left-handed when his right-handed father threw to him, and batting right-handed when his southpaw grandfather pitched to him.
It would be a skill that he’d perfect at the Major League level. Mantle is widely considered the greatest switch-hitter in the history of baseball.
Over 18 seasons with the Yankees, he slugged 536 home runs and batted .298. He was named to the All-Star team 16 times, was the MVP three times and won a Gold Glove once. In 1956 he won the Triple Crown, hitting .353 with 52 home runs and 130 RBI (he also scored a league leading 132 runs).
In 65 post-season games he hit 18 home runs and held a .908 OPS.
Outside of what the numbers show you, Mantle became known for his prodigious home runs – including an estimated 734-foot shot at Yankee Stadium that hit the façade (the only thing preventing it from being the only ball to ever be hit out of the park). A description of that hit and the ten longest bombs that “The Mick” hit can be found here.
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Mickey was more than just a power-hitter though. Five times he led the league in walks and before his legs finally betrayed him, he was known as one of the fastest runners in baseball – swiping 10 or more bases in six consecutive seasons from 1956 to 1961.
As a center fielder he held a .984 fielding percentage and had 67 assists from that position over the course of his career.
Unlike Joe DiMaggio, Mantle was “one of the guys”, and perhaps that is what made him so beloved to his generation. Where Dimaggio incorporated himself with the “A-listers”, Mantle was comfortable hitting the clubs with pals Billy Martin and Whitey Ford, sometimes more than he should.
Off the field Mantle developed a reputation as a womanizer and heavy drinker, and eventually he’d receive treatment for alcoholism. He attributed his hard living to the fact that males in his family rarely lived beyond 40 years old and he wasn’t going to be cheated.
Even the best of our heroes have flaws, and Mickey had his share.
In spite of the flaws, Mantle always showed great heart and perseverance. Most of his career he played with bum knees, and his famous home run race in 1961 with Roger Maris was cut short by an infection in his leg – the result of a shot administered by a doctor of questionable repute.
On June 8th, 1969 Mantle’s number 7 was retired by the Yankees and in 1974 he was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame; confirming his spot with the immortals of the sport. His accomplishments on the field can never be called into question.
It was the fact that Mantle showed the world he was human like the rest of us (the biggest difference between him and DiMaggio) that endeared him so deeply to Yankee fans. He was one of us and we were proud of all that he accomplished.
On his death bed “The Mick” expressed regrets at how he had lived his life, and tried to share the lessons he learned with the world so that others could avoid the mistakes he made.
In a 1994 interview with Sports Illustrated, Mantle described how he was trying to make amends for his mistakes of the past – teaming with Joe Garagiola in working with BAT (Baseball Assistance Team) to help troubled ex-ballplayers.
Mantle died on August 13, 1995 at the age of 63 (well beyond his father and grand-father’s ages). The casual fan will revere him for the awesome numbers he put up during his career and the plaques that sit in Cooperstown and Monument Park in the Bronx.
Yankees’ fans will recognize him for much more; he was a regular guy – a mere human like the rest of us – whose character, in spite of its weaknesses, made our team great.
His plaque at Yankee stadium is titled “A Great Teammate” and reads: “A Magnificent Yankee who left a legacy of unequalled courage”.
--Steve Skinner, BYB Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1
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