Baseball by day, alcohol any other time

Mickey Mantle was one of the best baseball players of all time, the sad thing is he could have been better. Mantle was the Yankees hero of the 50’s and today is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. During his career, Mantle was a leader in home runs for multiple years, on base percentage in multiple years, had the highest batting average for a year, and was voted to play in the All Star Game many times.

Injuries mixed in with alcohol problems shortened Mantle’s baseball career and turned what could have been a great sports role model into a flawed hero. “Everybody tries to make the excuse that injuries shortened my career,” said Mantle in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “Truth is, after I'd had a knee operation, the doctors would give me rehab work to do, but I wouldn't do it. I'd be out drinking.”

Many athletes had alcohol problems for different reasons. Mantle used it to overcome his shyness and make him feel as he said, “more comfortable before all those personal appearances.” Drinking alcohol negatively impacts a players ability to perform, which makes it very surprising that an athlete who trains so hard to get to the top level would drink so much alcohol. Mantle, who retired at the age of 37, was told by doctors that his alcohol problem was becoming life threatening during his time with the Yankees.

Mantle always drank. He drank in the morning, the afternoon, and evening, often until he couldn’t drink anymore. “If I had to drink to start the day, I'd go through three or four bottles of wine in the course of the afternoon. White wine. Red wine. It didn’t matter, and I didn’t care about the quality, either. In fact, I thought if I was drinking wine, it wasn’t really drinking. To me, wine wasn’t liquor,” Mantle said. Even with these alcohol problems, Mantle was an unbelievable player who blasted over 500 home runs; however, he wasn’t a truly great American role model.
Mantle died in 1995 of liver cancer due to his alcohol problems.

Closure in Mickey Mantle's Career

Mickey Mantle / Topps

Prior to the start of 1962, New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle had already accomplished some of his career's most notable feats as a power hitter. He won his first and only triple crown in 1956 as the leader in home runs, batting average and RBI's. "The Mick" as he was called, went through a transition in playing style after suffering an injury that impacted his overall performance beyond 1962. The first half of the 1960's looked promising for veteran swinger Mantle, seeing as he hit a home run in Yankee Stadium that cleared the 461 foot marker. A year later in 1963, he slammed another home run which some estimated could have traveled 600 feet. Mantle helped the Yankees win a World Series prior in 1962 and these new feats of power suggested that he was in his prime as a hitter. However, this would be the last time that Mick won a World Series with the Yankees.

Mantle was unable to play because of a sickness called osteomylitis, a condition that impaired his bone structure. After a difficult season in 1965, his total of a mere 19 home runs revealed that Mantle was no longer the player he used to be. The following season marked the first time in 14 years that Mantle was not invited to the MLB All-Star game.

Baseball analysts recognized the Mick's retirement during the mid 1960's. However, Mantle impressed fans when he managed to hit his 500th career home run against the Baltimore Oriole's pitcher Stu Miller on a 3-2 pitch. This remarkable moment allowed Mantle to end his career on a strong note since he announced his retirement on March 1st, 1969. In 1974, Mickey Mantle's noteworthy career and collection of Word Series rings helped him become immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mickey Mantle in the Yankees' greatest decade

Mickey Mantle / Topps

Mickey Mantle is a name that often comes up in baseball conversations. He had a rough start to his career with the Yankees. He made his debut with the Yankees in 1951. Mantle replaced Joe DiMaggio whose career had ended the prior season. He faced the pressure of living up to the former Yankee great. Due to the pressure, he struggled putting the ball in play and struck out frequently. Mantle was sent down to a farm team for a while but was back just in time for the playoffs and played in his first World Series. With the Yankees, he won seven World Series titles.

He improved his next few seasons and then broke out in 1956 when he won the Triple Crown and a MVP award. That year was considered the best in his whole career. In 1961, he and his teammate Roger Maris were chasing Babe Ruth’s season home run record of 60. Many Yankee traditionalists were angered by Mantle and Maris chasing Ruth's long-lasting record. Many newspaper and media did not even give Mantle and Maris any praise. Maris in the end won the race beating Ruth's record. In this decade, Mantle had some of his best season on the Yankees. He status as one of the Yankees' top players will never change.

Pain, Suffering, and Success

Mickey “The Mick” Mantle was one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the sport. He was born to play. Some people even say that Mantle never reached his full potential. By the age of 19, he suffered major injuries to both of his legs as well as his left shoulder. However, these injuries did not hinder his accomplishments. He won four Home Run Championships, a Triple Crown; and three MVP awards in his 18 year career with the New York Yankees.

Although he accomplished so much, his career was unfortunately plagued by injuries. In high school, Mantle developed osteomyelitis in his left leg, which is a bone disease caused by bacteria or fungi. At first, his only option was amputation, which would have destroyed the great baseball career that did not even start yet. His leg, as well as his career, was saved by a "new miracle drug" called penicillin.

His second career threatening injury occurred while he was playing for the New York Yankees in the major leagues. Mantle was the Yankees leading hitter. A sprained right knee in game two the 1951 World Series resulted in him sitting out the rest of the series. That same year, the Yankees announced that they had no idea what affect the osteomyelitis would have on his career.

Mantle led the Yankees as they dominated through the late 1950s and into the early 60s. From 1955 to 1958, the Yanks won the American League Pennant, and took the Series in 1956 and again in 1958. When Mantle won the Triple Crown in 1956, he posted a .365 batting average, 52 homers, and 130 RBIs. He was close to breaking Babe Ruth’s record of most home runs in a season, which stood at 60, but he only hit 54, beaten by his teammate Roger Maris, who ended up besting the record with 61 home runs at the close of the season.

Although Mickey Mantle’s strong 18 year professional career with the New York Yankees was tortured by his many injuries, which included osteomyelitis, he still did better than his best. His many injuries did not prevent him from achieving any of his goals.

Memories of the Duke

Duke Snider / Virtual Card Collection

On February 27th, Duke Snider, the Hall of Fame center fielder, died at the age of 84. Although he is no longer with us, his accomplishments and memories still remain. Duke is the only player to hit four home runs or more in two different World Series. In a recent ESPN.com interview, Giants Manager Bruce Bochy remembers Snider as, “a god, a baseball hero for all of us.” Even Snider’s rival and Hall of Fame center fielder, Willie Mays recalls Snider as, “a fine man, a terrific hitter and a great friend, even though he was a Dodger."

According to Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, “He was the true Dodger and represented the Dodgers to the highest degree of class, dignity and character.” Fellow Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda praised him as, “one of my idols. I almost fainted.” Unlike Mays and Mantle, “Duke never got the credit of being the outfielder that Mays and Mantle were,” said former teammate Don Zimmer.

It seems baseball lost another idol. "His name will always be with me because of what he told me about what he was taught as a rookie of how to become a better hitter. ... He said he used to swing and miss a lot. He used to go out to the bullpen and stand in there while the guys were warming up so he could learn the strike zone better. And he did. He became one of the best players in the game,” said by Mets manager Terry Collins in a ESPN blog. Duke is gone, but the memories of Duke Snider are everlasting.