As a childhood Red Sox fan, I despised the Yankees, but I always had a soft-spot in my heart for Mickey Mantle. Who didn't? He had an infectious smile and every kid wanted to be him. I struck out a lot as a Little Leaguer and I think I found peace knowing that while Mickey was one of the league hitting leaders, many times he also led the league in striking out. He played in pain much of his late career when I was aware of him. I have a vague memory of running home from school to catch his last career at-bat on the radio (I think in 1969?), though I don't remember what happened. The 1966 card is one of his pin-striped best and a visual favorite. Tip of the Yankee cap to Richard and Scott Taylor for the request.Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Mick
As a childhood Red Sox fan, I despised the Yankees, but I always had a soft-spot in my heart for Mickey Mantle. Who didn't? He had an infectious smile and every kid wanted to be him. I struck out a lot as a Little Leaguer and I think I found peace knowing that while Mickey was one of the league hitting leaders, many times he also led the league in striking out. He played in pain much of his late career when I was aware of him. I have a vague memory of running home from school to catch his last career at-bat on the radio (I think in 1969?), though I don't remember what happened. The 1966 card is one of his pin-striped best and a visual favorite. Tip of the Yankee cap to Richard and Scott Taylor for the request.
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2 comments:
While I was a Chicago Cubs fan I did hate the Yankees more than any other team, except the White Sox; however I would watch Sox games just to see Mantle bat.
Bill S,
The Golden Age of Baseball Cards
I would have liked to have seen him in his prime. I live in DC and they always bring up the home run that coined the term "tape measure" shot out of Griffith Stadium. I watched Home Run Derby on DVD the other night and Mickey has a nice winning streak on that collection.
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