Mickey Mantle Was An American Hero

My twin sister and I both loved Mickey Mantle and we were about 12 years old when our neighbor took his grandson (who we would babysit at the time) and us to see the Yankees and Red Sox in Boston in the 50's. My mother, bless her heart, saved our souvenirs from that game. I have a signed autograph picture of Mickey, a signed autograph of a score card by Mickey and a Mickey Mantle comic book ( have never seen one like it before). Mickey Mantle is still our hero, even after 70 years.

My twin sister and I both loved Mickey Mantle when we were about 12 years old. When our neighbor took his grandson, who we babysat for at the time, to see the Yankee and Red Sox game in Boston, we were invited to go with them. Bless my mother's heart, she kept our souvenirs from that day in the 1950's: a signed autograph picture of Mickey, a signed autograph scorecard of Mickey and a Mickey Mantle Comic Book. Have never seen one like it since. Even after 70+ years, Mickey is still our hero.

Mantle is a hero to the Boomers, not so much to us Gen Xers. By the time I began playing Little League, he had been retired for three or four years, so while I knew his name, I didn't feel his impact on the game. I grew up a fan of the Big Red Machine. I emulated Joe Morgan's batting stance, and to this day I rank Johnny Bench as my favorite player. Still, as a lifelong student of baseball history, I do acknowledge Mantle's place in that history, and I even have quite a few Mantle cards in my collection. So yeah, I'll raise a toast to him.

Mickey Mantle was my baseball hero when I was young. During the M&M (Mantle & Maris) days, the Yankees were my favorite ballclub, especially when covered by Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese. Mantle hit several of the longest home runs ever heard of, including a 565-foot blast at the Washington Senators' ballpark. Another time, Mickey hit a home run, a line drive, off the facade in old Yankee Stadium, 375 feet out and 118-feet high. The ball came within a yard of leaving the House thet Ruth Built. Nobody could do that! From home plate to first base, no one was faster. Incredible foot speed. Wanting to be more like he, I learned to bat left-handed when I was 7-years-old, even though I'm a natural right-hander. The week Mickey died, Yogi Berra tried to visit his old teammate in the hospital, but was told that Mickey was under sedation: only immediate family allowed in the room. As Yogi was leaving the hospital, reporters asked him if he had seen Mickey. "No, the doctors wouldn't let me. Mickey was under citation for taking too much medication." RIP Mickey, RIP, Yogi.

As a Jersey boy growin up in the 1950s, I copied everything "The Mick" did. I'm a lefty, but i played centerfield, taught myself to switch hit and copied his running style, which I still do on those occasions where I run. I creased my cap and even copied his way of catching a fly ball (hands at his side until he reached up to make the catch). For many boys, whose fathers were not involved, Mickey was the dad they wished they had.

He was! Thanks for posting.

My favorite Mickey quote (although perhaps apocryphal): "If I'd known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself."

#7. I always thought that Cab Calloway said that quote. I could be wrong.

ou have to agree that the Mick was one of the greatest players ever. He hit with power from both sides of the plate, hit for average, had speed on the base paths and in the field. He was an amazing physical specimen born with great strength and abilities. Mickey did party and fool around because men in his family died by the time they reached their forties, so he went out and had fun. It turned out that the men died because they worked in mines where they mined lead and cadmium. It was a very unhealthy occupation, to say the least. The player today who could match The Mick. Mantle drew a lot of attention because he played in New York where he had competition from the Giants with Willie Mays and Duke Snider with the Dodgers and playing in what, twelve World Series. I miss his stories about his playing days. They were funny.

No, he was a baseball player. A great one. But a baseball player. Heroes place their lives between evil and our country, or citizens, our freedoms, and our children.

I kinda lost interest in baseball when The House Of David folded.