Talk:Mickey Mantle

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Mickey was too-heavy of a liquor-drinker, and that is what killed him at such an early age. First they tried a liver transplant, but it wasn't enough to save his life. I Like Mickey Mantle a lot. But being of a different generation, I can't get into his greatness as much as people have in the past. I never saw Mantle play baseball, so I just have to take everyone's word for it. -- David -- 07:55 CST, 8 Feb. 2007

This is one area where you can get a darned good idea just from the stats. If you look at 1956, Mantle won the Triple Crown. Not only that, his slugging percentage was 100 points higher than Ted Williams, who was way ahead of everyone else. That was Mickey Mantle - a guy, who, when he was at his best, could flat outhit Ted Williams. And Ted Williams is generally considered to be the best hitter of all time, either he or Babe Ruth. - Randy 15:00 12 February 2007 (EST)

Randy, too bad I'm so young. Another thing about Williams, he never got a championship ... err... that is W.S. championship. -- David 15:04 CST, 12 Feb. 2007

Mickey Mantle's Greatness[edit]

I share your regrets about what Mickey did to his body and life. Having played against him as a kid, when he was on the "Baxter Springs (KS) Whiz Kids" and I played for the Joplin (MO) Jr. American Legion team, I can attest to the reality of his greatness. When he was scouted by Tom Greenwade and broke into pro ball with the Joplin Miners of the Western Association in 1949, he only stayed at that Class C level for such a short time that I unfortunately saw very little of him. The consequence of all this is that, like you, I know more about Mickey from what I have read and seen on the TV than I do from in-person observation. Unlike you, however, I am quite capable of recognizing his greatness from that more distant connection. Paul Arrowood Williamsburg, VA

I DO recognize his greatness! His baseball cards are more valuable than ANY others! I just wish I'd been interested in baseball in the 60's! The problem was, we didn't have any Major-League baseball team in Dallas then, so the Cowboys were all I knew. I think he is pretty much up in the same class with Ruth, Mays, Gehrig, and Aaron!

Mantle's run total in 1961[edit]

Tom Ruane, a long-time active researcher with retrosheet, said to stick with the published, official run total for 1961 as Retrosheet does contain numerous errors. Mantle's run total might be wrong but it needs to be verified. - --Mischa 18:07, 3 June 2007 (EDT)

Asterisk[edit]

The paragraph beginning "In 1956," needs to be amended. There was never an asterisk, only separate records for the 154-game schedule and 162-game schedule. Documentation for this can be found at http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/marisro01.php under the heading "The Asterisk that Wasn't", amongst many other references. Bsopchak 14:55, 27 June 2007 (EDT) Barron

Family[edit]

There was also a Mickey E. Mantle in the minors in 1978. A son? -

Yes it is his son. --Jeff 11:57, 26 May 2008 (EDT)

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