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Mickey
Mantle
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Mickey Charles Mantle was born in Spavinaw,
Oklahoma on October 20, 1931. His father, Elvin "Mutt" Mantle
was a true baseball fan and named his firstborn son after the
Philadelphia Athletics catcher, Mickey Cochrane. By the time
Mickey Mantle was able to walk, his father had him swinging a
bat and hitting balls. Mantle played little league baseball in
Commerce, Oklahoma where he grew up. In high school, Mantle
suffered a leg injury during a football practice scrimmage. His
doctors diagnosed him with osteomyelitis that destroys the bone
marrow. |
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Mantle left football and returned to
playing baseball. At age 16, he was playing shortstop and
pitcher. He hit the ball so well that several major league
scouts were watching him. Mantle was a switch hitter with a
lot of power in his swing. Tome Greenwade of the New York
Yankees offered Mantle a contract and bonus. That is when
Mantle went to the Yankees farm club in Independence,
Missouri to play baseball. Mantle was only 17 when he made
his professional debut in 1949. He played two years as a
minor league shortstop where his powerful hitting
overshadowed his lackluster infield play. In 1951, Mantle
made his major league debut and within a month he had hit a
450-foot homerun while batting left handed. During the
second game of the 1951 World Series, Mantle injured his
right knee but later recovered. Following the retirement of
Joe DiMaggio, Mantle was moved to center field in 1952.
Mantle hit a record 565-foot homerun in Washington on April
17, 1953. He led the league with 37 homeruns in 1955. In
1956, he won baseball's Triple Crown with 52 home runs,
knocking in 130 runs, and batting .353 and also won the
American League's Most Valuable player award. |
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In 1957, he won another Most Valuable
Player Award and hit a career high batting average of .365. |
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Mantle won home run crowns in 1958 and 1960
with 42 and 40 home runs respectively. He finished second to
Roger Maris in 1961 for the home run crown. Maris had 61 and
Mantle had 54 that year. Mantle's third Most Valuable Player
Award came in 1962 when his batting average was .321. Mantle had
hit four home runs in consecutive at-bats from July 4th to 6th
of that year. On June 5, 1963, Mantle broke his left foot in
Baltimore that ended a season in which he had hit 15 homeruns in
172 at-bats. He later returned to hit a home run in the World
Series that fall. Mantle collected his 2000th hit in the majors
on September 17, 1964. On May 14, 1967, Mantle became the sixth
player to hit 500 career home runs. Mantle hit his 536th major
league home run on September 20, 1968. Mantle announced his
retirement at spring training on March 1, 1969. On June 8, 1969
his uniform No. 7 was retired during a Mickey Mantle Day
celebration at Yankee Stadium. Mantle received a ten-minute
standing ovation. Mickey Mantle was elected to the Baseball Hall
of Fame on January 16, 1974. It was his first year eligibility
for this honor. He died on August 13, 1995 and is buried at
Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas. |
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