Quote:
Originally Posted by oldjudge
Ted-I grew up in the Bronx within walking distance of Yankee Stadium. I probably saw Mantle play in person over 100 times, so my impressions are not anecdotal. I loved Berra and Skowron who I thought were clutch players. I always felt that too often in big situations Mantle struck out. Outside of baseball Mantle was a boozer and womanizer. On multiple levels, he is not the kind of player or person to idolize.
BTW, anything nice you want to say about Whitey Ford I would back up 100%. He was one of the greatest pitchers I ever saw and is and was a wonderful person off the field. He has the second lowest career ERA since the live ball era began in 1920. One of the biggest mistakes in Yankee history was not pitching Ford in game 7 of the 1960 World Series. This was after Ford had already pitched two complete game shutouts. The move also got Stengel fired.
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Jay
As a young kid, I do not think you knew what Mickey's private life was really like. Therefore, I ask you this......every time Mickey came to bat, were you rooting for Mickey to hit
one of those "500-foot HRs" which he was very capable of doing ?
Furthermore, you are a great fan of Whitey Ford, whereas he and Billy Martin and Mantle really enjoyed the "night-life". I don't get where you're coming from.
Anyhow, here's my story. I had quite a number of conversations with Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto over the years. Rizzuto lived 2 blocks away from where I grew up in Hillside, NJ.
Phil would often visit us kids on Monday nights at the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization). He would "hold court"....we would listen to his stories about baseball. Interesting stories
about his teammates, and especially Mickey Mantle. He told us from 1952 to 1956, Mantle was the Man. Mantle's power and all-around game inspired his Yankees teammates.
In the 1990's, I would often meet with Yogi Berra and his wife Carmen. My older daughter Debbie lived on the same street in Montclair (NJ). The Berra's home was just 4 houses
away from her's. Wonderful people, Yogi loved talking baseball, mostly about Mickey Mantle. And especially the 1956 World Series "Perfect Game" in which Mickey running at full
speed caught Gil Hodges 440-foot drive to the Monuments in left-centerfield in the 5th inning. Berra's face just "lit-up" with excitement as he described this event.
There are many more stories that I could tell here, but I've said enough for now.
Take care,
TED Z
T206 Reference
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