Yes, I did see 61* and love it! I'm a Maris fan - especially after McGwire 'lied' to the family.
As much has Mantle suffered that year, one would think that he missed more than the 6 games he did.
In the six games with Mantle hitting behind him, Maris was 3-for-24 with 2 solo shots...not really enough games to say anything definitively - a much more telling statistic is that Maris had zero intentional walks in 1961 - which was no doubt due to Mantle hitting behind him. Ruth no doubt benefited greatly by having Gehrig following him.
That being said, Maris endured a lot more pressure in his time than Gehrig ever did. IMHO
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"A life is not important except in the impact it has on others lives" - Jackie Robinson
“If you have a chance to make life better for others and fail to do so, you are wasting your time on this earth.”- Roberto Clemente
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