Quote:
Originally Posted by CMIZ5290
Interesting we're talking about Yankees. Wouldn't it be curious to think how many homeruns Mantle would have hit if not for nagging injuries and extra activities not related to the game?
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"If ifs and buts were candied nuts what a wonderful Christmas it would be"!!!
However, if we play that game then a few of the biggest factors with regard to Mantle not achieving his obvious potential, in my opinion, would be: 1) the penicillin injections (every day, every 3 hrs for 2 weeks) in an attempt to arrest a football-related injury that resulted in osteomyelitis (1946), 2) the early death of his father (1952 ) and 3) the knee injury in the '51 WS.
Before the injury to his left shin in an early season football practice session, Mickey or "Little Mickey" as he was known then weighed around 125 pounds soaking wet. After he left the hospital in the fall of 1946 he had lost over 30 pounds and his body was covered in boils - a combination of the prolonged infection and treatment. Photos from 1947 depict a remarkable transformation, Mickey was now well over 160 pounds - all of the new weight pure muscle. One potential consequence of this hypertrophy (perhaps induced by the unusual concentration and length of the penicillin treatments) might be that his ligament and tendon development simply did not match his muscular growth and could, in part, explain the unending series of injuries that defined his career.
The early death of his father also had a very profound effect on Mickey. Mickey loved, respected and feared his Dad. There is no question in my mind had his father lived and was around for Mickey through most of his playing days that many of the distractions and much of the bad behavior (drinking, womanizing and not taking care of himself) would have been greatly curtailed.
And finally, the knee injury in the 1951 WS - which was simply the start of a series of crippling injuries that robbed us from witnessing some of Mickey's greatest physical attributes.
So, I've fallen in the trap of "ifs and buts" in an attempt to offer some possible explanations for one player's (my childhood hero) shortcomings. Of course, all of us are ultimately responsible for our lives and for how we respond to each and every situation.
But I always wonder 'what could have been". What would the final numbers have been if that baby-faced Rookie with that magnificent body who went from the right-side of the plate to 1ST in 3.1 sec and from the left-side of the plate in 2.9 sec, who consistently hit the longest HRs ever recorded as easily left-handed as he did right-handed and who could beat out a drag bunt by several yards had not suffered all those injuries, had not been so distracted by women and alcohol and had taken better care of himself.
In my opinion, a healthy, focused and more mature Mantle might have been the greatest ballplayer ever. But then again, we are all who we are and therein lies the problem with the "if and but" game.