No bat flip, no posing, no kisses to “God”, no slow trot around the bases. He and Williams ran as fast as they should. Never show up the pitcher. Pure class on the field
In 1968 hen i was 9 years old my dad and his buddy took me to Anaheim Stadium to see the Angels play the Yankees. Mantle came to bat late in the game and I can remember my dads buddy saying this was the last chance for us to see Mickey hit a home run. We were seated on the third base side past 3rd base and I can still remember Mantle hitting a bomb that flew past us well over the left field fence deep into the bullpen.
Greatest switch hitter in baseball history. He was the GOAT. Legendary bomb home runs. Rod Dedeaux, the USC baseball coach said he measured out two shots that Mantle hit out of the field at USC during an exhibition game. Both homers were over 600 feet.
Frank Gifford talked about a 1952 'SC football practice where he's in the huddle... getting the play... and a baseball rolls into the huttle. YUP. You guessed it. Mantle had a home run that left the baseball field... and carried all the way to the football practice field. Gifford swore he was telling the truth. Marv Goux confirmed it. There will NEVER be another player with the talent... big game moxy... and charm... as MICKEY MANTLE.
Remembering the days when any family could afford to go to a professional sporting event. Still recall seeing Yankees at Dodger Stadium with Mantle and Maris.
My childhood hero! The centerpiece of the might Yankee teams of the 50s and early 60s. I saw him pinch hit a dramatic home run on August 4, 1963 at Yankee Stadium, his first plate appearance finds being injured a couple of months earlier. The standing ovation started when he came to the on deck circle and continued until he rounded the bases and went back into the dugout. It must’ve lasted about ten minutes. The entire stadium was standing and clapping and cheering the entire time. Mickey pulled the ball to left, over the 360 ft. sign, tied up the game and Yanks win it in extra innings. Possibly the longest ovation ever in Yankee Stadium.
I awoke every morning as a kid during baseball season looking in the newspaper for last night's Yankee box score. My aim was to keep up with Mickey Mantle. What an athlete!
Remember the "Yesterday's Homers" section. I always looked at that. You would see Mantle. Rocky Colavito, Harmon Killabrew, Willie May's, Hank Aaron. Stan Musial, etc. Great era!
No one was ever better! That will upset all those "Mantle haters". I happened to be at Yankee Stadium in August 1964 with my dad and grandpa. It was Mel Stottlemyre's first MLB game. Through a family connection at the stadium, we got front row seats in right field, about 20 feet from the foul pole. Off White Sox pitcher Ray Herbert, Mantle hit a HR well beyond the 461-foot sign to straight away CF. I think it was the 2nd time he had done this. No one else had ever accomplished that feat. Later in the game, Mantle hit one right over our heads many, many rows behind us.
@@marcschneider4845 There were plenty of Mantle haters....by the mere fact he played for the Yankees, especially early in his career. He won many of them over by his on-field accomplishments/injuries. Still, with the false accusations that he rec'd preferential treatment with the transplant.....I guess there's no accounting for taste or ignorance. And "no"....Mays was not better, period.
@@jackel99 I wish the radio call was on RU-vid. Better yet, I wonder if WPIX-TV broadcast that game and has a tape. I'm guessing not, otherwise we'd have seen it by now.
3:50 “Fill’er up, ethyl. Check the oil, tires and thanks for the baseball.” 🤣🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 God bless you Mickey. Thanks for being such a great ball player. 🇺🇸#7❤️
With my Dad and brother at Yankee Stadium 1968 saw the Mick hit a bases loaded pinch hit single. Woulda been a double but he could barely run by then. Took him out right away for a pinch runner. The crowd went nuts. I was 9 years old. It feels like yesterday.
QUICK FACT: *The fastest pitcher in mantles era was clocked at 82.3 mph...and no one threw a consistent off-speed pitch.* ....Could you imagine how easy that would be, if you knew a 75-82mph fastball was coming every single pitch?? 🤦🤣🤣🤣 No wonder mantles numbers were so high!
@@michaeldaniel3976 dude his name is BUTT SEX WITH BABIES!!! Lolz don’t even attempt an argument back not worth it my man hahah lolz guys clearly a troll brotha lolz
@@buttsexwithbabies2316 Then why didn't every hitter from that time have 500+ HRs if it's that easy?. Many players played in the 50s and 60s yet only a select few hit over 500 HRs.
After Mickey Mantle hit a homer out of Griffith Stadium in Washington, he also had a bunt double. Yes he bunted so hard that the ball hit the second base bag. Mantle who could run like a blur rounded first and ran into second. Mantle's grand slam home run into the center field upper deck in Ebbets field demolished the seat it landed on.
Good argument that he's the best ever . Remember he started his career with a crippling leg injury , yet still stole bases with a high success rate , apparently still is the quickest to first base of anyone , Henderson included, at 5'11" incredibly hit the longest home runs of anyone , even the giants (Mcgwire, Canseco, Stanton , Judge , Pujols , Trout etc) of the past 20 years and has so many post season records. A fit Mantle would have 800 homers , probably the RBI record and who knows how many stolen bases . Not to mention his incredible switch hitting !!
Grew up watching "The Mick" and there will never be another ballplayer who will be as big a hero as he was. When Bobby Murcer took over for him, he carried the flag admirably.
That’s awesome. I can relate because people probably don’t believe you when you tell them. I am currently riding a 5 game walk off winning streak dating back to opening day last year. Went 4 for 4 last season and am 1 for 1 so far. Would have rather seen what you saw though. If only that Judge shot went out in the 9th inning to tie the record at 61 I would feel differently. If you followed him last season you’ll know exactly which game and at bat I’m referring to.
That first swing and shot is unreal. Watching him uncoil and whip that bat through the zone is just poetic. The most talented ball player of the century before injuries derailed him. Never watched him play but he was my dad’s idol.
My first real recollection of Mickey was in 1952 in the World Series against the Dodgers. He hit a grand slam home run against them. In 1960 I flew to New York to watch the Yankees in the Series against Pittsburgh. Mickey was fantastic in that series. To me He was unequalled. If he had two good legs he would have been the greatest player ever. I’ll never forget all the times I seen him play. Not many around like the “Mick” anymore.
The grand slam was hit in 1953. In a book I wrote, there is a picture of the flight path of the ball (an arrow drawing). In '52, Mantle hit home runs in games six and seven of the Fall Classic. Both games are here on YT, and are believe to be the oldest surviving World Series games preserved in kinescope.
there's so much that could be added...like after he broke his foot and was out for 48 games...In Baltimore, Ralph Houk put him in to pinch hit with a man on first and the Yankees down 3-2. Mick limps up to the plate to bat left handed and doesn't take a practice swing. First pitch he swings at he misses and collapses in front of home plate. Gets back up and on the next pitch belts a 450' homer to center field and was barely able to limp around the bases - he missed the next 28 games. Mel Allen was crying!
I remember that like yesterday. I always used to have arguments with this guy about Mantle vs May's and when he blasted that Homer after being out for 48 games I was jumping up and down in front of him rubbing it in. MICKEY WAS SO GREAT.
im 74 l saw him play nobody hit home runs like Mickey Mantle nobody!he hit 18 home runs in world series play and all of them in the world series it will be a long time before somebody breaks that record,and he was one of the best bunters of all time Mantle showed up to play in the world series he could be a one man wrecking crew.
This was back when ballparks had major league dimensions. No disrespect to Aaron Judge but if he played in the ORIGINAL Yankee Stadium he would’ve had 40 home runs this year!
As a life-long Mantle guy, I had seen many of these clips before, but never the play when he dives back into first under Rocky Bridges tag. I’ve seen that play written up as the smartest, most instinctive base running play ever and it was really special to see it here. I appreciate the time and effort you put into compiling these clips. Whenever the subject of “if only he hadn’t gotten injured” comes up (Herb Score, Tony C., Bo Jackson, etc), Mickey is always my first thought.
Remember Dizzy to Pee Wee Reese on a Yankee game, "You can see the sawdust fallin' from the bottom of his bat!" It was more pain than ecstasy when he struck out, but I can't remember that now. Pure magic. Seeing him in the on deck circle was better than any pin-up imaginable.
From his 1st Homerun to his Last, Mickey never showed up the pitcher. Unlike today's players who jump, dance and act a fool for nothing. Mickey was class. A Baseball God.
My father saw him play at least twice. 8/7/56 against Boston (got Casey Stengel's autograph after the game) and 6/2/57 (DH). In the double-header, he saw Mantle and Berra go back-to-back, and then Howard homered before the Yankee frame ended. After the game, my grandmother got a pretty good picture of Mickey exiting Yankee Stadium. We still have it! My father got his pic with Stengel, in addition to the autograph.
His bat speed through the zone was ridiculous I see. The old black and white footage is what you really need to watch. Before he got his leg caught in the drainage pipe. And boy was he fast too. ❤️
In August of 1965 Mick hit one over the centerfield wall at Yankee Stadium against the White Sox. Not only was the wall 461 feet away, it was about 12 feet high and topped by a screen maybe another 7 feet...don't know for sure, might have been higher. Picture in the paper showed a tiny looking Jim Landis looking up at a huge wall with a white dot (the ball) clearing it by about a foot. Not too many players ever did that.
August 1964,it was also Mel Stottlemyres first start.The center fielder was Gene Stephens.This game marked the last time Mantle homered lefty and righty in a game.
@@64yanks Yes, that's it. Yankees won 7-3, Stottlemyre got the win, too. Over 500 feet. Mantle actually thought he didn't get all of it. Remember the game later (early September?) where Mel went 5-5 at the dish?
Mickey Mantle was the most talented player Ted Williams ever saw, and when he hit a home run there were no antics, he will run the bases with his head down. Even after playing his entire career with two bad knees, Mantle still is one of the best players of all time!
I just read a book with a lot of cool stats I didn't know about both those guys... More than just the stats-101 amazing baseball facts and much much more
A healthy Mickey Mantle, he would have been the greatest player of all time, Ted Williams had lost 5 yrs in the service he was the greatest hitter for ave 4.06. MANTLE TRIPLE CROWN WAS AMAZING.
QUICK FACT: *The fastest pitcher in mantles era was clocked at 82.3 mph...and no one threw a consistent off-speed pitch.* ....Could you imagine how easy that would be, if you knew a 75-82mph fastball was coming every single pitch?? 🤦🤣🤣🤣 No wonder mantles numbers were so high!
As a Brooklyn fan ,I was no fan of Mantle,but I can attest that he was one of the 5 best power /speed players I ever saw-especially so,in the post season against the Dodgers.In '68,when 7 was profoundly hobbled by injuries,he still had an obp of .385,despite his .237 batting average.
My dad took me to a spring tng game btw the Jacksonville( Fla) Suns and Yanks in 1956/7. The Suns won 4-1. Lone Yankee run was a screaming line drive homer by Mantle. Oh,by the way,a guy by the name of Hank Aarron played 2nd base for the Suns.
What a fantastic post!! In '57 the Braves had just won the series vs. NY and I cried all the way home from KINDERGARTEN! Up til then life was FAIR. DAMMIT.
Had the 1st baseman not stepped on the bag, then Mantle would have been forced at 2nd.Would have left the same situation except that now Mantle wouldn't have been on the bases.
You couldn't take your eyes off Mickey when he played! He had this magnificent powerful swing from both sides, he ran like no one else with his arms moving up & down like pistons, he was graceful even kneeling in the on deck circle, he was graceful in the field, he dug in at the plate like no one else, and was the fastest runner who ever played the game. AND, he was a great drag bunter! Just magnificent!
Also, would anyone agree that The Mick would have probably had 100+ more HRs if he played in todays stadiums? Those places back then had some crazy dimensions
Tony Kubek was quoted as having said that if Mickey had played in Hank Aaron's ballparks (Milwaukee, Atlanta) all those years, he would have hit 1000 homers.
QUICK FACT: *The fastest pitcher in mantles era was clocked at 82.3 mph...and no one threw a consistent off-speed pitch.* ....Could you imagine how easy that would be, if you knew a 75-82mph fastball was coming every single pitch?? 🤦🤣🤣🤣 No wonder mantles numbers were so high!
@@buttsexwithbabies2316 82.3? Where did you get such an exact number? The speed gun hadn't been invented yet. Bob Feller pitched for the Tribe until 1954, and he was clocked at 100mph by the best means available at the time. I'm sure quite a few other were easily besting 90mph with ease. A couple that I can think of were Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson, and Koufax probably too, all in various World Series.
Mickey was my favorite player of all time growing up a Yankee Fan and will never forget the M&M Boys and the World Series Wins and the huge disappointment of the '60 WS loss against Pirates
A fantastic video! Much appreciated, it's nice to see some different (and new to me) hilights of The Mick rather than the usual 5 or 6 one sees in most videos about him. It's a shame his life took him down the path it did. He accomplished so much with two bad legs and hung over most of the time. If he had taken care of himself and stayed off the sauce, it's amazing to think what he might have done.
As a kid ,I drew the number 7 on the back of my pajamas ! Nobody since and very few (if any) before him were better then the Mick ! Among the top 10 in baseball for sure !
Ty Cobb came to Yankee Stadium just to watch Mickey bunt. Cobb said Mantle could bunt over .300 because the infielders played him on the outfield grass he hit the ball so hard. Mick not only drag-bunted. He liked to pop the ball over the pitcher's head because the infielder's played so far back. He tried it off Don Drysdale in the 1963 world series, but 6'6" Drysdale was able to jump up and catch it.
That’s saying a lot when you consider Bo Jackson, Deon Sanders, and Ichiro Suzuki played after him. I agree that he would beat them all to first base before his knee injury.
@@stephenfricke9298 He was a nice guy. (The Mick), Yogi was nice enough, but he smelled! My father asked what I thought about meeting them and that was what I told him. I was 7 years old.
I remember, I guess it might have been 1961, Mick hit a ball and took off for first base. Half way down the line going at full speed Mick collapsed in a cloud of chalk and dust. When his teammates helped him off the field I saw blood coming through his uniform at his right hip.
I remember that. He hit a grounder to short and was trying to beat it out because it would have been the last out of the game and he tore a muscle in his leg.
Mantle didn't have the most home runs or the longest career wise, bad knees and all, but when the chips were on the line in post season, he hit 18 world series home runs. How many did you hit 'Mr. October'/ Reggie Jackson?..Robert at 67.
Seeing these highlights with Mel Allen is Godly! My father used to hip me to Mel and his tagline;"how about that", being I was raised on Bill White and Scooter. Taking nothing away from them, as they were great as well. But Mel was the golden age of Yankee-ness.
@@Maya-bu2rf "That ones outta here, ow, he got it on the warning track, holy cow white, I thought that was outta here for sure...ya know I gotta get my prescription checked."
You can talk about Bonds, Ruth, Aaron, Trout etc… Mickey Mantle was the greatest baseball player of all time. Everyone forgets that he got hurt his rookie year. There was never a fully healthy Mick after ‘51, yet he was still the best.
There is no greater Mantle fan than myself. Everything was Mickey Mantle when I was growing up and still today my favorite athlete. Favorite celebrity too. But the greatest baseball player of all time? I don't think so. Without the injuries we would have seen much more, but we have to go by what he did. Which was incredible, but so many strikeouts. Mays was a better fielder, Williams a better hitter, Berra a greater clutch hitter, and many have been better baserunners. He was an incredible package, five tools, and probably in the top ten of all time, but not the GOAT. Unfortunately. And a don't say this lightly, as Mantle has meant so much to me.
@@Maya-bu2rf He set the major league record for career strikeouts at the time. There's no changing that. Of course the record has been broken since by a number of players, particularly in the new baseball atmosphere. Compared to Mays, Aaron, Ted Williams, Berra and other players of his day, he struck out a lot.
@@howie9751 ☰   Mickey Mantle's Strikeouts Are No Longer Criticized by Baseball "Experts" HAROLD FRIEND SEPTEMBER 03, 2011 Mickey Mantle was criticized severely for striking out so much during his career, but in the 1950s and 1960s, the "experts" didn't know that a strikeout was merely an out. Players of Mantle's era considered striking out an embarrassment. After striking out, many players would hang their heads as they returned to the dugout. Mantle struck out an average of 115 times over a 162-game season, which was more frequently than Willie Mays (83), Hank Aaron (68), Ralph Kiner (82), Roger Maris (81), Frank Robinson (88), Harmon Killebrew (113) and Ernie Banks (79). What made Mantle great was that in his career he walked (1,733) more times than he struck out (1,710). Among the above players, only Ralph Kiner and Hank Aaron walked more than they struck out. Modern "experts" have concluded that it is relatively unimportant how often productive hitters strike out. In 2011, American League MVP contenders Curtis Granderson and Adrian Gonzalez have struck out 147 and 112 times, respectively, in 135 games each. Mark Reynolds has 31 home runs to go with his 166 strikeouts, while Ryan Howard has 30 home runs and 153 strikeouts. Mike Stanton has hit 31 home runs with 146 strikeouts. Mickey Mantle no longer holds any New York Yankees single-season strikeout records. In 2000, Jorge Posada struck out 151 times, the most by any Yankees switch-hitter. Alfonso Soriano's 157 strikeouts in 2002 is the most by any Yankees right-handed hitter. Reggie Jackson struck out 133 times in 1978, which was the most by any Yankees left-handed hitter until Granderson this season. Granderson has already broken Reggie's record in only 135 games, and he will add to his dubious distinction. The most times Mantle ever struck out in a season was 126 in 1959. He followed that with 125 in 1960. Mantle often said that the injury he suffered in the 1957 World Series, when Milwaukee Braves second baseman Red Schoendienst fell on his right shoulder, ruined his swing from the left side of the plate, which accounts in part for so many strikeouts. But from 1955-58, again in 1961-62 and for the last time in 1968, Mickey walked many more times than he struck out, averaging 122 walks and 97 strikeouts a season. In 1957, which might have been more productive than his Triple Crown season of 1956, Mantle walked 146 times with only 75 strikeouts. This may be more significant that anyone ever realized. Mantle's knowledge of the strike zone had never been as good as it became in 1957, but it was in that year's World Series that his right shoulder was injured. How much more would he have produced with a healthy right shoulder? The major difference between today's free-swinging sluggers and Mantle is that among the 11 batters who have hit at least 30 home runs this year, only Jose Bautista (109 BB and 92 K), the great Albert Pujols (54 BB, 51 K) and Prince Fielder (89 BB and 88 K) have more walks than strikeouts. Mickey Mantle has become better as the years have passed. A major reason is that his strikeouts are no longer considered much of a negative. Some great players who followed Mantle have made his career 1,710 strikeouts seem less extreme. Reggie Jackson struck out 2,597 times for the all-time record. Jim Thome, who is still active, has 2,473 strikeouts. In seventh place, with a chance to break Jackson's record, is Alex Rodriguez, who has struck out 1,904 times. How often has A-Rod been criticized for striking out too much? Read 0 Comments Download the app for commentsGet the B/R app to join the conversation Install the App Related Articles Predicting Each Team's Trade Deadline Approach about 10 hours ago  2011 MLB Re-Draft 📝 about 10 hours ago Yankees-Red Sox Postponed 1 day ago Reevaluating All 30 MLB Teams ✍️ 2 days ago
Did I miss something? Where were his incredible plays in the field. His powerful and accurate throws? In general, folks forget. Not Yankee fans from the 50s, though.
There was only one that I recall and I was looking because I remember he made some great catches. He ran so fast that it was rare for a ball to get past him. No silly diving catches like today.
The biggest catch I remember is his catch in left-center to save Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. He had to back-hand it, which made it extremely tough. May have saved the game, as it was 2-0.
QUICK FACT: *The fastest pitcher in mantles era was clocked at 82.3 mph...and no one threw a consistent off-speed pitch.* ....Could you imagine how easy that would be, if you knew a 75-82mph fastball was coming every single pitch?? 🤦🤣🤣🤣 No wonder mantles numbers were so high!
Greatest switch hitter of all time can very safely be said. After Mickey, perhaps Chipper Jones, Eddie Murray and Time Raines. Pete Rose the accumulator maybe 5th.
Mickey Mantle hit 536 HR's most in Center field at Yankee Stadium which was the biggest stadiums and Center field was 464 ft. No ball park is that big nowadays short fences and a lively baseball now.he hit a lot of out in Center field that would be homers today.
