Roger Maris was a humble human being. I believe he was born in NORTH DAKOTA in the year 1934. He was a team ballplayer who could hit run and throw. He had a bazooka for an arm.The press in NEW YORK always gave him a hard time comparing him to MANTLE. The pressure in NEW YORK caused his hair to fall out after he hit the 61 home runs.HE. STILL DESERVES THE HALL OF FAME BECAUSE OF. HIS CHARACTER. THAT IS ONE TRAIT YOU DONT SEE MUCH OF.
Growing up in Brooklyn during the 60's as a Yankee fan, like most kids, I was very impressionable. After hearing him in interviews, the way he spoke, conducted/carried himself on and off the field, Roger was, and still is my favorite Yankee of all time, and why I still have his baseball cards, from his rookie year 58' with the Indians thru to his last season in 68' with the Cards. During that time, most all of my Yankee fan friends idolized Mantle of course.....not me, to me, Roger wasn't an idol to worship, but a great role model......humble, classy, dignified, everything a young man should aspire to be! Thank you Rog....RIP.
Very well said & I wholeheartedly agree! Roger was a classy guy both on & off the field. Extremely underrated, under appreciated & unfairly misunderstood. Just a terrific human being, family first, honest & sincere, Roger was exceedingly generous & loved by those who knew him best. RIP Eternally Roger Maris, NYY MVP.
Most underrated ballplayer to play the game. All around player. Nothing one dimensional about the way he played. Had to honor to see him play in 1962. Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Mn. Roger & Mickey each hit home runs against Camilo Pascual that day. I was probably the only Yankee fan in the stadium. I couldn't believe the boos that Roger received that day. At 9 years old, I felt so bad for him, I cried. I still feel that he should be in the HOF, for being a great, complete player.
I'd say Bernie Williams is equally if not more underrated than Roger Maris, but, either way you have my envy and admiration for getting to see the M&M boys in person. You're a lucky man. Go YANKEES!!!!!
Don't understand the apparent ignorance (born in MN) either fans did not know or did not care for Maris's bat flip showing up opposition following a great hit JK.
I was working in Miami, Fl in the 1970’s and answer the phone in the office. The and the Person on the other end ask to speak with my boss at the time and said could you please let him know I called and then said this is Roger Maris. I was speechless and then said yes I will, what an honor, and he said thanks a lot. So down to earth and no pretense at all. Quite a thrill for a 23 year old kid who loved the Yankees, Mantle & Maris!
I've met a lot of professional athletes. No one was more respectful & gentlemanly than Roger. He was quiet, reserved & approachable for kids. But Roger had a good sense of humor too, & a warmth that was genuine. As a ballplayer he was underrated imo - because Roger was a 5 tool guy who is remembered by most fans for 61 in '61, disregarding his all around ability. He had as good an arm as any RF, stretched singles into doubles, & was clutch on the biggest stage in sports. We miss you Roger, RIP
I saw him play in 1961 and 1962. I did not see him hit a home run. A lot of people in Yankee stadium loved him, of course, but a lot of people didn’t. In one game, he grounded out to first four times. Each time, some people near me yelled insults at him. The fourth time, as he was trotting back to the dugout, he turned toward his antagonists and flipped them off. Never broke his stride.
I didn't hate him! I was 12 in 1961. We were cutting class and sneaking around with radios, smoking cigarettes, keeping up with the HR race after the school year started. He still holds the record for me! No juice.! No batting gloves! Lol
He said, it would have been a lot of fun if he hadn't hit those 61 HRs. This man was an all around player who could do everything in the diamond to help his team win.
The Yankees basically destroyed his career. In 1965, he was struck on the wrist by a pitch and sustained a fracture plus nine chips and tendon damage. They X-rayed it three times and told him -falsely - that the X-rays were negative. They insisted on his continuing to play anyway and it cost him his power. He couldn’t hold the bat properly and couldn’t hit the home runs like he used to. He only found out about the injury after the season. By then, it was too late.
The Yankees never should have dumped Yogi after the 64 season, where they win the Series if either Ford doesn’t get hurt in game 1, or Richardson turns the double play in the 6th inning of game 4 before Kenny Boyer’s grand slam. That’s when their troubles really began. They bring in John Keane, an outsider from the Cardinals, and many of the ballplayers don’t respect him, and he mistreats many of the veteran ballplayers like Mickey Mantle by trying to show them up. Then, they treat Roger Maris horribly after his 65 hand injury. They accuse him of faking and dogging his serious injury, and they force him to play hurt. Roger loses his power, and becomes 1/10 the player he once was, while deeply resenting Yankee management, the press, and Yankee fans and boo-birds. It’s tragic really. Roger should have gotten his hand and wrist surgically repaired immediately after injuring them, and received a new contract from the Yankees with a nice raise to show appreciation for his productive work. He should have retired as a Yankee. I blame management 100% for their stupidity, their arrogance, and their cruelty. Yes, and that includes Ralph Houk, even though Ralph was highly respected by his ballplayers. “I might as well level with you.” Unfortunately, Roger’s deteriorating relationship with “The Major” coincided with the Yankees fall from 1st to last during 1964-1966.
Interesting reading the comments, and knowing more about behind the scenes. Prior to 1961 season they lined up the top HR hitters knowing of expansion, diluted pitching, attention that would be given chasing record. They did the same for '98 season. Maris was too valuable and due to Mick's injury concerns, League informed both he and the Mick it's you two that is gonna carry the '61 season. Goes against fair play for sure but it's entertainment. Great players who weren't the designated "fan favorite" are targeted on off (since Maris did not party) Mgmt would need to focus on voiding contracts via phony x-ray results in this case, and there wasn't free agency and Maris made the best of it. Roger still caught on and kept playing and it's good the local Yankees fans appreciated (for the most part). It is true that Maris if he was a Twin and local boy he could have been seen pushing a sr. citizen into a bus and they would have blamed the sr. citizen for "taking a dive" and shouldn't have been outside anyway🤪
The poor Kansas City Athletics, really nothing but a farm team for the Yankees. However, I think Maris would have been a much happier man staying in KC where he and his wife liked it, record or no record. Pretty shady what the commissioner and old fogey press did with the asterisk, but it should definitely be there with Bonds and McGwire who roided up.
Poor guy. When he hit 61 in 1961, then commish Ford Frick tried to protect Babe by talking about a 154-game record for Ruth, and a 162-game record for Maris. He never got the recognition he deserved. At least he retained his record when he died. He’s been passed up by McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds now.
There was steroids then mainly in form of cortisone, and hair loss treatment back then had steroidal components, but any cortisone or enriched treatments back in the day was player/league ok'd (wasn't met with lawyer statements given to players denying pure mass HGH stuff that intensified 1980's) and Maris also worked out. Not much was said but when Cecil Fielder returned from Japan a changed player he hit 50 and players/league kindly told him to take a rest.
@@adamtparker6515 Tom House says he took steroids and HGH in the 1970s, along with several other players. It’s ridiculous to ignore it for one generation, and make a big deal for a different generation. They weren’t even illegal before 1990.
@@razorback9926 since the public thinks steroids run anywhere from form comes from bottle w/needle to speed to Sudafed (thanks #Selignon) sport casters 70's 80's 90's would freely state players who got cortisone shots. I was on corticosteroids back in '06 (eczema) similar stuff what Barry did (as well as HGH) generally accepted team docs can administer Cortisone if player met certain injury criteria and nobody batted an eye. Then 60's and even now HGH synthetic T pill or IV ALWAYS required a licensed doc to admin. What got folks like Canseco McGuire and Bonds in trouble is the other league players would squak and until 2000's gentlemen agreements were made between teams that included required disbanding of A's fol 92 season. I will say severe backlash occured when Steinbrenner picked up Cecil and Strawberry (would go to independent or Japan to juice then come back) Until NYY picked up Fielder, then 80's juicers could still keep playing but meant they had to remain with same team then retire.
Ruth never had to play at night, never faced middle relief and never played against Black players, and never played on both coasts. That has to be worth 8 games.
Cortisone '86 did not help him, had similar "give it all" solid player, bad timing. Well thanks to Ortiz & Co a lil more respect was given to Bill, even when we were forced to have Red Sox hooligan dummies go "Buckner we forgive you now" grr
Roger was a great player.Power, good fielder with a good, accurate arm. Good baserunner etc. He, along with Rocky Colavito could have been a powerful one, two punch in Cleveland's lineup but sadly Frank Lane was the GM. The rest is history.
If he could, Maris would have had league place a 20ft extension at that RF fence, was always a solid hitter could play at any park. Solid class by not going slappy and bunting, played every game hard as "The Mick" was always given a pass for being sore and would have hit "61" if someone of Carew stature was hitting in front of him and ordered by MLB as to sell tix/pub. Maris true ambassador.
43:17 I had the Luminator football and basketball set and they weren’t that bright btw and the basketball set was a joke. The backboard was cardboard. Lasted exactly 2 hours. 50:00 graphics were a joke.
Yanks fans owe alot to Maris as he preserved "The Mick" and to replace a "legend" Babe Ruth who benefitted by short fields, balls supercharged and ol GMs demanding to groove pitches to sell tix, etc (go check out Municipal Stadium Cleveland 1948) any talk of Mick's greatness needs to include Roger. If Roger wasn't at Yankee Stadium he still would have been a solid player drove balls and played hard, as a Fargo youth growing up in 1980's, we appreciated his good play with or without "61". Huh, wives maiden name Carvell. Roger was pretty stocky in good shape cut down way too young and passed away about the same time fam moved out of Fargo. He smoked but there may have been a few docs that had some fan grudges, who knows. 51 way too young😢Lil worried that while attending college at NDSU 94-95 I made a few bucks being a lab rat seeing all these Propecia ads, and Maris losing hair whilst playing, my salad still looks good😊
I remember how good maris was no we're near the great reberto Clemente he was a dog not running out ground balls in the infield cutting across the infield and running to the dug out he didn't run out ground balls the all American dog.mantle was taking good feeling shot's that hollwood stars took and Jack Kennedy and his wife took feel good shots
He did, so did Ted, so did Ruth (well Ruth did on his first wife, his second wife was probably the first person ever to take control of his life and help him and she enjoyed telling ladies to buzz off) anyways, what's your point, Kennedy cheated on his wife, FDR cheated on his, Not sure the relevance
