Quote:
Originally Posted by Jsquared123
Among people my age (I'm 34) and younger who are serious or even casual baseball fans, Mantle has taken on more of the mythical Ruthian type persona from what I've witnessed growing up and now as an adult. We're nearly 50 years since Mantle last played and 22 since he passed. I remember that day pretty well actually. My father who actually worked with his mom by stadium as a kid and teennager in the 1950s and 1960s, called into WFAN the day after Mantle's passing to reminisce about Mantle and actually cried on air. I've never seen another grown man of 50 years old cry over the passing of a baseball player, athlete, celebrity or anything of the sort before or since.
Fast forward to today, the hobby is strong although taken over by the forced scarcity 1 of 1 refractor autograph game used jersey rookie cards graded a rainbow label 12 by BGS, there is a still a huge market for not just the 52T but any Mantle. I don't see that changing any time soon. The demand for vintage and the days of hobby simplicity will always be strong. Heck, I know I'm not the only 30 something on this board and I bet there are many younger than me. In the age of youtube and the internet, there is just enough footage and stories available to keep Mantle's legend alive and well for many future generations to come.
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And the more objective analytical yardsticks that are applied to his performance, the better and better he appears. Study the subject and you will find that it was completely reasonable and logical that Bill James rated Mantle as the 5th best player ever to play major league baseball (Bill actually had Mantle 6th overall, behind Oscar Charleston, but sadly there is no real objective evidence to support Oscar's placement due to the ridiculous racial discrimination which banned him from playing major league ball in his playing days). A very interesting read on the subject is the book, "Mickey and Willie," by, I believe, Alan Barra (going by memory on the author's name), with two chapters devoted to objective, mathematical analysis as it existed at the time of the book's original publication (2013?).
And contrary to what you may have read above, objectively and logically, it is
highly unlikely that the Yankees would have won 12 pennants and seven world championships in the Mick's first 14 years with any other player whatsoever of his time substituted for him on those 1951-1964 teams. IMHO, to contend otherwise is nothing more than errant nonsense.
Best wishes,
Larry