Iconic Baseball Photos of the 20th Century

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by the cardfather

brian,

one of my personal pet peeves is when someone talks about what a great man mantle was. A great ballplayer - yes, but a great man - never.
Mantle was great when the cameras were rolling, but not so much otherwise.

I copied the two paragraphs below from one of my posts a few months back, and i think it needs repeating.

Mantle was a boozing, womanizing a$$hole, who wouldn't have survived a minute with today's scrutinizing media. (imho.)

a long ago co-worked once told me a story about when he was a kid. He said that he was collecting ballplayer autographs in some washington hotel. (i assume that the yankees were playing the senators.) he said that when he approached mantle with a ball to sign, mantle literally slapped the ball out of his hand as he rushed past.

There are tons of similar stories out there about the "great" mantle.

Charles,

No man on earth ever did the right thing all the time. What you said I am sure is true, to an extent. Mickey was not a good husband, nor a good father, and the shame-faced Mick on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the early 90s that told of his alcoholism and many misdeeds attested to his own loud and clear self-knowledge AND self-recrimination of his many blunders and wretched lifestyle much of his adult life. When he was dying and held his last press conference, he humbly told everyone not to look to him as a role model, or whatever it was.

Few individuals were approached as often for an autograph as Mickey Mantle. If he was under the effect of alcohol, or the Yankees lost the game, and especially if he felt he let the team down and contributed to the loss, you did not want to approach Mick with a ball to sign. A dumb kid wouldn't know or understand that. Many adults haven't a clue about such influences and matters, because all they care about is themselves and what they want.

It is truly surprising Mickey lasted as long as he did with the New York zoo press. But really, you seem very convinced in your hatred of him. Fine. That is your right and freedom to express such bias. I could get started on your Joe DiMaggio, but I won't, unless provoked.

Yeah, in today's media frenzy, no one comes out of it alive.

I won't weary you with why I have such a strong connection to Mickey Mantle. You're not worth the time, and with your attitude, it's none of your business anyway.

So, I shall be happy collecting Mickey Mantle. You can stay peeved, and if you ever get over it, hopefully you'll find someone to collect that might keep you happy, at least until you learn more about him.

----Brian Powell