Random Rise And Fall Of Mickey Mantl (14 items)

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  (#1) His Father Was A Baseball Nut With Lofty Hopes For Mickey

  Even before Mickey was born, his father wanted to connect him to baseball. The elder Mantle, Elvin (or "Mutt") was a semipro player in his younger days and named his son after then-famous catcher Mickey Cochrane. 

  As soon as Mickey could run, Mutt began teaching him baseball in preparation for a future career. He even forced his son to learn how to switch hit before he entered high school.
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  (#2) He Was Diagnosed With A Rare Bone Disease At 14, Nearly Derailing His Career

  Mantle played other sports in high school, including football. During one game in 1946, he was badly kicked in the shin, and a serious infection developed.

  Mantle's parents took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with osteomyelitis and told his foot would have to be amputated. Fortunately, a second opinion at the Crippled Children's Hospital was much less serious: eight shots of penicillin a day.

  Mantle healed within weeks, but lingering effects would haunt his later career.
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  (#3) He Was Discovered At 16 And Fast-Tracked To The Majors At 19

  In the summer of 1948, 16-year-old Mantle and his family were approached by Yankees scout Tom Greenwade at a baseball game. Greenwade offered Mantle a position in the Yankees franchise.

  Mantle initially played in a Yankees-affiliated minor league team, but Yankee management was thoroughly impressed with his track record. He was soon brought in for major league training and made his official debut on the diamond in 1951.
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  (#4) He Nearly Quit Baseball After An Early Demotion

  Unfortunately for Mantle, his initial major league run slumped quickly. Manager Casey Stengel apologetically sent him back to the minors during the summer of 1951. 

  Mantle was devastated and played poorly in his Kansas City minor league stint. He called his father saying he was going to quit, which caused Mutt to drive up to his son and berate him. Shaken, Mantle said he would give it another try and was brought back to New York in August - this time, permanently.
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  (#5) His Father Passed At The Age Of 39, And Mantle Began Drinking To Cope

  It was the 1951 World Series and Mantle had just been injured chasing down a fly ball. While helping his son into a taxi soon afterward, Mutt collapsed, and the two were taken to the hospital together. While Mantle received a clean bill of health after surgery, Mutt was diagnosed with Hodgkin's, which was virtually untreatable at the time.

  Mutt passed the following May at the age of 39, plunging his son into a sad mental state. Mantle credits his father's passing with sparking the heavy alcohol use that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
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  (#6) He Became The Superstar Heir Apparent To Joe DiMaggio

  Throughout the 1950s and early '60s, Mantle achieved a level of success few ballplayers ever did. He was voted the American League MVP three times, and led the Yankees to seven World Series titles. As baseball's iconic franchise, the Yankees have always been headlined by a defining superstar - a role that Joe DiMaggio had fulfilled for more than a decade. DiMaggio retired at the conclusion of the 1951 season, just as Mantle was getting his feet wet in the major leagues, paving the way for him to take over as the face of the franchise.

  He became a media superstar synonymous with the best of American baseball, appearing on many magazine covers and television programs.
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  (#7) In 1961, He Battled Roger Maris In A Legendary Home Run Chase

  In 1959, the Yankees acquired Roger Maris, a young lefty with a strong power stroke. As teammates, Maris and Mantle eventually established something of a friendly rivalry. That rivalry culminated in a legendary 1961 campaign in which the two sluggers chased history - and each other.

  The two began hitting homers at a torrid pace, putting the all-time single-season home runs record (held at the time by Babe Ruth) in their sights. It remained a tight (and very public) race for the duration of the season; ultimately, while Mantle set a personal best with 54 long balls, Maris took the crown, eclipsing the Babe with 61 homers - a record that stood until 1998.
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  (#8) His Body Started Breaking Down In His Early 30s And His Performance Dropped Off

  In the 1960s, Mantle's career began to falter. His personal performance slipped precipitously after his 1964 season - the last year he played at an MVP level and the last time the Yankees got to the World Series until long after he retired.

  Although all players age out of their prime, Mantle had a particularly painful downfall. Leg pain and other issues began to multiply year after year, exacerbated by his osteomyelitis. "It isn't any fun when things are like this," Mantle said in 1965. "I'm only thirty-three, but I feel like forty."

  The 1968 season turned out to be Mantle's last, as he retired the following spring.
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  (#9) With 3 MVPs, 7 Rings, And 536 Homers, He Was Inducted Into Cooperstown

  Mantle was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 - his first year of eligibility. Mantle captured a remarkable 88.2% of the vote. His induction alongside friend Whitey Ford - a dominant left-handed pitcher who played nearly his entire career with Mantle - was undoubtedly a great event.

  However, Mantle was having trouble making a new job stick. He tried investing in hotels and restaurants, but many of his picks failed.
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  (#10) Post-Retirement, He Fell Deeper Into The Bottle

  Mantle has said that he fell into the worst of his drinking when he had no commitments and nothing important to do. With his spotty post-retirement work schedule, Mantle's anxiety caused him to drink intensely.

  Mantle later opened up about the gutting effects of his alcohol, including intense anxiety attacks and blackouts he was deeply embarrassed about.
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  (#11) He Became Bitter Toward The Yankees

  Over the course of the 1970s and '80s, Mantle became increasingly bitter toward the institution of Major League Baseball and those who expected him to be their "All-American Boy." His ire was particularly focused on his former team, the Yankees.

  When a survey was sent to Mantle in 1972 seeking blurbs for a Yankees PR campaign, the former player responded with an infamously explicit and irreverent answer. Earlier, Mantle was asked to coach for the Yankees, but he only kept the job for one season, reportedly finding it "embarrassing."
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  (#12) He Was Banned From Baseball After Getting A Job At A Casino

  Struggling financially, Mantle took a job in public relations with the Claridge Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. When then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn heard of this deal, he warned Mantle to renege or face a lifetime suspension from baseball. The ever-crusty Mantle took the job anyway, and the anti-gambling Kuhn followed through on his threat. In 1983, Mantle was banned from all Major League Baseball events.

  However, Kuhn was succeeded the very next year by Peter Ueberroth, who reinstated Mantle.
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  (#13) He Checked Into The Betty Ford Clinic In 1993 

  After decades of Mantle's increasingly disastrous health and behavior, his youngest son Danny persuaded him to seek professional medical help. Danny had spent time at the Betty Ford Center to treat his own alcohol problems, and he soothed Mickey's worries.

  While the experience was difficult at first, Mickey's time at Betty Ford reinvigorated his spirit. He began speaking publicly and frequently about his difficulties with alcohol and the joys of his newfound sobriety.
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  (#14) He Received A Liver Transplant In 1995, But Passed Shortly Thereafter

  Mantle had run himself ragged for too many decades. He faced a number of serious health problems, chiefly hepatitis and liver cancer. He received a liver transplant in 1995 that was meant to solve some of those issues, but the cancer had spread to other parts of his body.

  Just two months after the transplant, Mantle passed. He was mourned and held up as an example of a tragic hero. Mantle himself said shortly after his surgery, "Don't be like me."

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