1964 Profile: Mickey Mantle

1964 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR

"In all of baseball history, no superstar has suffered so many injuries as Mickey Mantle, the ill-fated switcher from Spavinaw, Oklahoma. Last year he reached a low point for pain and activity, getting into 65 games in his 13th year in New York.
His lifetime [batting average] is .309 and he has accumulated 419 homers. The last to take batting's Triple Crown (hitting, homers, RBI's in 1956), he's been a worthy successor to two other Yankee all-around greats, Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. Once greeted by a chorus of boos at his own park, he is now an idol in New York."

-Don Schiffer, Major League Baseball Handbook 1964

"The leader of the Yankees, center fielder Mickey Mantle is now regarded as the home run king of the current players now that Stan Musial has retired. Although limited to 65 games last season by injuries, The Switcher clouted 15 homers (he hit .314 and drove in 35 runs) for a career total of 419.
At age 32, he's sure to go over the 500 mark in the next few seasons and, possibly, he'll threaten the 600 mark before he's through. How long can he last? He's talking playing at least five more years."

-Dave Anderson, 1964 Major League Baseball Handbook

"When Mickey Mantle's legs are injured the news makes sports headlines from coast to coast. This past season Mickey's legs got tangled in the outfield fence of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The result: a broken foot. The accident also ripped loose some cartilage in his left knee. In all, it was three months before Mantle got back in the lineup, and last October he had to submit to an operation on his knee.
Despite these injuries, the 32-year-old outfielder managed to appear in 65 games and hit .314. Mickey hates inactivity. In the words of teammate Elston Howard: 'Mantle is the kind of player who has more determination than you'll ever know. He's a great fighter on the field. He loves to win.'
Mickey's series of injuries reads like a script out of Ben Casey, with Dr. Kildare thrown in for good measure. His trouble first began back in 1946 when he was kicked in the ankle during high school football practice. Complications developed and the trouble was diagnosed as osteomyelitis, a bone disease. He still takes injections for the condition and plays with the leg heavily taped.
His periodic injuries have increased since joining the Yankees in 1951- a blond, husky 19-year-old rookie just two years removed from Commerce (OK) High School.
Since then, despite leg and knee trouble, he's topped the American League in just about every batting department, winning the Triple Crown in 1956 (batting average, homers, RBI's) and MVP awards in 1956, '57 and '62."

-Bill Wise, 1964 Official Baseball Almanac

"It would be pleasant to write these paragraphs without using the word 'injuries.' But in writing of the accomplishments of the remarkable Mickey Mantle, injuries do figure.
The Mick started spring training slowly this year following surgery last fall on his injured left knee. Just when some experts were predicting trouble, he belted two lethal homers to win an exhibition. Last summer after being sidelined for two months by a broken bone in his left foot (while chasing a home run ball to the fence in Baltimore), Mickey returned as a pinch-hitter at the Stadium against the Orioles and crashed a game-tying homer of such dramatic proportions that everyone in the crowd of nearly 40,000 joined in a standing ovation.
His gallant efforts despite discouraging disabilities have clearly marked Mickey Mantle as a great player in the old tradition and have changed boos to cheers among appreciative and understanding fans.
Mickey still aims to be the first man to hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium. He came close on Memorial Day in 1956 and again last May when a rising drive missed clearing the top deck in right field by a scant few feet. Mickey also would like to pass the 500 milestone in career homers and hit .400 someday.
But right now Mickey Mantle will settle for another good year in the tradition of his fine career and, being a team man, another pennant for the Yankees."

-The New York Yankees Official 1964 Yearbook

"There's much optimism regarding Mickey Mantle's immediate future with the Yankees, namely the 1964 campaign.
The slugging ace of the Bombers appeared in only 65 games last year because of a broken left foot and injured left knee suffered in Baltimore the night of June 5. After the season, Mantle underwent surgery for removal of the outer cartilage of the knee.
This season presents a real challenge to Mantle. And he's determined to give it all he's got, which is plenty. His burning desire is to make up for last season when he missed all those games. Mickey has worked his way into topnotch shape and wants to play every day if the injury jinx lets him.
According to Mantle, his legs feel better than they have in years. After the operation, Mickey began taking exercises to build up the knee in addition to lifting weights.
Mantle's knee operation was the second cartilage surgery he has undergone. In November 1953, Mickey had cartilage removed from his right knee.
When Yankee GM Ralph Houk was asked how many games the Bomber outfielder can be expected to participate in, he commented, 'I'm told the leg is stronger than it has been in years. Sometimes you make plans that you won't play Mantle when you have a day game following a night game. Or in second games of doubleheaders when it gets very hot. But, when he tells you he feels okay and wants to play, so you play him. It's very hard to figure. But right now I'd settle for 125 games.'
In Houk's opinion, Mantle is baseball's top competitor. Ralph declares, 'I have never seen a man who wants to play ball as much as he does.'
Despite his missing 97 contests in '63, Mantle finished with a batting average of .314. He also managed to clout 15 homers, giving him a lifetime total of 419.
The 32-year-old switch-hitting slugger who was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, and who now resides in Dallas with his wife and four sons, boasts a list of diamond accomplishments matched by few.
Including among Mickey's feats are winning the American League's Most Valuable Award three times, in 1956,1957 and 1962; capturing the $10,000 Hickock Belt as the Top Professional Athlete of 1956; being named Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News in 1956; leading the AL in homers, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960; leading the junior loop in slugging percentage, 1955, 1956, 1961, 1962; hitting three homers in one game on May 13, 1955; hitting a grand slam homer in World Series play twice; clouting 15 Series round-trippers to tie Babe Ruth's all-time record.
Mantle, who first joined the Yanks in 1951, has been plagued by a series of mishaps seldom equaled throughout his career. He first suffered a knee injury during the '51 Series when he stepped into an outfield drain. From then on, it was knee troubles, shin splints, a shoulder injury, a fractured knee, an abscess on his hip, a pulled thigh muscle and a rib cage injury, the latter suffered just prior to his losing battle with that Baltimore outfield fence last season."

-1964 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

Signed by Yankee organization, June 13, 1949.
One of ten to hit grand slam home run in World Series game, thereby tying record for most RBIs, one inning (4), October 4, 1953.
Hit three home runs in one game, May 13, 1955.
Led American League in home runs (37), 1955.
Led Majors in slugging percentage (.611), 1955.
Led American League in home runs (52), 1956.
Led Majors in slugging percentage (.705), 1956.
Last player to win Triple Crown, 1956.
Winner of Hickok Belt as Top Professional Athlete, 1956.
Most Valuable Player in American League, 1956.
Named Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News, 1956.
Most Valuable Player in American League, 1957.
Led American League in home runs (42), 1958.
One of four to twice hit two home runs in one World Series game, October 2, 1958 and October 6, 1960.
Led American League in home runs (40), 1960.
Shares World Series record for most hits in one game (4), October 8, 1960.
Shares World Series record for most runs scored, seven-game World Series (8), 1960.
Led Majors in slugging percentage (.687), 1961.
Tied major league record by hitting four home runs in four consecutive at-bats, July 4-6, 1962.
Led Majors in slugging percentage (.605), 1962.
Most Valuable Player in American League, 1962.
Yankees' top pinch hitter in 1963: 3-for-10 with two home runs.
15 World Series home runs - a record.
Has hit homers righty and lefty in the same game nine times, a major league record.
Ranks eighth on all-time home run list (419).

-1964 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

MICKEY MANTLE CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
"Mickey Mantle has hit 419 homers (lifetime) going into the 1964 season - 302 left-handed and 117 right-handed; 210 at home and 209 on the road; 229 with none on base, 126 with one on, 57 with two on, and seven with the bases loaded. He ranks eighth on the all-time home run list.
He tied the Major League record by hitting four home runs in four consecutive times at bat, July 4-6, 1962. He has hit home runs righty and lefty in the same game nine times, a major league record. Mickey hit three home runs in one game on May 13, 1955. All three were hit into the center field bleachers of Yankee Stadium (two batting left-handed and one right-handed),  the only time this feat has been accomplished, as the Yankees defeated the Tigers, 5-2.
Mickey twice came the closest to achieving the distinction of being the first to hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium, both times the ball hitting the facade of the upper deck in right field. The first occurrence was on May 30, 1956, when he hit his 19th homer of the year off Washington's Pedro Ramos on a 2-2 count in the fifth inning of the first game of a doubleheader. It struck the facade at a point about 107 feet above the ground, the Yankees winning, 4-3. The second time was on May 21, 1963, off Bill Fischer of Kansas City on a 2-2 count in the 11th inning to score the winning run in an 8-7 game. This ball struck at a point measured to be about 108 feet above the ground. Mickey hit his longest home run on April 17, 1953, off Washington's Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium, the ball traveling 565 feet. He was batting right-handed. This home run was second in distance only to Babe Ruth's 600-footer at Detroit in 1926.
He has hit 15 World Series homers, tying Ruth for the record. He is one of eight to hit a World Series grand slam homer and is one of four to twice hit two home runs in one World Series game. Mickey also shares the World Series record for most hits in one game (4) and for most runs scored in a seven-game Series (8).
Mickey led the American League in home runs, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960. He led Majors in slugging percentage, 1955, 1956, 1961 and 1962. He ranks fifth among all-time Yankees in the number of games played.
Mickey was named Most Valuable Player in the American League, 1956, 1957 and 1962. He was the last player to win the Triple Crown (1956), won the Hickock Belt as Top Professional Athlete of 1956 and was named Major League Player of the Year by the Sporting News in 1956.

-1964 New York Yankees Scorecard and Official Program

MANTLE HOMER ALMOST LEAVES STADIUM
"For the second time in his illustrious career, Mickey Mantle almost became the first player to hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. In the flight of the Mick's mighty space shot on May 22, 1963, the ball hit on the top facade, a matter of a scant few feet from going over. The game-winning homer, off the Athletics' Bill Fischer was still rising when it hit just below the top of the 108-foot facade, over the right field third deck. Mathematical estimates indicated that ball might have traveled 620 feet had it not been obstructed.
On May 30, 1956 off Pedro Ramos, Mantle came equally close to 'hitting one out,' but that was not hit as hard."

-1964 New York Yankees Scorecard and Official Program