"By actual count, Roger Maris was injured on 10 different occasions in 1963, limiting his appearances to 90 games. The man who 61 homers ('61) tried to play too soon after being hurt in spring training and never fully recovered.
A Fargo (North Dakota) high school football star, he spurned college scholarships to enter the Cleveland system. Maris became an Indian in 1957, was sent to Kansas City in '58 and New York in '60.
His swing is one of the smoothest in the game and he is seldom fooled by a pitch not in the strike zone. Roger twice led the league in RBI's but has failed to get higher than .289 [batting average) in seven years, and has a .262 [BA] lifetime."
-Don Schiffer, Major League Handbook 1964
"Another invalid most of last season, Roger Maris is another Yankee star who's hoping for a comeback year in 1964. Limited to 90 games, he socked 23 homers and drove in 53 runs with his .269 average ... but when fans think of Maris, they think of his 61 homers in 1961.
The Yankees obtained him in a 'steal' from the Athletics prior to the 1960 season. Over his career, he's hit 214 homers. At 29, he's got time to hit more than 400 career homers, maybe close to 500. One of the best defensive right fielders, too."
-Dave Anderson, 1964 Major League Baseball Handbook
"There are times when Roger Maris wishes he had never hit 61 home runs. The six-foot, 205-pound right fielder who broke Babe Ruth's record in 1961, has been the target of abuse from sniping sportswriters and pop bottle-throwing fans ever since his name went to the record book.
'More than once,' Maris confides, 'I wanted to throw it all in, pack up and get away from everything. I wanted to get lost and never be heard from again.'
Maris is proud that he always speaks his mind. This directness didn't make him overly popular [with sportswriters] before his 61-home run season, but after he belted No. 61 against Boston's Tracy Stallard on October 1, 1961, it made him a marked man.
Winner of the American League's Most Valuable Player award in 1960 and '61, the 29-year-old outfielder dipped to a .256 average and 33 home runs in 1962- a partial explanation for the abuse heaped on him by fans who came out to the park to see the 'new Babe Ruth.'
Last season he was plagued by injuries ranging from a sore toe to a sprained wrist. In all, Maris appeared in only 90 games, hitting 23 home runs and batting .269. Rumors even began to circulate that the Yankees were thinking of trading their left-handed power hitter. Everything considered, Maris has been traveling a rough road since 1961."
-Bill Wise, 1964 Official Baseball Almanac
"Physically sound again this spring, Roger Maris is looking ahead and not behind. Last year was a nightmare for the slick-fielding, hard-hitting Yankee right fielder. First, he was hurt making a diving catch in spring training. Then followed a succession of injuries that limited his activity to 90 games and 312 times at bat.
Despite injuries throughout the 1963 season and even into the World Series, Rog did make a contribution to the Bombers' pennant drive. He was a timely hitter as his 53 RBIs might indicate. He was particularly effective in June after Mickey Mantle was injured. During this streak, he hit at a .400 pace.
The all-time home run champion was a more relaxed man this spring, still another year away from that pressure-packed season of 1961 when he hit the record 61 home runs.
Maris would like to get more hits this year ... go for a higher batting average.
'The home runs will come,' Roger said, 'if I get more base hits.'
But he realizes that the runs batted in as well as homers are important in his contribution to the Yankees.
In four previous Yankee seasons, Maris has hit 156 home runs and driven home 407 runners. Now that Manager Berra has Roger hitting third in front of Mantle, he might realize several ambitions in an improved year for himself and the Yankees."
-The New York Yankees Official 1964 Yearbook
"Roger Maris is the first to admit he had a bad season in 1963. And, because of it, he took the first pay cut of his career. But Maris has also served notice that he's out to win it back, 'but I can't try any harder than I did last year. I try my very best every time I'm up. You can't give more than 100% of yourself. Sometimes it turns out better than others.'
Adds Rog, 'I feel fine. None of the past injuries seem to be giving me any trouble.'
Maris played in only 90 games last season, batting .269, with 23 homers and 53 RBI, a far cry from his fabulous 1961 campaign when he blasted 61 round trippers and drove home 142 tallies.
Injuries really threw Rog in 1963. The first one occurred on April 1 in an exhibition game at Lakeland, Fla., when the big right fielder tore his left hamstring muscle making a diving catch. He missed the first seven games of the regular campaign. Then came nine more, count'em, separate injuries. His longest absence was during August when he missed 19 games. Rog's last mishap occurred during the third inning of the second World Series game when he smashed into the right field railing at the Stadium, bruising his left forearm attempting to catch Tommy Davis' triple, which finished him for the set.
The 29-year-old left-handed swatter who calls Independence, Missouri home, came to the Yankees on December 11, 1959 as part of a huge trade with Kansas City. Maris, along with shortstop Joe DeMaestri and first baseman Kent Hadley, came to New York in exchange for outfielders Norm Siebern and Hank Bauer, pitcher Don Larsen and first sacker Marv Throneberry.
Rog originally came up to the majors with Cleveland in 1957, being swapped to K.C. with lefty Dick Tomanek and first baseman Preston Ward for shortstop Woodie Held and first sacker Vic Power on June 15, 1958.
Maris' first season with the Yanks saw him bat .283, hit 39 homers, drive in 112 runs and lead the loop in slugging percentage. He was named the junior circuit's Most Valuable Player.
Then came that glorious '61 with those 61 homers, for which the left-handed belter was showered with honors. He repeated as the MVP, won the $10,000 Hickock Belt as Top Professional Athlete of the year and was named the AP Pro Athlete of the Year.
Rog tailed off to a .256 batting mark in 1962, with 33 boundary belts and 100 RBI, then even further in '63. But don't bet against him in '64."
-1964 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook
Traded to New York Yankees with first baseman Kent Hadley and shortstop Joe DeMaestri for pitcher Don Larsen, first baseman Marv Throneberry and outfielders Hank Bauer and Norm Siebern, December 1959.
Led American League in runs batted in (112), 1960.
Led American League in slugging percentage (.581), 1960.
Hit home run in first World Series at-bat, October 5, 1960.
American League MVP, 1960.
Hit 61 home runs in 1961- more than any player in one season.
Combined with Mickey Mantle to break Babe Ruth's and Lou Gehrig's 1927 home run [record for teammates] (107) with 115.
Set American League record for most home runs in six consecutive games (7), 1961.
Led American League in runs batted in (142), 1961.
Tied for American League lead in runs scored (132), 1961.
Winner of Hickok Belt as Top Professional Athlete of the Year, 1961.
American League MVP, 1961.
Associated Press Athlete of the Year, 1961.
Led Yankees in runs batted in (100), 1962.
-1964 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
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