Author: David Shama

The opportunity to see Mantle was never to be missed, even on TV.  Close your eyes and you can still see No. 7 coming to the plate in Yankee Stadium.  In his wonderful baritone voice, legendary public announcer Bob Sheppard says, “No. 7 Mickey Mantle. No.7.”   It is the voice of God introducing a superhero.

By the 1960’s, when major league baseball was first being played here, you weren’t sure if Mantle’s afflictions would keep him from playing against the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium.  The stands were packed when the Yankees were in town and there was reverence when Mantle came to the plate.

Mantle was often booed early in his career but by 1961 he was a hero to most baseball fans throughout the country.  Critics went after Mantle in the early years because he didn’t measure up to their expectations.  Hyped as potentially the greatest player of all time meant that a .300 season and 40 home runs weren’t good enough.

Mantle hushed a lot of the boos in 1956, his best season.  Not yet 25, he won baseball’s revered Triple Crown hitting .353, with 52 home runs and 130 RBI.  Back then Mantle could run better than in his later years and he had yet to injure his right throwing arm that was among the strongest in baseball.

Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog was a big league player during much of Mantle’s era including 1956.  He followed a center fielder and base runner who could run and throw with baseball’s best, and a batter that flirted with a .400 average, hit home runs more frequently than anybody playing, and sometimes slugged balls so far nobody was sure where they landed.

“Nobody could play baseball better than Mickey Mantle played in it in 1956,” Herzog said in Jane Leavy’s book.

But even that year didn’t win over the more irrational Mantle critics.  When he hit .365 in 1957 and “only” 34 home runs, there were fans who wanted more.  And there were people who never accepted the Army draft board verdict that Mantle was exempted from military service because of his osteomyelitis.  “If he can play baseball, why can’t he be in the Army,” they growled.

The truth was that Mantle’s physical demons did give him a huge burden to carry and at times put him in the hospital.  It was 50 years ago, during the 1961 season, that a hip injury stopped Mantle short in his pursuit of Babe Ruth’s 60 home run season record.

Mantle missed some games in September of 1961 and finished with 54 home runs.     Teammate Roger Maris broke the home run record with 61.  He played in more games and had the huge advantage of hitting in front of Mantle in the lineup.

The summer of 1961 captivated the country as the “M&M boys” pursued the Babe’s place in history.  Mantle, Maris and the great world championship Yankee team of 1961 later inspired a Billy Crystal directed movie, 61*.

That season also transformed Mantle into more of a hero than ever before.  As he approached his 30^th birthday, Mantle’s physical tribulations had been sufficiently documented to the point he was admired for achieving what he could.  And Maris, a lesser talent than Mantle, was seen as not worthy of pursuing the great Babe Ruth’s record.  If anyone deserved to be Ruthian in post-World War II America, it was Mantle.

Mantle would never have another season like 1961, although he did win his third American League MVP award in 1962.  In his last season, 1968, he fittingly hit a late September home run off Jim Lonborg of Boston.

Although he never played baseball again, he continued to be one of America’s greatest idols.  He would return to old-timers games in Yankee Stadium and hear thunderous applause.  He had a national youth baseball program named after him, and fans travelled to Monument Park in Yankee Stadium where a plaque honored him and a handful of other Yankee greats.

Mantle died at age 63 from cancer.  He was an alcoholic, reportedly convinced he needed to party because of the young ages when death claimed his male relatives.  Age 63 was apparently a bonus for “The “Mick.”  Born on October 20, 1931, he would have been 80 this fall.

The Twins open spring training later this month.  Fans will watch to see how slugger Justin Morneau is recovering from his concussion.  And each time Joe Mauer comes to the plate, wearing No. 7, fans know they’re watching a great ballplayer.

Baseball moves on but in the winter of 2011 there’s no forgetting “The Mick.”

ESPN college basketball analyst Dan Dakich told Sports Headliners that despite having four seniors who average more than 20 minutes per game, the Illinois team that plays at Williams Arena tomorrow night against the Gophers needs better leadership.

Illinois, with guard Demetri McCamey, forwards Mike Davis and Bill Cole, and center Mike Tisdale, was expected to be among the Big Ten’s best teams and for awhile was a top 25 ranked school, but the Illini have lost five of their last seven. Illinois is 5-5 in conference games and 15-8 overall, and has followers wondering if a rally and possible NCAA tournament invitation will happen.

“Really immature (team),” Dakich said on Sunday when asked what’s wrong with the Illini.  “Shouldn’t be (with) four seniors, all productive seniors.  I went to their practice.  Really immature group.  (Coach) Bruce Weber is catching a lot of heat, but ask anybody in basketball, he’s a great basketball coach.

“…This should be the easiest coaching year of his life.  Because these guys should be taking care of the locker room like Ohio State’s guys do.  It’s not getting it done.  Immaturity, it doesn’t play in the Big Ten.”

McCamey is among the conference’s most talented players.  He ranks second in league assists per game at 6.70.  He averages 14.7 points and Davis averages 11.3.  Davis and Tisdale are two of the conference’s best tandem rebounders.  Cole is a sometimes starter who makes .406 percent of his three point attempts.

Minnesota’s anxious fan base can only hope Illinois doesn’t come prepared to play its best.  The Gophers are a troubled team, too, having lost three of their last four games.  After point guard Al Nolen went out of the lineup following the Michigan win on January 22, the Gophers managed to beat Northwestern at home before losing three consecutive games including last Sunday to unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Ohio State, a team Dakich and a lot of other experts admire.

The Buckeyes have perimeter players who can score and a highly effective inside scorer in sensational freshman forward Jared Sullinger.  That’s a combination Minnesota can only envy.  The Gophers have inconsistent inside play and simply lack playmakers on the outside, needing multiple players who can shoot and also score off the dribble.

“You better have playmakers, and that’s what’s hurting Minnesota,” said Dakich, the former Indiana player and head coach at Bowling Green.  “Up here when we did the Minnesota-Indiana game (January 4), Al Nolen went and made plays.  Whether it’s hitting shots or creating for others. …”

Freshmen guards Austin Hollins and Chip Armelin have shown some promise in filling a playmaker role, along with Blake Hoffarber, out of position but assigned the point guard role with Nolen out indefinitely with his broken foot.  Armelin, who scored a career high 14 points on Sunday against Ohio State, showed speed to the basket and ability to improvise his shot coming off the bench.  Hollins got his first start, played 32 minutes and scored eight points.

The Gophers are 5-6 in the Big Ten, 16-7 overall.  Do coach Tubby Smith and his players have reason to be concerned about receiving a much anticipated NCAA invite?

“I think they have work to do, because who can’t you lose to in this league?” Dakich said.