Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle is my hero. Not for all the home runs or batting titles won. He is my hero because near the end he stood up in front of the whole country and took responsibility for his past actions: alcoholism and not being a better father. All so-called "victims of society" should follow his example. God bless Mickey Mantle. Rest in peace. GREG H. WRANIC Long Beach On Aug. 11 I turned on the radio and was shocked to hear that Jerry Garcia had passed through the curtain of life and joined the ever-growing celestial rock band.

The family of Mickey Mantle has applied a corkscrew to Grey Flannel Auctions. On May 3, the auction house announced it would be auctioning an authentic Mantle bat at the end of May. Oh, and it said there was something special about this particular bat: It was corked. The auction announcement was accompanied by a statement from John Taube, a professional bat authenticator, which said, "During our examination of the bat, we noticed a circular area .75 inches wide in the center of the top barrel.

The family of Mickey Mantle has applied a corkscrew to Grey Flannel Auctions. On May 3, the auction house announced it would be auctioning an authentic Mantle bat at the end of May. Oh, and it said there was something special about this particular bat: It was corked. The auction announcement was accompanied by a statement from John Taube, a professional bat authenticator, which said, "During our examination of the bat, we noticed a circular area .75 inches wide in the center of the top barrel.

It looks like “batter up!” again on the theatrical boards: Mickey Mantle is the subject of a new play that writer-producer David Leaf is working on with the cooperation of Danny and David Mantle, sons of the incredibly talented but careless New York Yankees star, who died in 1995. Broadway World reports that Leaf has begun putting a team together for the show, which has Broadway ambitions. He's known for delving into the lives of pop music heroes, first gaining notice with his 1978 book, “The Beach Boys and the California Myth,” then directing or co-directing the documentary films “The Night James Brown Saved Boston” and “The U.S. Versus John Lennon.” Leaf told Broadway World that Mantle was his first hero, and promises  to "bring him to life, flaws and all" on the stage.

BASEBALL URBAN LEGEND : The Yankees left Mickey Mantle unprotected in the 1968 expansion draft. Major League Baseball (MLB) has held six expansion drafts in its history (1960, 1961, 1968, 1976, 1992 and 1997) , where incoming expansion teams can draft players from the rosters of the other MLB teams (with each current team being allowed to protect a certain amount of players from being drafted). There have been a number of standout players drafted via these drafts (to name three - a young Lou Piniella was taken in the 1968 draft, a young Vinny Castilla was taken in the 1992 draft and a young Bobby Abreu was taken in the 1997 draft)

It looks like “batter up!” again on the theatrical boards: Mickey Mantle is the subject of a new play that writer-producer David Leaf is working on with the cooperation of Danny and David Mantle, sons of the incredibly talented but careless New York Yankees star, who died in 1995. Broadway World reports that Leaf has begun putting a team together for the show, which has Broadway ambitions. He's known for delving into the lives of pop music heroes, first gaining notice with his 1978 book, “The Beach Boys and the California Myth,” then directing or co-directing the documentary films “The Night James Brown Saved Boston” and “The U.S. Versus John Lennon.” Leaf told Broadway World that Mantle was his first hero, and promises  to "bring him to life, flaws and all" on the stage.

Mickey Mantle, an almost mythical baseball star who feared he failed to fulfill career expectations because of alcohol abuse and whose recent years were haunted by self-recrimination, died of cancer early Sunday morning. He was 63.

Mickey Mantle Jr. died of cancer Wednesday, five years after the disease killed his father. He was 47. Mantle Jr. had been in and out of R.H. Dedman Memorial Hospital since about August, said Dorothy Weber, a New York attorney who represents the family in trademark and licensing. Mantle Jr. was a switch-hitting center fielder like his Hall of Fame father but never made it to the majors. He spent several years in the minors for the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers.

Regarding your article about Mickey Mantle's health problems, I can only hope that the man who brought so much excitement and pleasure to millions of baseball fans will enjoy a long, vigorous and healthy life. Whatever Mantle may say about his record; no matter how modestly he may speak of his accomplishments, others needn't be shy to proclaim his greatness. He was always the masterful, dangerous kind of player who could suddenly take command with his bat and lead his team to victory in a game, a series, or a pennant race.

Death was always so close to Mickey Mantle's consciousness that they became joking companions. But Mantle was always laughing at himself. "If I'd have known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself," he said when he reached 60. It was his way of kidding the late-night mileage he'd burned off that marvelously imperfect body. No male Mantle that he knew had lived past 40. He could deal with his own mortality. Losing a son is another kind of tragedy.

BASEBALL URBAN LEGEND : The Yankees left Mickey Mantle unprotected in the 1968 expansion draft. Major League Baseball (MLB) has held six expansion drafts in its history (1960, 1961, 1968, 1976, 1992 and 1997) , where incoming expansion teams can draft players from the rosters of the other MLB teams (with each current team being allowed to protect a certain amount of players from being drafted). There have been a number of standout players drafted via these drafts (to name three - a young Lou Piniella was taken in the 1968 draft, a young Vinny Castilla was taken in the 1992 draft and a young Bobby Abreu was taken in the 1997 draft)

It was the first inning, one runner aboard, the count at two balls and two strikes, and Tom Lovrich stared down the 19-year-old rookie batter. USC's junior ace didn't know much about him, except that he more than filled out his gray New York Yankees uniform. "He was a strong, country kid from Oklahoma," Lovrich said, recalling the legendary at-bat that took place 60 years ago Saturday. "Very strong. " Lovrich figured the rookie would chase something low and away for strike three, so the 6-foot-5 right-hander known as "Tall Tom" began his sidearm windup and fired.

It wasn't enough for Mike Trout to be rated the top prospect in all of baseball, above even Bryce Harper, the power-hitting prodigy who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated before he got $9.9 million to sign with the Washington Nationals in August. No, one scout had to take it a step further, telling Baseball America last summer that comparisons between Trout, a 19-year-old center fielder in the Angels' minor league system, and Mickey Mantle "are actually pretty good. " Great, thought Abe Flores, the Angels' player development director.

In America's locker rooms, genitalia has become a form of bling. The latest clubhouse trend ? athletes who expose themselves in cellphone self-portraits ? is the sort of behavior that gets guys arrested in subway stations every day. Deadspin.com, the in-your-face sports website, revealed last month that Brett Favre sent full frontal self-portraits to a female employee of his former employer, the New York Jets. Deadspin sleuths, who have been tracking this locker room "phenomenon" since January, thoughtfully provided a link to a portfolio of similar pictures.

The Last Boy Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood Jane Leavy Harper: 456 pp., $27.99 As a young girl growing up in the Bronx, Jane Leavy was enthralled not only by Mickey Mantle's amazing ability ? at his best, he was as great as any center fielder in the history of baseball ? but by his blond, blue-eyed good looks, superman physique and country-boy innocence. There are players today who are just as great and graceful ? Alex Rodriguez and Josh Hamilton come to mind ?

Ralph Houk, who won the World Series in 1961 and 1962 in his first two seasons as manager of the New York Yankees, died Wednesday in Winter Haven, Fla. He was 90. Houk went on to lead the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox in a 20-year managerial career. His family told the Red Sox that he died of natural causes after a brief illness.

It was at this point in spring training, 20 years ago, that he stood before the microphones set up I in the Yankees' hotel suite and said: "I can't hit the ball anymore, and I can't steal second when I need to anymore, and I can't go from first to third anymore . . . and I think it's time to quit trying."

He wasted much of his talent. He let down the father who loved him and sacrificed for him. He insulted many who admired him and wronged most who loved him. He ignored his sons until they were old enough to drink with him; then, as a middle-aged self-pitying melancholic, he enlisted them as late-night buddies. Once he finally sobered up (after a 42-year bender), he wrote about his alcoholism, thus bringing himself money, sympathy, notoriety and reawakened popularity.

All-time home run leaders. Through Thursday: -- Rank Player (age if active) HRs 1. Barry Bonds 762 2. Hank Aaron 755 3. Babe Ruth 714 4. Willie Mays 660 5. Ken Griffey (39) 613 6. Sammy Sosa 609 7. Frank Robinson 586 8. Mark McGwire 583 9. Harmon Killebrew 573 10. Rafael Palmeiro 569 -- -- Rank Player (age) HRs 11. Reggie Jackson 563 12. Alex Rodriguez (33) 553 13. Mike Schmidt 548 14. Jim Thome (38) 545 15. Mickey Mantle 536 16. Jimmie Foxx 534 17. Manny Ramirez (36) 533 18. Willie McCovey 521 Frank Thomas 521 Ted Williams 521 --