Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Mickey Mantle

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle at the Griffith Stadium, 1957/58- Author; Cindy Grossi- Wikimedia

Born on October 30th, 1931, Mickey Charles Mantle was commonly known as “the Mick.” He was a professional American League baseball player for New York Yankees between 1951 and 1968.

1. Mickey Mantle was scouted to play for the Yankees while in high school

New York Yankees Logo- Wikimedia

Mantle started playing baseball at an early age. His father loved baseball and even named him after the Detroit Tigers catcher, Mickey Cochrane.

He was trained from a young age to be a switch hitter. One time a New York Yankees scout saw him play while in high school and was signed on for two years in the minor league.

At the age of 19, he joined the major league team and that’s where his 18-year career with the Yankees began

2. Recognized as the greatest switch hitter in baseball history

Mickey Mantle in 1951- Author; New York Yankees- Wikimedia

Mickey Mantle was an incredible batter. He proved he could be able to hit for both average and power and his 536 home runs are the most done by any switch hitter in baseball history. He batted over .300, 10 times.

Mantle admitted he was a better right-handed hitter but statistics show that he had 372 home runs from his left side of the plate compared to 164 from the right.

3. Mantle continued to play despite his injuries

Roger Maris & Mickey Mantle in 1962- Unknown Author- Wikimedia

Mantle had many injuries during the course of his career. In high school, he suffered both acute and chronic injuries to bones and cartilage in his legs. For him, applying thick wraps to both his knees became a pre-game ritual. By the end of his career, simply swinging a bat caused him to fall to one knee in pain.

He continued to play for the New York Yankees despite multiple injuries and great pain. Despite the always present injuries, Mantle continued to play and thrive over the next four seasons where he even won various awards over the course of his career.

4. Mickey was voted as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) 3 times

Most Valuable Player Award (2015)- Author; Rick Dikeman- Wikimedia

In 1956, he won the triple crown with a .353 batting average. In 1957, he was selected as the American League’s Most Valuable Player when he hit .365

In 1962, he won and collected his third MVP award when he hit .321 with 30 home runs and helped the Yankees win the world series against the San Francisco Giants.

He remains to be one of the very few players in baseball history who has collected three or more MVP awards.

Despite missing 40 gamers due to his injury, Mantle was still able to bag awards because of the good games he played whenever on the field.

5. Mantle became the first-base coach after retiring

After his retirement, Mantle coached for the Yankees. He was appointed as a first base coach and was commended for the good job he did.

This is because that season, the Yankees were able to put New York ahead of the ‘twins’ by 5-2. This got him to be celebrated once again as it was his last job as part of the Yankees team.

6. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of fame

Mickey Mantle’s plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum- Author; Beyond My Ken- Wikimedia

The baseball hall of fame is a platform that honours individuals who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving baseball.

It is the central part of the study of the history of baseball in the U.S and beyond.

In 1974, Mantle became one of the greatest baseball players in his time to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

7.  He played 2401 career games with 2415 career hits

Mickey Mantle in 1953- Author; Bowman Gum- Wikimedia

Throughout his career, Mantle played a total of 2401 games and was able to make a total of 2415 career hits. Despite his physical ailments, Mantle made incredible achievements throughout his career.

He hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game, 10 times. He scored 1,677 runs and even made 2415 hits in 2401 games.

He was able to bag 1,509 runs, 344 doubles, and 536 home runs. Further, he compiled a .298 career barring average.

8. Mickey Mantle was the highest-paid player in baseball in 1961

Dollar bill notes- Image by Pasja1000 from Pixabay

In 1961, Mickey Mantle became the highest-paid player in baseball after signing a $75,000 contract. In today’s scenario, this is equivalent to $650,000.

9.  Mantle was a Triple Crown winner

Triple crown is a crown given to a baseball player who is able to lead a league in three different categories during the same season.

In the history of Major League Baseball, very few hitters have been able to win the triple crown.

In 1956, Mickey Mantle won the Major League’s Triple Crown when he managed to hit 52 home runs, batted a .353, and drove in 130 runs.

This became the first of the three MVP titles that he won over the period of his baseball career.

10. He was elected to Major League Baseball All-Century Team

Mickey Mantle signs autographs at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia, 1988- Author; Preston Mesarvey- Wikimedia

The Major League Baseball All-Century Team was a team set in 1999 by popular votes of fans. To select this team, a panel of experts sat down and compiled a list of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball players from the past 20th century. Fans then voted on the players using paper and online ballots.

In 1999, Mickey Mantle was one of the 100 nominees for the team and was chosen via fan balloting as one of the teams’ outfielders. He was ranked number 37 on the ’50 greatest Athletes’ series run by ESPN.

Monument to Mickey Mantle in Commerce, Oklahoma. Author; Abe Ezekowitz- Wikimedia

He was considered one of the greatest players of his time. He continues to be very much celebrated and always recognized as a great baseball player.