HOW MUCH BETTER…? –
Feb. 10, 2024 – In 1962, Mantle wasn’t exactly a young buck anymore. Before notions like staying hydrated and getting enough sleep, they all must’ve been miserable, and his devastating leg injury shortly after made things even more difficult. Through these circumstances he won his final AL MVP and the Yankees captured the World Series title, plus pennants in the following two while he dealt with the effects of the injury. After ‘64, Mantle never played a postseason game again, but fought through it enough to post a 145 wRC+ in his last four years (though at the time, his batting average was held in scorn).
Our next stop in the timeline is a darker one: June 8, 1969, Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium. An honorary day of praise for a man who hated praise was a well-meaning, but ultimately ill-conceived notion. His wife, Merlyn, called it the worst day of his life. She also said that at this point, her husband was “happy only when he was smashed and not coherent.” He got through the adulation of that day as much as it made his skin crawl, but things only got worse. The first few years of retirement, his mood was volatile. His loved ones tip-toed around him, cleaning the house and supplying Mickey with food and undoubtedly drink to avoid a breakdown or fit of rage. In childhood, he used to help his mother do the same for his father Mutt.
