Why Mantle?
pbyco
Posts: 492
OK, help a young guy out (if you count 38 as young) - What's the deal with Mickey Mantle Cards? I know he was a great player, but how did he get all the attention when there were other great players of the era (Mays, Robinson, etc). Seems like someone arbitralily picked the Mick to be the hot card of the 50's/60's.
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<< <i>OK, help a young guy out (if you count 38 as young) - What's the deal with Mickey Mantle Cards? I know he was a great player, but how did he get all the attention when there were other great players of the era (Mays, Robinson, etc). Seems like someone arbitralily picked the Mick to be the hot card of the 50's/60's. >>
I think it was a confluence of events for Mickey to become the marque player of the post war era.
1-He was a helluva player. He could run, hit, hit for power, throw, and field.
2-He played for the gold standard club in the zenith of its power and the zenith era of the game
3-He not only replaced a legend, Joe D., but replaced him and did things as well or better.
4-He was a white, good looking, blond haired, blue eyed male in a time where that was the ideal male
5-He was the best player, centerfielder, in THE biggest city that had two other superstars.
Especially in NY. They drove the prices up.
Plus he was no slouch on the ball field.
All Yankee cards from that era go for a premium.
Steve
My Registry Sets
<< <i>It was a conspiracy secretly created by the liquor manufacturers to help boost their sales. >>
I knew I forgot something in my list above!
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<< <i>I would actually think that there were many contributing factors. He played in the era of betty crocker, apple pie, and baseball, he was the ideal candidate for all american boy being from small town midwest. He was a good player and was fantastic with the media. Oh yeah, it also helps that he played for the Yankees. >>
He was a little bit better than good.
He was one of the 5-10 greatest players ever.
American League MVP - 1956, 1957, 1962
Led AL in Home Runs - 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960
American League Slugging Leader - 1956, 1961
American League All Star - 1952-1965
Gold Glove Award - 1962
American League Scoring Leader - 1954, 1956 - 1958, 1960, 1961
Career home runs: 536
Won AL Triple Crown: 1956
Most World Series Home Runs: 18
Most World Series Runs Scored: 42
Most World Series RBI's: 40
Inducted to Baseball Hall of Fame: 1974
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
He also had either a WAR rating of 1,2, or 3, during that run.
<< <i>Dont even ask about mays >>
Ask what?
He hit the longest home runs, ran the fastest and always seemed to be coming back from some horrible injury only to lead his team to victory. His stats are amazing, especially that 10 year run from '52 to '62. And yes, he was passed the torch that went from Ruth to Gehrig to DiMaggio to Mantle.
I also think we need to remember the impact television had on people when it first came out in the '50s. Now people could actually watch the games, not just hear them on the radio. However they didn't have ESPN & 13243423 channels to choose from back then. Really, they had the game of the week & The World Series. Because the Yankees were usually in The World Series, they were on Game of the Week more than other teams. Therefore, people got to see Mickey Mantle more than other players of that era.
He was the quintessential "small town boy made good". Everyone knows the story of how his dad worked the mines, but loved baseball so much he would come home tired & teach Mick to switch hit. Everyone knows how he felt so out of place in the Big City, of how when he got to the World Series during his rookie year he ended up injured, only to lay in the hospital with his father dieing of cancer in the next bed. His whole life was like a giant Shakespeare play that everyone could relate to.
I also think he benefits from the nostalgia for the 1950's, an era many people seem to look back on as an age of innocence & innovation & prosperity. That period in time after World War II and before The Kennedy assassination/'social unrest of the 60's seems to be for many a high water mark for our nation and our culture, and Mantle represents that to them. Even for someone my age, who was born years after Mantle retired, he has a special kind of magic no other player has.
I watched Mickey play growing up as a young boy in Connecticut in the 60's, and it seemed like almost eveytime the Yankees needed a clutch hit, he got it. Of course that could be selective memories of a young boy, but there were some other pretty good ballplayers on those Yankee teams, and I never had the same feeling about them regarding the uncanny ability to get it done at the right time.
Also, Mantle despite his arrogant personality at some card shows and sometimes elsewhere, was a goodwill ambassador for the game, and he never tired of talking about it, and if you've ever heard Mickey talk about the game and the stories, is there anybody better at telling MLB stories in an enthusiastic, interesting manner? He just had the type of personality with his voice intonation, etc, that was fun and enjoyable to listen to.
<< <i>Wow - a great question. I would answer the "Why Mantle?" question by saying lots of things, some of which have already been listed. But to sum it up I would say that Mantle captured the public's imagination in a way his peers never could.
He hit the longest home runs, ran the fastest and always seemed to be coming back from some horrible injury only to lead his team to victory. His stats are amazing, especially that 10 year run from '52 to '62. And yes, he was passed the torch that went from Ruth to Gehrig to DiMaggio to Mantle.
I also think we need to remember the impact television had on people when it first came out in the '50s. Now people could actually watch the games, not just hear them on the radio. However they didn't have ESPN & 13243423 channels to choose from back then. Really, they had the game of the week & The World Series. Because the Yankees were usually in The World Series, they were on Game of the Week more than other teams. Therefore, people got to see Mickey Mantle more than other players of that era.
He was the quintessential "small town boy made good". Everyone knows the story of how his dad worked the mines, but loved baseball so much he would come home tired & teach Mick to switch hit. Everyone knows how he felt so out of place in the Big City, of how when he got to the World Series during his rookie year he ended up injured, only to lay in the hospital with his father dieing of cancer in the next bed. His whole life was like a giant Shakespeare play that everyone could relate to.
I also think he benefits from the nostalgia for the 1950's, an era many people seem to look back on as an age of innocence & innovation & prosperity. That period in time after World War II and before The Kennedy assassination/'social unrest of the 60's seems to be for many a high water mark for our nation and our culture, and Mantle represents that to them. Even for someone my age, who was born years after Mantle retired, he has a special kind of magic no other player has. >>
He ran the fastest???
Yes. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_fastest_time_by_a_MLB_player_running_to_first_base
-He came to the big leagues during the golden age of baseball.
-Most kids that watched him play are now considered "The Baby Boomers". The Baby Boomers defintely spent more money than their parents.
-He played in the mecca of baseball.
-He played during a time when there really was actual "Heros". Obviously he had his faults but the press didn't publish every detail of ones life.
-He has an aura about him created by reality and folklore. The American public has built him into a God. I think this contributed to his real life issues.
-He really was a great player who played on the best team. Makes you wonder how much better he would have been if he hadn't hurt his knee and had taken care of himself. I think he would have been the MLB leader in HR's and RBI's.
-He really was the boy next door.
-He was a good ole country boy who really could relate to the common man.
Just my 2 cents.
Mark
T206 Set - 300/524
no question about the previous reasons of mantle being an all time great- but i think most yankee collectors couldnt afford Dimaggio, Ruth, and Gehrig in near mint or better conditions. just saying...
HBO
<< <i>How big would Mantle be in the hobby if he played his whole career in Pittsburgh or some other small market team? >>
Perhaps you should consider the era Mantle played with making this statement. Had he been on Pittsburgh, he would have been teammates with Clemente and the Pirates would have won even more than 2 WS than they did (1960 and 1971).
Perhaps a better statement would be the Senators.
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<< <i>a very big dealer in the North east once told me his reasoning when i asked the same question: Why? Because all these deadbeats walking around in this room (national show) can't afford Ruth, Gehrig, and Dimaggio cards! This was in the late eighties and i always thought there was some truth to the fact that most yankee fans really could'nt capture all of the yankee icons but mantle was reachable via the wallet.
no question about the previous reasons of mantle being an all time great- but i think most yankee collectors couldnt afford Dimaggio, Ruth, and Gehrig in near mint or better conditions. just saying... >>
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