Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 134

speed and talent awed Stengel, and who had spent the previous year in the minor leagues. Stengel moved Mantle from shortstop to the outfield, reasoning that Rizzuto, the shortstop, was likely to play several more years. Both Mantle and the Yankees started the 1951 season slowly, and on July 14th, Mantle was sent to Kansas City to regain his confidence at the plate. He was soon recalled to the Yankees. Although he hit only .267 for the season, this was four points better than DiMaggio, in his final season. Much of the burden of winning a third consecutive pennant fell on Berra, who put together an MVP season. The White Sox and then the Indians led the league for much of the summer, but the Yankees, never far behind, put together a torrid final month of the season to win the pennant by five games.

The Yankee opponent in the 1951 World Series was the Giants, with Game 1 played the day after they won the National League

pennant in the Miracle of Coogan's Bluff featuring Bobby Thomson’s “shot heard ‘round the world.” On an emotional high, the Giants beat the Yankees in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium. Game 2 was a Yankee victory, but Mantle suffered a knee injury and was out for the rest of the Series, the first indication of knee problems that would darken Mantle's career. The Giants won Game 3, but DiMaggio stepped to the fore, with six hits in the following three games, including a home run to crown his career.