Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 22

their 1960 season, the Yankees made one such trade with the Athletics in which they acquired outfielder Roger Maris. In his first Yankees season, Maris led the league in slugging percentage, RBIs, and extra base hits, finished second with 39 home runs, and won the AL MVP Award. The 1960 Yankees won the AL pennant for the 10th time in 12 years under Stengel, and outscored the Pirates 55–27 in the seven World Series games. However, the team lost four of them, falling short of a Series championship after Bill Mazeroski hit a walk off home run in the final game, ending a contest that was called "one of the most memorable in baseball history." The season turned out to be Stengel's last as Yankees manager. He indicated that his age played a role in the team's decision, saying, "I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again."

Ralph Houk was chosen to replace Stengel. During the 1961 season,

both Mantle and Maris chased Ruth's single season home run record of 60, and the pair attracted much press attention as the year progressed. At the time this was a new phenomenon, and Maris was particularly unsettled by the resentment shown when continually asked if he thought he was better than Babe Ruth. Mantle breaking the record was much more popularly acceptable. Ultimately, an infection forced Mantle to leave the lineup and bow out of the race in mid-September with 54 home runs. Maris