Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Damn Yankees
Page 337
an excellent .984 fielding percentage when playing center field, winning a Gold Glove in that position. Mantle appeared in 12 World Series, winning seven championships.
After retirement, Mantle briefly worked as sports commentator for NBC and later as a part time coach in the Yankees farm system. Despite being one of the best paid athletes of his era, he was a poor businessman and suffered financial setbacks from business failures. His private life was plagued by tumult and tragedy. His marriage fell apart and three of his sons became alcoholics, two of them dying from it. Towards the end of his
life, Mantle came to regret his hard lifestyle and the damage he had inflicted on his family.
Mantle's family moved to the nearby town of Commerce, Oklahoma,
where his father worked in lead and zinc mines. A semi-pro player himself, “Mutt” Mantle decided that his eldest son would be a baseball player before Mickey was even born. He named his eldest son after Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane and, very early on, began training Mickey to become a switch hitter. Mantle later recalled batting left handed against his father, who pitched to him right handed, and batting right handed against his grandfather, Charles Mantle, who pitched to him left handed.