Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 346

afterwards. He would later call the loss in the 1960 World Series as one of the biggest disappointments of his career.

During the 1961 season, Mantle and teammate Roger Maris, known as the M&M Boys, pursued Babe Ruth's 1927 single season record of 60 home runs. Five years earlier, Mantle had challenged Ruth's record for most of the season, and the New York press had been protective of Ruth on that occasion. When Mantle finally fell short, finishing with 52 home runs, many reporters were relieved. The New York press was harsh in its treatment of Mantle in his early years with the Yankees, emphasizing that he

struck out frequently, was injury prone, was a rube from Oklahoma, and was perceived as inferior to DiMaggio. Over time, however, Mantle had learned to deal with the New York media and had gained the favor of the press, receiving help from teammate Whitey Ford, a native of Queens. Maris did not follow suit, and

many in the press viewed him as surly. In the 1961 season, the press appeared to view the Yankees as Mantle's team, with Maris often belittled and ostracized as an outsider and not a true Yankee.

Late in the season, Mantle was hospitalized with a severe abscessing septic infection on his hip, which had resulted from

a "miracle shot" that he had received from physician Max Jacobson at the recommendation of Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen.