Gina Rae Mitchell

The Legend of The Mick: Stories and Reflections on Mickey Mantle (Volume 2) (Yankees Icon Trilogy, 2) by Jonathan Weeks | Spotlight ~ Guest Post with Interesting Mantle Facts ~ Giveaway 

A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.

Book Details

The Legend of the Mick: 100 Great Mickey Mantle Stories by Jonathan Weeks
Series: Yankees Icon Trilogy, #2, #2
Published by Lyons Press on March 1, 2023
Genres: Non-fiction, Biography, Sports
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 224

In the 1950s, America entered the television age. And Mickey Mantle, a country boy from Commerce, Oklahoma, was made for the moment. Signed by the New York Yankees as a teenager, he made his major league debut in 1951 as a right fielder alongside Joe DiMaggio.

When DiMaggio retired at the end of the season, Mantle inherited not only Joltin’ Joe’s position in centerfield but also his stature as the face of the franchise. His boyish good looks, breathtaking power from both sides of the plate, and blazing speed on the basepaths made him an instant superstar. He won league MVP three times, came in second three times, was a 16-time All-Star, a Triple Crown winner in 1956, and a seven-time World Series champion.

Mickey Mantle’s career was the stuff of legend, and in this book, Jonathan Weeks tells us why. Mantle’s extraordinary (and at times incredible) tales carry readers on an enthralling journey through the life of one of the most celebrated sports figures of the twentieth century.

All of the most popular anecdotes (such as the Mantle’s mammoth blasts, which led to the phrase “Tape Measure Home Runs”) are thoroughly covered along with many lesser-known narratives.

The book is divided into two sections. In Part One, Mantle’s life and career are recounted chronologically. Part Two contains assorted stand-alone anecdotes in shorter form. Appendices include statistics, a chronology, and salary details, among other bits of pertinent information.

 

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Excerpt from The Legend of The Mick

THE PRICE OF FAME

Anyone who has lived in the public spotlight for an extended length of time would agree that there is a dark side to being famous. For Mantle, it was darker than most. In early-September of 1953, the Yankees received an anonymous threat in a letter postmarked from Boston. It stated that if Mantle played at Fenway Park over Labor Day weekend, he would be shot.

Taking no chances, the Yankees contacted the authorities and the FBI became involved. With agents keeping a close watch over him, Mantle appeared in both games of the scheduled holiday doubleheader against the BoSox. In the opener, he blasted a 2-run homer off of Mel Parnell. He later joked that he had never rounded the bases so quickly after a home run.

The 1953 incident was not the only one of its kind. In July of 1960, Mantle was opening mail in the visitor’s locker room at Cleveland Stadium when he stumbled upon an envelope postmarked from Tonawanda, New York, which is located just north of Buffalo.

It contained a hand-written letter that read precisely as follows: “I had a son that was drafted with a bad leg and bad eyes he got killed but a rotten draft dodger that could run like you gets turned down. I have a gun with microscopic lenses and I’m going to get you thru both your knees and its going to happen soon.” Again, the FBI became involved and nothing came of the ominous note.

Mantle dealt with other unpleasantries over the course of his career. A female stalker once threatened to kidnap his wife and one of his sons if he didn’t buy her a diamond ring. And in 1958, he was attacked twice. One of his assailants was a 13 year-old girl who slapped him in the face and pulled his hair as he was exiting a cab at the players’ entrance to Yankee Stadium. Earlier that season, he was poked in the eye and punched in the jaw by an unruly group of fans, one of whom stole the cap right off his head.

Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.

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Purchase Links for The Legend of The Mick

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Guest Post from Jonathan Weeks, author of The Legend of the Mick

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MICKEY MANTLE

—Hall of Fame executive George Weiss was notoriously cheap when it came to negotiating the contracts of Yankee players. On multiple occasions, he hired private detectives to dig up dirt that could be used against Mantle when his contracts expired. One year, Weiss threatened to go public with details of Mantle’s extramarital affairs if the slugger refused to accept a salary cut. Feeling that Weiss had crossed a line, Yankee owners stepped in and offered Mantle the money he was looking for.

—Mantle’s teammate, Bob Turley, was an expert at stealing signs from opposing catchers. The two men devised a system in which Turley was able to notify Mantle in advance of what pitches were coming. If Mantle heard Turley whistle, he could expect a fastball. The absence of a whistle indicated that a breaking ball was on the way. Mantle claimed that Turley’s predictions were accurate about 70 percent of the time.

—During a dinner outing with Yogi Berra and his wife, Carmen, Mantle had a few too many drinks. When the evening was over and Berra saw Mantle climbing into the driver’s seat of his car, he urged Mickey’s wife, Merlyn, to take the wheel. An argument between Mantle and his wife ensued as Mickey went tearing out of the parking lot with Merlyn on the passenger side. Merlyn began swatting at Mickey with her purse and, as he tried to grab it from her, he swerved off the road, slamming into a telephone pole. Incredibly, no one was seriously hurt.

—In 1968, Mantle moved into third place on the all-time home run list. The blast that put him there was a “gift” from Tiger pitcher Denny McLain. McLain, who was closing out a historic season that saw him collect 31 victories, deliberately grooved a fastball down the middle so Mickey could hit it.

—Before the release of Jim Bouton’s candid autobiography, Ball Four, in 1970, there was a code of silence among players equivalent to the modern day mantra of “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Bouton unveiled a host of clubhouse secrets, including Mantle’s habitual alcohol abuse, which had been more or less hidden from the public until then. As a result of his perceived betrayal, Bouton was banned from Old Timers’ Day games at Yankee Stadium. Mantle dodged Bouton’s periodic attempts at reconciliation until 1994, when the former teammates finally patched up their differences. The Old Timers’ Day ban on Bouton was lifted in 1998.

—Mantle’s emergency liver transplant in 1995 prompted an outcry from various sources who felt that he had been given preferential treatment due to his celebrity status. Although doctors at Baylor University insisted that Mantle would only have lived for two to four weeks without the procedure, David Cain—founder of the Children’s Organ Transplant Association—remarked: “Maybe Mantle was on his deathbed, maybe he was sicker than everybody else, but I think this makes a lot of people angry. It takes a lot of time to get livers, and there are three things that really help us get a liver transplant: money, fame, and getting exposure from the media.”

—Memorabilia relating to Mantle is still in high demand, and collectors will pay a pretty penny for it. In August of 2022, Mantle’s 1952 Topps baseball card sold for a record $12.6 million. Only seven mint copies of the card were known to exist at the time of the sale.

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Purchase The Legend of The Mick online from a local bookstore.

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Please send me a note if your country isn’t listed and you would like to purchase using my links. Using my link does not change the price you pay. Amazon pays me a minimal amount out of their share. 

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Giveaway!

Jonathan Weeks will award a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!

Official Tour Page for The Legend of The Mick

Full Tour Schedule:

March 6: The Avid Reader
March 7: Sandra’s Book Club
March 8: Gina Rae Mitchell
March 9: Andi’s Book Reviews
March 10: Hope. Dreams. Life… Love
March 10: Author C.A.Milson
March 13: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
March 14: All the Ups and Downs
March 15: Fabulous and Brunette
March 16: It’s Raining Books
March 17: Long and Short Reviews

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