Mantle and Maris: Two New York Yankees We Wanted to Be Greater

Mickey Mantle was explaining his strained relationship with the media.

''I got into trouble with the press early, because I was scared," Mantle told New York Times journalist Robert Lipsyte, who was speaking to him and Roger Maris.

''I was young when I came to New York, and I got misquoted, well, maybe not so much misquoted as it came out not sounding like me talking," Mantle said.

"I was scared and I didn't really know how to handle it, so if you misquoted me, I just wouldn't talk to you anymore, and if you came up in a group around my locker, I wouldn't talk to anybody, which made the whole joint mad.''

When Maris joined the New York Yankees in 1960, fans cheered him and booed Mantle unmercifully. Maris had a clean slate with the Yankees while Mantle had disappointed after his Triple Crown season. At least, that's what was believed. 

In 1961, Mantle and Maris began their serious assault on Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Mantle was having a season that started to remind fans of 1956. Slowly but surely, the boos became cheers.

The fans started to pull for Mantle over Maris because he was an "original" Yankee while Maris had been with the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Athletics. Forget that Babe Ruth had been with the Boston Red Sox and finished his career with the Boston Braves.

Almost no one, including Maris, thought that he would be the one to break the record.

By 1962, the role reversal was complete. Mantle was cheered and Maris had objects thrown at him.

Maris told Lipsyte how he was affected.

''It drove me into somewhat of a shell. I just didn't enjoy being at the ball park like I did. It was very difficult every day to say, 'Well, here we go again.' I mean it's almost like going into the snake pit.

''It's sort of interesting though, with the reputation the media has given me over the years, people are afraid of me before they meet me. They walk on eggs around me. And then, after a while they say, 'I just can't believe you're anything like you are.' And that's sort of gratifying.''

On Old Timers' day, July 21, 1984, the Yankees retired Maris' number. Mantle wasn't present because he had been banned from baseball. Mantle worked for an Atlantic City casino as a goodwill ambassador.

Today, both Maris and Mantle are legends. Mantle has become greater with the passage of time while many of those who booed Maris now pull for his election to the Hall of Fame.

We have wondered for decades how much Mantle might have accomplished if he were healthy. Of course, Mantle had a problem with alcohol as well.

It's about time we started to wonder how great Maris might have been if he had been healthy all his career and if he had never hit 61 home runs.

Lipsyte, Robert. "Grappling With the Glory." The New York Times Magazine. (Mar. 31, 1985).

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