Mickey Mantle (1974)


Date of Birth: 10/20/1931
Date of Death: 8/13/1995
Birthplace: Spavinaw, Oklahoma

Mickey Mantle started learning how to play baseball at an early age from his father who had been a semi-pro baseball player. In high school, Mantle was a top football player until an injury ended a potential future football career. While still in high school, he also played semi-pro baseball.

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees signed Mantle prior to the 1949 season. He played in the minors in 1949 and 1950.

Mantle first appeared in a Yankees uniform in 1951, playing in 96 games that season. He struggled in his early at-bats with the Yankees and was sent back to the minor leagues for a short time. He finished the 1951 season with a batting average of .267, 13 home runs, and 65 RBIs.

Mantle excelled in his first full season with the Yankees in 1952. He led the AL in OPS, and he had a career high in doubles. He finished the season with 171 hits, 37 doubles, 23 home runs, 87 RBIs, 111 strikeouts to 75 walks, .311 batting average, and .924 OPS.

Mantle played in 127 games in 1953, and he finished with 136 hits, 24 doubles, 21 home runs, 92 RBIs, and a .295 batting average. The following season, he had a career high in triples with 12. He finished the 1954 season with 163 hits, 17 doubles, 27 home runs, 102 RBIs, 107 strikeouts to 102 walks, and a .300 batting average in 146 games.

In 1955, Mantle led the AL in triples, home runs, walks, on-base percentage, and OPS. He had 158 hits, 25 doubles, 11 triples, 37 home runs, 99 RBIs, 97 strikeouts to 113 walks, .306 batting average, .431 on-base percentage, and 1.042 OPS in 147 games.

Mantle won his first of three American League MVP awards in 1956. He also won the Triple Crown, leading the league in home runs, RBIs, and batting average, as well as in OPS. He batted .353 with a career high 188 hits, 22 doubles, 52 home runs, and a career high 130 RBIs in 150 games. His OPS was 1.169.

Mantle won his second AL MVP award in 1957. He led the AL in walks, and he had career highs in walks and batting average. That season he batted .365 with 173 hits, 28 doubles, 34 home runs, 94 RBIs, 75 strikeouts to 146 walks, and 16 stolen bases in 144 games. The following season he led the AL in home runs and walks. He finished the 1958 season with 158 hits, 21 doubles, 42 home runs, 97 RBIs, 120 strikeouts to 129 walks, and a .304 batting average in 150 games.

Mantle had a career high in stolen bases in 1959. He had 154 hits, 23 doubles, 31 home runs, 75 RBIs, 21 stolen bases, and a .285 batting average in 144 games. The next year, he once again led the AL in home runs and OPS. He finished the 1960 season with 145 hits, 40 home runs, 94 RBIs, 125 strikeouts to 111 walks, .275 batting average, and an OPS of .957 in 153 games.

Mantle again led the AL in walks in 1961 with 126 (to 112 strikeouts). He finished the season with 163 hits, a career high 54 home runs, 128 RBIs, and a .317 batting average in 153 games.

In 1962, Mantle won his third and last MVP award, batting .321 with 121 hits, 30 home runs, and 89 RBIs in 123 games. He led the AL in walks with 122 (to 78 strikeouts), on-base percentage (.486), and OPS (1.091). Sporting News named him the Player of the Year for 1962. That season he also won his only Gold Glove for his defensive play in center field.

Mantle played in only 65 games in 1963, and he had 54 hits and a .314 batting average. The following season, he played in 143 games and once again led the AL in on-base percentage (.423) and OPS (1.014). He finished the 1964 season with 141 hits, 25 doubles, 35 home runs, 111 RBIs, and a .303 batting average.

Mantle had a disappointing season in 1965, batting just .255 in 122 games. His batting average improved to .288 in 1966, but he played in only 108 games that year. He played a full season (144 games) in 1967, but again his batting average dropped, this time to .245.

In 1968, his last season in the major leagues, Mantle batted .237 with 103 hits and 18 home runs in 144 games.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 1956
  • AL MVP (3 times)
  • Sporting News Player of the Year (2 times)
  • AL Triple Crown in 1956
  • Gold Glove in 1962
  • Led AL in batting average in 1956
  • Led AL in triples in 1955
  • Led AL in home runs (4 times)
  • Led AL in RBIs in 1956
  • Led AL in walks (5 times)
  • Led AL in on-base percentage (3 times)
  • Led AL in OPS (6 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Mantle in 18 seasons (1951-1968) in the major leagues include:

  • 8 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 188 in 1956
  • 14 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 54 in 1961
  • 4 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 130 in 1956
  • 10 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better, with a high of .365 in 1957

Career batting statistics for Mantle include:

  • 2,401 games played
  • 2,415 hits
  • 344 doubles
  • 536 home runs
  • 1,509 RBIs
  • 153 stolen bases
  • .298 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Mantle as a center fielder include:

  • 1,742 games played
  • 67 errors
  • 4,022 putouts
  • .984 fielding percentage

Career postseason statistics for Mantle include:

  • 65 games played
  • 230 at-bats
  • 59 hits
  • 6 doubles
  • 2 triples
  • 18 home runs
  • 3 stolen bases
  • 40 RBIs
  • 54 strikeouts to 43 walks
  • .257 batting average
  • .421 on-base percentage
  • .978 OPS

Post Playing Career

In 1969, Mantle was a color commentator for NBC TV. Three years later, he was a TV commentator for the Montreal Expos.

Source for Information
Wikipedia - Mickey Mantle
ESPN - Mickey Mantle
Baseball Reference - Mickey Mantle

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