AP photo Mrs. Babe Ruth, widow of former New York Yankee star, poses with Roger Maris (left) and Mickey Mantle on Babe Ruth League Day at Yankee Stadium August 16, 1961.
Yankee Sluggers Roger Maris (left) and Mickey Mantle (right)
If you listened to any of the news coverage during the 1961 home run race, you’d think that Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were mortal enemies. But they weren’t, they were friends, they were roommates, and most importantly they were teammates who supported each other. They resisted the fans and reporters who were determined to turn them against each other and would laugh at stories they came up with. When Maris died in 1981 at the age of 51, Mantle not only attended his funeral, he was pallbearer.
By all accounts, Mickey Mantle was the perfect Yankee. He was born and bred in the Yankees farm system. He was outgoing, handsome, and an active participant in New York night life. By the 1961 season he was 29 years old and deeply ingrained in Yankee culture, having already been on the team for nearly a decade.
If Mantle was the perfect Yankee, Maris was the opposite. He was very introverted and even admitted himself that he was never going to be accepted as one of the historic Yankee figures. Maris was 26 years old had just been traded to the Yankees the year prior to the home run race. Instead of basking in the spotlight, Maris would shy away from it.
Although teammates, the two sluggers were competition against each other, each trying to break Babe Ruth’s single season home run record (60 home runs in 1927). The race captivated baseball fans across the country. Throughout the season, the lead changed many times, making the media and fan frenzy even worse.
When Mantle fell out of contention in September due to an infection, it was clear that he wasn’t going to be the one to break Ruth’s record, but Maris still had a shot at it. During his run at the record, Maris faced adversity from fans, media members, and even baseball’s management.
Everyone across the country, Yankee fan or not, wanted Mickey Mantleto be the one to break the record. They would say, “Who the hell is this guy Roger Maris standing in his way?” It even went so far as fans booing Maris for hitting a home run.
Oliver Keuchle from The Milwaukee Journal reflected the sentiment of all media members with his statement that when the Babe’s record was someday broken, “it should be by somebody of greater baseball stature and greater color and public appeal … there just isn’t anything deeply heroic” about Roger Maris.
Major League Baseball Commissioner, Ford Frick, also complicated the issue for Maris. Since the season had been extended from 154 games to 162 games since Ruth set the record, Frick ruled that if a player “does not hit more than 60 until after his club has played more than 154 games, there would be some distinctive mark in the record books to show that Babe Ruth’s record was set under a 154-game schedule.”
All the pressure was getting to Maris, he was even losing hair. He knew the commissioner’s statements were a way to sabotage him. He was damned if he broke the record, damned if he didn’t.
Maris had a total of 58 home runs when the Yankees’ played their 154th game of the season. He homered once in the game, falling two short of breaking the record. But, at the end of the 162 games, Maris had hit 61 home runs, one more than Ruth. While the commissioner insisted that there be an asterisk next to Maris’ name in the record book, he actually hit his 60th home run in fewer plate appearances (684) than Babe Ruth (689). Still, Ruth’s record was upheld and both men were listed as the record holder for different season lengths. Not until 1991, did MLB commissioner, Fay Vincent insisted that there be a single record for the most home runs in a season which was awarded to Roger Maris.
At the end of the season, the Yankees had won the pennant and gone on to win the World Series as well. The M&M Boys had propelled them through the season as the greatest offensive pair of teammates in the history of the game. Maris’ home run record stood for 37 years, broken in 1998 by Mark McGwire. Mantle ended the season with 54, and together they still hold the single-season record for combined home runs by a pair of teammates. The Yankees honored both Mantle and Maris by retiring their numbers and presenting them with plaques that hand in Monument Park.
I collect anything I can that is connected to this race: home run baseballs, signed memorabilia, and baseball cards. But my favorite has to be anything with the two of them together. I love the way that they never bought into the media perception that they were enemies. It is a true lesson in friendship, respect, and dignity. It is all too easy to start to hate someone you are competing against, but Mantle and Maris turned what could have been a bitter rivalry into a friendship worth fighting for.
The likelihood of anyone ever breaking the combined homerun record is very low. But if anyone can do it, it is current Yankee teammates, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Currently, the two both reside on the Yankees DL. But this is a force that won’t got away, and the likelihood that they break the home run record set by the M&M boys is higher than most.
I loved the guy. He was quiet but powerful. I read that while on his quest for 61 he was losing his hair. Roger did it with his Brawn McGwire with a needle. Case Closed. He and Mickey were a powerful duo the M&M Boys! although the 1961 Yanks were powerful and best ever in my last time.
Hank Aaron is still the player that broke Babe Ruth Home Run Record, not Bonds.
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