Mickey Mantle And The End Of America's Childhood
By Jane Leavy
In 1996, the year after Mickey Mantle died, his wife Merlyn and three of their four sons published a memoir of Mickey, A Hero All His Life. In that book, they recognized Mickey's faults -- his massively irresponsible life toward his family, his profession, his teammates and friends, and himself; his addictions to alcohol and womanizing; and his boorish behavior. They also discussed why they loved him -- despite his faults, he was a genuinely nice, caring, loving man. In the first chapter of that book, Mantle admitted his many faults and apologized for letting his wife and sons down. In a press conference, Mantle told kids in America, "Don't be like me."
Jane Leavy's book details Mantle's personal failings, and it also describes some of his greatest triumphs as a baseball player. Despite Mantle's horrendous lifestyle, he was a truly gifted and great baseball player. Like Babe Ruth before him, he was great despite his degenerate lifestyle. One can only imagine how much better he might have been if he had lived the responsible life that his counterpart across town, Willie Mays, lived. Would he have been as great as Mays? Very likely he would have equaled Mays offensively, although not defensively. Adding to Mantle's difficulties as a baseball player was the fact that in his first year as a Yankee, in the World Series of 1951, he severely injured his knee while fielding a ball hit by another rookie -- Willie Mays. Medical science at that time was not able to repair the knee as it could easily do today, and he played his entire career on that injured knee.
It is interesting to note that Mantle's lifestyle was not widely known at the time that he played, just as the personal failings of the president at that time, JFK, were not known. Personal lives of public figures were off-limits to the press at that time. In today's press climate, details of private failings are widely reported and widely known, as in the case of Tiger Woods. Such wide reporting, while very intrusive, robbing individuals of their privacy, also has the advantage of helping athletes and other public figures to let go of character flaws and live and perform at a level closer to their full potential.
It is also interesting to note that athletes of Mantle's time did not employ weight training or other exercise programs. Their achievements were accomplished through natural talent alone, making them all the more remarkable. It is truly amazing that Mantle could accomplish all that he did with a degenerate lifestyle, no exercise, and a severely injured knee. Even with all of his accomplishments, he did not realize his full potential as a baseball player.
Jane Leavy is a good writer, and I find it enjoyable to read her prose. However, reading about Mantle's degenerate lifestyle produces a sadness that greatly diminishes the pleasure in reading the book. She writes well, describing perhaps too well Mantle's failings. I finished the book about a truly great baseball player feeling very sad, when I should have felt intense joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment