Capping off his record-breaking home run season, on this day in 1961, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees was named the American League Most Valuable Player. It was the second year in a row that Maris won the award. This time, he edged teammate Mickey Mantle by four votes, 202-198.
During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.
~Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle made his Major League debut on 17 April 1951 as the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox. Mantle, aged nineteen, batted third in the lineup, in between Phil Rizzuto and Joe DiMaggio, and played right field. He went 1-for-4, including an RBI and a run scored.
Photo source: New York Times Store
On 13 March 1954, Braves outfielder Bobby Thomson broke his ankle sliding into third base during an exhibition game against the Pirates. Unfortunately for Thomson, this meant that he was out of the lineup until July 14. Fortunately for baseball history, this event opened up a starting spot for a young man named Hank Aaron. Nobody’s ever heard of him, have they?
“As far as I’m concerned, (Hank) Aaron is the best ball player of my era. He is to baseball of the last 15 years what Joe DiMaggio was before him. He’s never received the credit he’s due.” – Mickey Mantle in Baseball Digest (June 1970)
