Creators Podcast
Episode #10
10.06.2024
I was amazed to learn about the father and son relationship that Mickey Mantle had with is dad. I thought I knew all there was to know about the legend, Mickey Mantle, but after reading a great book titled, “The Mick,” I found out just how wrong I was.
The awesome book, “The Mick,” was published in 1985, and with the help of writer Herb Gluck, Mickey tells his entire life story from the very beginning, straight from his own mouth.
There were so many highlights if the life of Mickey Mantle, you might think it would be hard to focus on one aspect for a short podcast episode. You would think – but after I read the chapter about his struggles during his 1951 rookie season with the New York Yankees, it was no doubt that was exactly what I wanted to discuss.
Mickey Mantle and His Rookie Season
Many people might not realize that even though Mickey Mantle was a great player growing up, he didn’t go directly to the big leagues and dominate from the very beginning.
In fact, he nearly quit baseball for good during his now famous rookie year of 1951. It’s a story that doesn’t get told enough, and I had no idea of all the details until I read the book by Mickey Mantle, “The Mick.”
Mickey is about as low as you can get, complete desperation, and decides to call his Dad to inform him he’s heading home. He’s just not good enough to play pro ball anymore.
But Mickey’s Dad, nicknamed, “Mutt,” wasn’t having any of it. There’s a confrontation at a hotel in Kansas City that would turn out to be legendary. And if things didn’t go so well at that fateful meeting, there might not be “The Mick,” that we all know today.
But we have to go back to the beginning to understand exactly why this father and son relationship meant so much to them both.
Mickey Mantle in Commerce, Oklahoma
At the beginning of the book, “The Mick,” it begins with Mickey telling the story of him riding the train heading to opening day with the Yankees in 1951. He finally agrees to a contract with the team for $7,500 a month.
After he agrees to his contract, Mickey goes back to his seat on the train, and as he looks out the window at the rain coming down, he’s thinking about where it all began back in Commerce, Oklahoma. His hometown.
The Mining Towns
Mickey grew up in the Northeast corner of the state in a small town that was a boom-town back in the day. He mentions it was a gold rush, but not for gold. It was booming because of the zinc and lead mines.
Companies were flocking there to pull the valuable resources out of the ground. And hiring workers to go down and dig out the minerals.
Mickey’s father, “Mutt” was his nickname, worked in the mines to support his family.
It was a tough childhood because there was not much money to go around. And Mutt worked hard in the mines.
Even after working all day long in the mines, there was always time for Mickey’s father to play ball every night when he got home from work.
And every weekend, Mutt played amature baseball against nearby towns. So baseball was a huge deal for Mickey growing up as a youngster.
A Baseball Lifestyle
So there’s baseball on the weekends, and every night Mickey’s dad pitching to him in the backyard. Teaching the importance of practice, and hitting from the right side, and left side of the plate.
Even his name was decided on before Mickey was born. And you guessed it, he was named after a pro baseball player, Mickey Cochrane. The big-hitting catcher from the American League was known for his fierce competitiveness, and brash personality.
It’s amazing that Mickey’s dad and grandpa knew the importance of learning switch-hitting. It was way before hitting from both sides of the plate became popular, so Mickey made it to the big leagues and had been hitting lefty and righty since he was a young kid.
Practice, Practice, and More Practice for Mickey
There wasn’t much extra money at the end of each month, but Mickey always had a new glove every year.
It was the “Bill Doak” model, known as ‘Spittin’ Bill’ from the St. Louis Cardinals. And Mutt drilled the idea of practice into Mickey’s head at a young age. Stressing the importance of constantly trying to improve and get better.
And now you can see, if you didn’t know this already, Mickey Mantle didn’t just decide to give baseball a try when he was a teenager and find out he was great. He was working and practicing the game of baseball since the day he was born.
His dad was there every step of the way, preaching the game, and making sure Mickey was working hard to improve his game. Mickey describes it in his book like this, he says his dad worked with him every single day, and the hard work paid off.
Just a dinner was ready, he’d make Mickey switch from righty to lefty, and continue practicing. He would say, “your belly can wait.” Then he’d get right back to pitching to Mickey.
Another cool thing that Mickey adds here in his book is that he’s surprised he didn’t rebel against baseball, because the practicing was so intense. But then he says, his dad always made it fun.
His Dad “Always Made It Seem Like Fun”
This is such a key point as you read Mickey’s book, “The Mick.” His dad always made the hard work of getting better at baseball seem like fun. It wasn’t work… it was fun! For Mickey, that’s all he wanted to do, and he didn’t even realize how much hard work he was putting in because his dad had made it seem like fun.
There was a special connection between Mickey and his dad, that’s very clear and obvious as you read his book. And this connection would be so important when it came down to the critical time of snapping Mickey out of his depressed hitting slump in the minor leagues.
But we’ll talk about that later. His dad knew how to make hard work seem like fun. That’s a huge achievement and it paid off for Mickey.
Money Was Tight, But They Always Found a Way
Mickey talks a lot about how money was tight growing up, but his dad always found a way to do the important things. Buy a new glove every year, and they also always figured out how to attend a Class C baseball game in Springfield, Missouri where they would watch a young Stan Musial before he made the big leagues.
His dad picked him out as Musial was hitting “bullets” in batting practice. He told Mickey, “see that guy? He’s going to be a major league star.” And his dad was pointing to Stan Musial. Then Mickey adds, Stan Musial would soon be my first baseball idol.
Back to the Mines
There was a heartbreaking story in the book about how Mickey’s dad, Mutt, wanted to get out of the mines and finally found a new job as a farmer. It was a big change for their family at the time, but a positive one where Mutt could escape the dangerous and unhealthy mining atmosphere.
But just as the crops were ready to harvest, a flood hit and wiped out all the crops, while also flooding the house. It was devastating for Mutt because he knew instantly he would have to go back to working in the mines.
Mickey talks about how he remembers looking at his dad just staring off into the distance with his jaws clenched. Tough times, but they kept going.
The Leg Injury
During high school, Mickey’s buddy convinced him to go out for the football team. Mutt was adamant about Mickey not playing football because if he was injured it could affect his baseball season. Of course, Mickey decided to play football, and of course, he was injured when he was kicked in the shin by an opposing tackler while running the ball.
The leg swelled up to twice the normal size, and he went to the hospital where they just couldn’t figure out what was wrong. The swelling continued along with a dangerous fever.
There was one point where the doctor recommended amputating Mickey’s leg because the swelling would not subside.
Mickey’s mother was not having any talk of amputation, so she swiftly transferred Mickey to the Crippled Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. Now Mickey is thinking there’s no way he’ll ever play baseball again, and now he’s just hoping he can save his leg.
But this was also the same year that penicillin was invented, and he was given shot after shot, and the swelling started to go down. It wasn’t much longer and Mickey was out of the hospital and began his recovery. A close call, but luckily his leg was saved.
Tom Greenwade, the Yankees Scout
Mickey was growing bigger and stronger, and starting to make a name for himself at the Baxter Springs ballpark where hundreds of fans attended the games.
Once and a while he would bounce a home run into the river beyond the outfield fence. And luckily, in 1948, there was a scout for the New York Yankees in attendance to watch the third baseman, Billy Johnson. But Mickey launched a few home runs into the river, and Greenwade took notice.
As a rain storm moved in and delayed the game, everyone ran for cover. Mickey and his dad headed for the car, where Mutt informed Mickey there was someone waiting inside the car to talk with Mickey. It was Tom Greenwade.
Greenwade introduced himself and said, “How would you like to play for the Yankees?”
Mickey was stunned. Greenwade explained he couldn’t actually make a deal until Mickey was finished with high school, but once he graduated, he would return to sign him to a contract.
As the months passed by, Mickey and his dad questioned if Greenwade would actually return with a deal once high school was over. Sure enough, the day of Mickey’s graduation, Tom Greenwade was there ready to make a deal.
Tom Greenwade’s Amazing Deal
Negotiating this contract was not a fair fight. Mickey and his dad had zero experience negotiating deals with big league teams, and Tom Greenwade did this for a living, full-time.
Of course Greenwade talked down Mickey and made it appear the Yankees were not that interested in the slugger. But he was, “willing to take a risk,” Greenwade said.
It was $400 a month, plus he threw in a $1,100 signing bonus. The deal was done.
But don’t forget, top prospects like Mickey were signing $20,000 to $30,000 signing bonuses at this same time, although there was no way for Mickey to know that. He agreed, and it would make Tom Greenwade famous in the scouting world.
Later on, Greenwade would be known as the scout who signed Mickey Mantle for $1,100.
But it gave Mickey the chance to live his dream, which he would do. But it would take time.
Mickey to the Big Leagues, 1950
So Mickey cranked out home runs around the minor leagues for most of 1950. Then at the end of the season his manager pulled him aside and told him as soon as their season is over, the Yankees are bringing him up to the big leagues.
Mickey was thrilled. It was Sunday, September 17th, 1950, and Mickey Mantle is at Sportsman’s Park for the Yankees doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns.
The crowd noise, the atmosphere was electric as Mickey remembers it. And then there’s Joe DiMaggio. He could hardly speak when he was around.
It was a taste of the big leagues that he would never forget, but then he was suddenly back home in Commerce. His dad, of course, as proud as you could imagine. Telling the neighbors that Mickey was wearing the same uniform as DiMaggio, and that DiMaggio knew Mickey by name! That was a big deal.
Mickey says his dad was so proud, “the way he’d strut down the street, as though the buttons would pop right off his shirt.”
Yankees Spring Training, 1951
Mickey worked the mines that winter because he needed the money. When spring training rolled around in February, he waited for a train ticket to Arizona, but it never showed up.
When a sportswriter asked Mickey why he wasn’t joining the Yankee team in Arizona for spring training, Mickey replied that he didn’t have a ticket.
So the sportswriter printed the quote in the paper, and the Yankees actually read about why Mickey wasn’t in spring training in the paper! They immediately sent scout, Tom Greenwade, the very next morning over to Mickey’s house and hand-delivered a train ticket to Arizona so he could join the team.