If the coronavirus had hit baseball and the New York Yankees in the 1960s, time would have stood still. There weren’t decades of archived games via video, statistics to analyze, excitement to be extracted…it was just silence. Fast forward to 2020, and the world is capable of many things, including the ability to tap into the past to supplement the loss of the future.
The virus has halted all sporting operations, forcing us to resort to virtual realities to get our baseball fix. However, reflecting on the distant past can be exciting, as this look into a 1960s spring training game can offer.
Yankees Spring Training in the mid 1960s. One of the coolest videos you will ever see.
So much to take in here: A clearly struggling Mickey Mantle. Joe DiMaggio fungo’ing baseballs.
(Via @flagstafffilms) pic.twitter.com/f5S57h6oAk
— Justin Diamond (@_justinddiamond) April 3, 2020
If you watch deeper into the video, you can spot a struggling Mickey Mantle who’s barely able to run at full speed. Leg injuries plagued Mantle during his career, specifical pain in his leg caused by osteomyelitis. This video shows the toll it took on his body and how dangerously close he should have been to retirement. However, Mantle played until 1969, pushing through the immense pain to go out on his own terms.
After Mickey retired, he became a commentator, featuring in many documentaries and sporting videos. However, the Yankee legend succumbed to alcoholism and passed away due to a heart attack, the very same year he received a new liver after developing cancer.
On a more positive note, Mantle finished his illustrious Yankee career with a .298 batting average over 18 professional seasons. His 536 total home runs are a jaw-dropping statistic, and 1509 RBIs further attests to his ungodly offensive production. Mickey earned 17 consecutive All-Star appearances in the Majors, every one of them with the Bronx Bombers.
As one of the most beloved Yankee players from the past, Mantle will live on in history, and this short clip detailing the immense power and pain he harnessed and pushed through makes him a deserving throwback.