mickey mantle my favorite summer 1956 (Hardcover)

by mantle mickey & phil pepe (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: doubleday (1991)
• ASIN: B000MVVXUS
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,262,778 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of my favorite Mickey Mantle books, April 6, 2008

By	Michael R. Chernick "statman31147" (Holland PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The year 1956 was a pivotal year for Mantle. From 1951 to 1955 he played for the Yankees as a star centerfielder, power hitter and speed merchant on the bases but 1956 was the year he finally became confident that he had made a success of himself in New York. Mantle had had bouts of confidnece over the years and the pressure that Stengel and the New York media put on him was huge. In 1956 Mantle blossomed becoming one of the rare few to win the batting triple crown (home runs, runs batted in and batting average) and he did it impressively leading with 52 home runs, 130 runs batted in and a .353 batting average. He was challenged in batting average for much of the season but pulled away in September. Down the stretch the only title in jeopardy was the RBI crown as he was challenged by Al Kaline who ended up knocking in 128 just two less than Mantle. This was the year he was ahead of Babe Ruth's record pace in 1927,when the great Banbibi hit 60. It only became clear that he would fall short that Spetember when he was unable to sustain a fast pace. September had been Ruth's most productive month for home runs.

After this Mantle was confident that he could sustain seasons with more than 40 home runs, 100 RBI's and a .300 batting average. When Jose Canseco became the first to get 40 home runs and get 40 stolen bases in the same season Mantle said if stealing had been a priority for the Yankees he could easily do it and maybe even 50 and 50.