Mantle Monument Unveiling A Hit At Yankee Stadium
It was May 30, 1956, and 9-year-old Billy Crystal watched in awe as Mickey Mantle blasted a home run off the right-field facade at Yankee Stadium.
“That day,” Crystal said. “I knew I wanted to play baseball. I wanted to be Mickey Mantle.”
Crystal’s story was just one of thousands shared among fans and friends of Mantle on Sunday as the New York Yankees unveiled a red granite monument to honor the Hall of Fame slugger, who died last year.
On a picture postcard afternoon, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto and more than 50,000 fans packed Yankee Stadium to honor Mantle, as they had on June 8, 1969, for the first “Mickey Mantle Day.”
The famed ballpark was decked out for the occasion. A white 7, Mantle’s jersey number, was spray painted on the grass along the first- and third-base lines. The video scoreboard in right-center field showed replays of some of Mantle’s great moments, and as the ceremony began the center-field scoreboard read simply: At Bat: 7.
In addition, a commemorative baseball - adorned with a facsimile of Mantle’s uniform and signature - was used during the Yankees’ game against the Oakland Athletics. The only other time such a ball was used was when Baltimore’s Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak last year.
Mantle’s monument is the fourth to be erected by the Yankees and the first in 47 years. The 5-foot, 4,500-pound monument made of granite mined in Finland, sits behind the three other permanent monuments for legendary Yankees manager Miller Huggins, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.
Mantle had already been enshrined with a plaque along with 15 other members of the Yankees family. Monuments are reserved for Yankees who have passed away; a place has already been set aside for DiMaggio.
Pirates in a squeeze
The Pittsburgh Pirates, unexpectedly looking to cut their payroll next season rather than raising it, may try to trade pitcher Denny Neagle and other higher-salaried players as early as this week.
General manager Cam Bonifay, who learned only last week that his 1997 payroll would likely be $5 million less than anticipated, was working on one possible deal Sunday and may try to make several by Saturday.
Players must change teams by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason.
“Stay tuned,” Bonifay said Sunday. “It could be an interesting week for all of us.”
The Beaver County (Pa.) Times reported Sunday the Cleveland Indians might offer prize outfield prospect Brian Giles, who is hitting .330, left-hander Alan Embree and right-hander Julian Tavarez for Neagle and another player, possibly minor league outfielder Midre Cummings.
The salary cutback means Bonifay may be forced to trade former All-Stars Carlos Garcia and Neagle, whom the Pirates planned to build around for the future. They tried earlier without success to trade shortstop Jay Bell and right fielder Orlando Merced, but Bell has little trade value because of his $4.7 million salary and a batting average that has hovered at .220 all season.
“We want to keep bettering the quality of players in this organization,” Bonifay said on his weekly radio show. “If that means our payroll goes down, that’s the way it’s going to be.”
Still, the salary slashing caught Bonifay and manager Jim Leyland by surprise. Until now, owner Kevin McClatchy had said the payroll would increase from $21 million this season to $23 million.
Justice says maybe
Atlanta Braves outfielder David Justice is thinking he might be able to return later this season although team doctors have ruled him out for the year after he underwent surgery to his right shoulder in May.
Following the May 23 surgery, team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joe Chandler said Justice would need one year for a full recovery and six months to swing a bat.
Chandler, as recently as last week, hadn’t changed his mind.
Justice, however, isn’t so sure, The Greenville News in South Carolina reported in Sunday’s editions.
“They say no right now,” Justice said. “All I can do is try to get my shoulder strong, the sooner the better. Now, if sooner is September… “