1968 — A HISTORICAL NOVEL: CHAPTER 7
The Mick At the End of the Line
After 17 magnificent seasons with the New York Yankees, Mantle knew his time was nearly up.
The last time Jack, and everyone else for that matter, saw Mickey Mantle run with the remarkably blinding speed that was the basis for his nickname “The Commerce Comet”, the speed that led baseball people to believe that he was destined to become the greatest player who ever was or ever would be, occurred on the afternoon of October 5, 1951.
Jack was sitting in the Yankee Stadium press box, still on staff at the New York Herald-Tribune, assigned to write a sidebar on Game 2 of the World Series between the dynastic Yankees and the miracle-making ‘Shot Heard Round the World’ New York Giants. It was the bottom of the first inning, and Mantle, the prized Yankee rookie, stepped into the batters’ box as the leadoff hitter and, after being greeted by a tremendous ovation, promptly laid down a perfect drag bunt which he easily beat out for a single.
Because he’d only attended a few Yankee games that summer, all while Mantle was on a demotion to the minor leagues, and because Jack did not cover Game 1 of the Series, this was the first thing he had ever seen Mantle do on a baseball field. What a sight it was…
