summer of 61
In the summer of 1961, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle competed to break the home run record held by Babe Ruth in Major League Baseball for 34 years.They were members of the New York Yankees, chasing a record in Yankee Stadium"The House that Ruth Built", with unprecedented and thought unbeatable 60 home Roger Maris was a talented player from small town Missouri, that never got the fame and respect he deserved. Roger, came to the Yankees, halfway through the 1960 season via trade from the K.C. Royals. He won the MVP that year, beating out teammate Mickey Mantle by the smallest margin in history. Mickey Mantle was a Oklahoma country boy, turned Americancelebrity, do to his success in baseball. Mickey, was only 18 when he came to the big leagues in 1951 with the Yankees. He was love and adored by everyone in New York. Even though he was a drunk, Mickey could do no wrong in this town. From opening day, till the last game of the season, the pressure and spotlight were put on these two great Yankees. The pressure got to Roger more than it did Mickey. Roger was only hitting .200 with
"Maris is no more than a good big league ball player, colorless, never hit . The commissioner of baseball didn't even show up. "Something to be said about fait that gloomy night in Baltimore, did that knuckle ball flutter just past the sweat spot, did the spirit of Ruth stir up those gusty winds or was Roger denied because he wasn't what we want. Roger did break the record that year with 61 home runs. Through it all he helped Mickey by having him move in with Bob (another Yankee) and himself when Mickey was having tough times. "The most thrilling part of the season was a weak squid hit by Maris to Hoyt Wilhelm(Baltimore pitcher) to end the game". The reason being he got an infection from a flu shot. About half way through the season, both players had hit about 30 home runs. Roger was hitting fourth and Mickey was hitting third at the time. They were such good friends that they even started a corporation together called M and M. Maybe some records were not meant to be broken. He was portrayed, by the New York media, as unhappy guy who did not like New York He got so much pressure and non-sense that he was getting hives and losing hair. That night the media wrote some bad things about Roger. The separate records stood until 1991 when Fay Vincent, commissioner of baseball at the time, changed it.
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Acceptance Essays
