MLB Baseball's Seasons: 1961

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] welcome to baseball seasons 1961 a new era [Applause] [Music] get to the magical 60 mark or beyond makes choice Sports copy in the world of sports in 1961 there was no bigger story than Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris whose side by side slugged their way into the hearts and minds of the American people baseball was the dominant sport and those two men dominated sports in this country together these teammates roommates and friendly rivals chased each other in history as they approached the legendary Babe Ruth's hallowed home run record [Music] look back today nothing nothing ever equal Damaris Manoel chasin 61 [Music] from the start of 1961 history was being made as John F Kennedy the country's youngest ever elected President was sworn into office from the space race to the building of the Berlin Wall to the dance craze known as the twist a new day was dawning and baseball was also coming to an historic crossroads for 60 years from nineteen one through 1960 the two major leagues had each consisted of 18 leagues and they played a very predictable set number of games 154 but in 1961 that would change as the American League added two new teams the Washington Senators were moving to Minnesota to become the twins only to be replaced by a new senators franchise in DC there was also a new team in Los Angeles the angels and as a result of the expansion al would play 162 games instead of 154 the nationally was still on a 154 game schedule and wouldn't expand until 1962 but the NL had already changed in a different way quicker to embrace racial integration the league had been tapping into a deeper pool of talent and it won five of the last seven World Series titles including 1960 that year the Fall Classic opened at Forbes Field [Music] representing the AL in the 60 were the mighty Yankees led by their power hitters Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris their opponents from the NL were perennial also-rans the Pirates Pittsburgh hadn't been in the series since 1927 when they had been pounded by the Thames murderers row Yankees led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig the 1960 Yankees showed up for that World Series with the idea that was going to be another of their four-game sweeps just the same as they had done to the Pirates and 27 but these Pirates proved much more difficult to put away led by Madeline mares the Yanks outscored the Bucs 55 to 27 in the series but in the bottom of the night as a game seven pittsburgh's bill Mazeroski shocked the baseball world [Applause] we just will never forget that moment anyone who was there for any of the players that participated in that game will never forget that that sight with that ball clearing that fence at that time it just like it happened yesterday for the Yankees it was the most painful of defeats after the Yankees lost that World Series I wandered into the Yankees clubhouse I looked over and Mickey Mantle was sitting there he had his uniform top off and just ease his undershirt so to speak he just sat there because you know he had to pinch himself to to feel out whether or not this really happened he was axud quiet and the clubhouse he was embarrassed that Pittsburgh beat us soon the blame was pinned on the colorful but aging Yankee manager Casey Stengel there is going Stengel had long been considered a master motivator a genius who'd led New York to 10 pennants in 12 years now as the 1961 season approached the Yankees had to recover from a tough loss in this series and the loss of their skipper and while their teams still had high expectations there were serious questions about whether they could reach them as the Yankees assembled for training camp in March 1961 they were greeted by a new manager for the first time since 1949 as Ralph Houk had replaced the legendary Casey Stengel that spring there was a lot of writers came to me and said what did I learn from Casey and I said well nothing I got to manage my own way but he'll was very different than most expected as the former war hero did not have a military approach in mind on the diamond as a world war ii ranger and winner of the Bronze Star the Silver Star on the Purple Heart people think of you as a pretty tough guy are you going to be top manager I think Tom that I'm gonna be a ball players manager how could played with or coach most of the 61 Yankees and was well acquainted with their roster his first change involved whitey Ford a Yankee since 1950 Ford had been one considered the game's top clutch pitcher question is if there's one game you want to win who do you want pitching it and the answer consistently was whitey Ford many felt that Stingo had cost the Yankees the 1960 World Series by not starting forward in the opening game against Pittsburgh so while Ford shut out the Bucks twice he wasn't available to pitch the Senate and decided in that seventh game which we lost 10 denying had they said that's the game we should be pitching I was so omit learning the lesson from the pirate loss was determined to get the most out of Ford during the previous regular seasons Stengel had often held Ford back to pitch against the league's toughest lineups the new manager had other ideas well what happened with Ralph it was funny he said to me could you pitch every fourth day and Isis I said to him right I can help knew that the other key for the team was Mantle his approach to his top Slugger was more psychological when we come out of spring training Ralph had told me whatever you do is what we're gonna do I was really uh I could have a high school football player you know he can get out and he started making me feel like that I really was the best there was many thought mantle already was the best a Yankee since 1951 and the driving force behind their latest dynasty he threw better than anybody ever threw in baseball he hit baseballs further than anybody had ever hit in baseball he had long chest towering fly balls seemed like miles and miles away [Music] I mean you can close your eyes and watch him speed over the outfield and make patches over his head Vicky was just somebody who was amazing he was amazing every day Mentos resume included a list of historic feats he had already won the Triple Crown back-to-back MVPs and would end up with more home runs in the World Series than any other player [Applause] and the list could have been even longer it seemed as if them they could do anything anything except stay healthy he heard of me in 51 and he played the rest of his career without a real good leg it was always in pain he always has something wrong with him you get a massage every day before the game and then he get this elastic foam rubber and wrap it from his ankles to the cheek of his Fanny on both legs and glog plane I can remember one of the New York papers running a photograph of male with an arrow and a medical explanation pointing to every place in his body where he had been injured but the remarkable thing was in spite of all that he still was having those 300 seasons in those 40 homerun years he did it all and he did it all on a bad leg as Mickey went so went the Yankees and when they needed him he was there even if he had to play with his legs tape from ankle to hip it was like he just ignored the injuries they could slow him down but they couldn't stop him at all he was still doing heroic things as 1961 started whitey and Mickey did their best to carry the Yanks with Ford off to a strong start and Mantle hitting nine homers in the season's first 18 games they just went round one that they could carry a block like that if the team wasn't hitting they're playing good defense running the baseball whitey would keep in the ballgame we were down by a couple of runs a tie late Mickey would come on and in the ballgame with his bat but as brilliant as mantle and Ford were the rest of the Yankees were struggling in late May the team was in 4th place barely above 500 and as the legendary Bronx Bombers struggled to get back on track they faced more competition than ever as with expansion baseball's were flying out of the park at a rocketing rate 1961 was a great offensive year like all expansion years are because you have at least 10 pitchers in the big leagues that probably are big league pitchers the Minnesota Harmon Killebrew was crushing the ball as was Jim genteel in Baltimore who even hit two grand slams in one game meanwhile in Detroit Rocky Colavito and norm cash look both launching tape-measure shots teaming up with a always dangerous out key line that Tigers scored runs in bunches they took a the first place the Motor City men currently lead the American League backed by three and a half game if the Yankees were gonna pass them mantle was gonna need help from a fellow slugger and as the season wore on that Slugger would give his superstar teammate more than anyone could have imagined 1961 may have been an expansion year in the American League but it was the nationally that was bursting with talent as a large number of black and Latin players for assuming prominent roles this emerging group had won eight of the previous 10 MVPs and this season the Pittsburgh Pirates will bet their star Roberto Clemente would make it out of eleven as far as this arm there was none better I've seen him take the ball off the fence in right field and throw a strike either to home or a third baseman he could hit with power he could drive the ball as good as anybody he could do it all on his way to a batting title Clemente would stay hot all year but it would soon become obvious that he alone wouldn't be enough for the Pirates to repeat as champs we even compete with the National League star-studded squads like the San Francisco Giants who's imposing lineup featured the monstrous Willie McCovey the 1959 NL Rookie of the Year Willie McCovey stretch was ferocious immense powerful hitter and Orlando Cepeda on his way to leading the league in homers and RBIs gave the Giants another dangerous young Slugger and then when you included the incomparable Willie Mays it seemed almost unfair he's the best player that I ever saw you wanted homeruns he did that steal bases he did that threw you out he did that and he did a winner's fly hurt you knew when he went to the game that he would do something spectacular something spectacular early in 61 was hitting four homers in this I found his page in the record book while the giant stars held bats the Dodgers big names were on the pitching mound Don Drysdale was a proven force on the hill and then a blossoming of teammate Sandy Koufax de de la a pair of aces he was always plagued by control the difficulties in the late 50s and all of a sudden he found his control and he became just dominant blessed with a curveball that buckled batter's knees and a fastball that could be heard but not seen Koufax started collecting strikeout victims in bunches there was no question he was he was in a in a league of his own there was just no chance we had no chance whatsoever he just blew us away one team that seemed unlikely to blow the National League away was the Cincinnati Reds the Reds hadn't won a pennant since 1940 and had finished 1960 28 games out of first place from the outset of the 61 season however it was clear things were gonna be very different in Cincinnati all the players took practice in what they call instinct shooting it was a lot like skeet shooting and what it was it was to train you and hand-eye coordination and somehow it seemed to work Reds pitchers Bob Perkey and Jim O'Toole started winning and the team got an unexpected boost from a newcomer named Joey Jay who had won just nine games with the Braves the year both the biggest difference was coming to Cincinnati is they gave me a chance to pitch J would take his chance and run with it as he became the unexpected ace of the staff and if any of the pitchers did give up a dangerous blast center fielder Vader pleased he could often be counted on to track it down and while the speedster had emerged as an all-round star there was no doubt who was having the greatest influence on the Reds Frankie was fearless and he was an Intimidator he wanted to intimidate everybody Frank stood right on home plate and his elbows were right over top of home plate but one thing about Frank if you pound him in if you hit him if you knocked him down he was gonna get up and make you pay for [Music] [Applause] he would take one off of the arm you could not move him off of the plate he just would battle you and battling and battle and he would not give and it wasn't long before the Reds took on Robbie's combative spirit as they stood toe-to-toe with the National League's best and didn't give an inch biggest thing of all is been attracted to guys think they can win the season was just heating up and the Reds were going to be a team to be reckoned with [Music] if the New York Yankees were going to make a run at a title in 1961 they would need someone to help Mickey Mantle that's someone most all observers agreed had to be Roger Maris the Yankees had traded for Maris prior to the 1960 season and he had rewarded them by winning an MVP while often protecting mantle in a lineup it was the first year of mantle and Maris together Roger having come over from Kansas City and I think Roger Maris allowed mantle to finally have a guy on his own team batting behind them who would take a lot of the pressure off mantle to win every game this year it'd be Mickey's turn to take the pressure off Roger as manager Ralph how had Maris bat in front of mantle with mantle now protecting him Maris would get a steady diet of fat pitches to choose from [Applause] pitchers would do anything to avoid facing Mickey handling man on base well I know it helped him a lot me hitting behind him you know I don't think he got one one intentional walk that year by mid-may Maris shook off a slow start and an historical new race at the gun the M&M boys as they were known weren't just hot they were sizzling by the end of June maple already had 25 homers Maris 2070 well Ria's voix player we couldn't wait to get to the ballpark to see who would hit one next they were so hot every time Raj went to bat or making you anticipated a home run I think it took a lot of pressure off us the rest of the ballclub and soon the whole team was hitting homers at a record pace you gotta remember moose to the three ends Maris mantle and most soon big news scour Yogi Berra Johnny Blanchard and Elston Howard all joined the homerun parade with a record six players on there later hitting 20 homers the 61 Yanks were a latter-day version of murder no amount of runs was safe muley Nathan nothing 9 nothing two out three and two hundred eleven ninth-inning they still would come up with ten runs and beat you and they were almost as good with the drug they had one of the great in fields of baseball history Bobby Richardson was second Tony Kubek packed short and Clete Boyer at third meanwhile with a record-tying eight wins in June whitey Ford was in the midst of a sigh young a campaign he painted the corners he painted the shoulders he painted the knees he was the Picasso of pitching from June first on the Yankees would win 70% of their games manager Ralph house toughest decision might have been deciding who to bat fifth I was hitting the ball pretty good and so he batted me behind Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle than me you know I felt pretty good about it I he's that holy cow he thinks that much of me you know he's gonna so the game starts Roger goes up and he hits one bought 420 feet into right-center bleachers that's nice great ok Mickey hit the next pitch about 462 pitches the guy's got 880 feet it dawned on me oh oh now it's my turn sure enough he hit me dead in the head next pitch hit me dead in the head and I said hey skip skip I don't mind batting seventh and he just broke up he started to laugh you don't want to bet behind those two guys ah no I bat me 7th or 8th but I enjoyed it back there the Yankees had gotten red-hot but as the summer of 61 rolled on things in New York were about to get even hotter as the summer of 1961 rolled on the great home run race intensified soon it began to dawn on the baseball world that they would be fine pace to break the game's most sacred record 60 home runs in a season set by the legendary baby Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were chasing God there was never a figure in the history of the game as significant as overwhelming as powerful as adored as Babe Ruth if anyone appeared destined to break the babes revered mark it was the mick the iconic Yankee hero of a new generation not Maris a mere transplant from the Kansas City [Applause] it's amazing enough when one guy tries to break but here you have two players on a team trying to break the greatest record of all time as fate would have it the roots ghostrider and good friend Ford Frick happened to be the Commissioner of baseball in 1961 and with Mantle and Maris ahead of Ruth's home run pace after the all-star break Frick decreed that every smart was not broken by game 154 equaling the length of the season the babe at played in 1927 any record set thereafter would only be placed alongside roots in the record what it did do was just drag people into this controversy who's gonna do it will it be recognized what happens is this during the middle of the season 20 reporters coming a couple weeks later at sport and then at 60 and then 80 will the great early events of the media society was the Maris mantle home run derby suddenly television had arrived and as it arrived and amplified this thing whole country could see it [Applause] it was the perfect media storm with Mickey and Roger at the center Roger was from Fargo North Dakota and he was a very bashful guy Roger didn't want all that publicity I have about the home run situation Roger you're seven games ahead of Babe Ruth's record do you think that you can beat the vage record well I don't think so Bob cause I'm not gonna shoot for it babe using Maris he doesn't like being at the center of this mantel loved it every man always should have been on a Broadway show would have loved it I wanted Mickey Mantle and this is Mickey Mantle so you can applaud him right now Mickey was the gregarious funny outgoing kidding around guy he also had the look I mean he was very handsome guy when he smiled he was like a movie star the blond bomber boyhood freckles arms of Popeye mythos eyes by the press you know he had the entire package as Labour Day approached Maris was slightly ahead of mandolin the home run race but would be high in the popularity contest I know that he sensed that the fans and the media wanted Mickey to win and that that was tough the real irony was the better he did and more the mantle fans began to resent it Becki became the golden haired boy and i came the other guy you know I'm glad for Mickey that it worked out that way on the other hand I had to feel a little sad because I was getting the other side of this day back in the realm of the clubhouse Mickey was also caved the teammates really had an emotional connection with metal players related to him loved them saw him as a warm human being he was one of them Mickey Mantle was absolutely the greatest especially with his teammates if you were Mickey Mantle's friend you were a friend for life and the biggest beneficiary in 61 was Roger Maris there was a lot written about me and Roger not liking each other and that's the farthest thing from the truth that it could ever be I don't think we ever had an argument we appreciated each other both Roger and Mickey respected each other's performance under that enormous pressure and finally in that 61 season they actually got an apartment together I can remember he used to come in slap them in the head right there be got a paper he said hey Meg wake up so we're fighting again I think Mickey probably helped him more than any because Mickey's been through the glare of the New York media and through national pressures too and I think that's the reason they roomed together as this season wound down and the pressure grew Maris and mantle continued to share the spotlight but a dramatic turn in the historic chase would soon shift the glare entirely on to one of them and its heat would take a terrible toll [Music] as the 1961 Major League Baseball season entered the homestretch the surprising Cincinnati Reds found themselves leading the National League no one expected it in spring training no one expected it in May June or July it wasn't probably til August that people really said that you know while we do have a chance in mid-september the Reds opened a four and a half game lead over the Giants and Dodgers with Frank Robinson leading the way it's sometimes seen the Reds just couldn't lose when the game was on the line hits earlier that base he'd hit that home run I think because we played in the Midwest he never got his due as the most unheralded of the National League's new stars Robinson finally took center stage in 1961 as he led the Reds to the pennant capturing the MVP did I have something to prove yes I've been in the shadows of mais Clemente air and those guys and it's not a bad shadow being but still you want to be out and see the sunlight yourself once a while and what independent the winning the MVP award kind of said hey Frank Robinson is pretty good law player himself if there was a team that could understand what Robinson was feeling it was the Detroit Tigers and their hitting star norm cash despite playing in the shadow of the M&M boys cash would register a league-leading 361 batting average in 61 manoa Maris in New York is a big difference than New York than Detroit and they got a lot of publicity of course we thought norm cash was at that time the best player in the American League that year that he had was one of the great years that I've ever seen any player have Detroit rolled into Yankee Stadium Labor Day weekend a game and a half behind New York if cash in Detroit wanted to grab the spotlight from mantle and Maris now was the time Kaline giving the ball a tremendous ride the Tigers were good but not good enough mantle and Maris each had a two home run game New York sweat Detroit [Applause] the pennant race was over but the battle between moves Maris and mantle was in full swing the big Yankee news is my respective sex battle 50 great and then suddenly in late September mantle pulled out of the race an infection in his hip had made it impossible for him to play yet another injury had prevented Mickey from reaching what had seemed too many to be his destiny as a result of Mickey having to drop out of that home run race Roger was on its own Roger was all by himself if Ruth was going to be dethroned it was not gonna be by the fair-haired Prince and lifelong Yankee instead it would be the other guy he's not supposed to be the one to do this nobody should really do this no please don't do or couldn't it be somebody else or basically couldn't we just let Babe Ruth have that record it amazed me that there was so many people around the country that didn't want to see Roger break that record imagine Yankee fans going to Yankee Stadium and booing Roger Maris who had 55 home runs people are booing in screaming action and that makes it pretty tough on a man meanwhile the press coverage was only intensifying they had reporters coming from Japan and Europe and Australia hundreds and hundreds of reporters asking the same question team which was are you going to break Babe Ruth's record some days I was there three four hours after a ball and just sitting there with interviews I don't think there's ever been a player in the history of sports who's had as much pressure over the length of time that Roger did he's getting hate messages people calling his hotel room he's losing his hair on September 20th the Yankees played the Orioles in their 154th games Maris had 58 homers needing to hit two that night to tie the babe and do it in the length of the season that ruth had played 150 fourth ballgame he and i went to the ballpark together and he was a nervous wreck he came to me and told me he said he's just gonna play tonight how Givenchy Leigh convinced Maris to play and he drew closer to Ruth in the third inning [Applause] in the seventh inning he had a towering drive into the Baltimore night but the ball and Maris would fall short he had the Aleut space but he still could have the record as well as the asterisk that came with it there are still eight Yankee games to be played in the expanded schedule but the baseball commissioner says roads record must be broken during a schedule attaches the one in the year he made his mark on September 26th Maris hit his 60th movie [Applause] he was now one home run away from baseball immortality the countdown continued throughout the last games of the season game 159 160 161 they all passed and still Roger Maris did not connect for that victory the tension built right up for the last game of the season this was Maris last chance October 1st 1961 game number 162 excruciating pressure to just think back that that day now I tell you I was so mentally tired and more in the fourth inning he walked into the batter's box against Red Sox rookie Tracy Stallard now all of us are on the threshold of the greatest performance in baseball history [Applause] raju just put his head down he didn't jump in the air he didn't wave his hands he played it like all the other homeruns he had hit in that season [Applause] two people kept clapping clapping the guys trying to push me out of the dugout and I was embarrassed to go out there you know really I was embarrassed to go out there [Applause] meanwhile madam could only watch his teammate on television from the hospital I would like to say that I think that's the greatest single feat I've ever seen in my life when he hit those 61 home runs because the ball went into the right-field stands tears just ran down Mickey's face for two reasons one because his teammate and friend Roger had done it and because he knew that he Mickey had blown the opportunity to become the greatest single-season home run hitter of all time as a result of this injury seemed like I spent all my time in the hospital watching somebody else play if it was bittersweet for mantle for Maris it was something else we were all watching imagine you could just see this sigh of relief come it's over it's over when the game was over they bought mrs. Ruth down by the clubhouse and Raj he whispered something in her ear he said mrs. Ruth the don't feel badly nobody will replace the babe the most dramatic home run chase in baseball history was complete but for the Yankees the drama wasn't with Mandal injured and Maris exhausted the team now had to rally to regain what it wanted most the championship as the 1961 World Series got set to open in New York the Cincinnati Reds were brimming with confidence looking to do what the Pirates had done to the Yankees a year earlier and what the Reds themselves had done to the National League and the Yankees they had a big problem Mickey Mantle was still hurt he was weak he was very pale I remember and the feeling was he'd never make it to dessert starting the series without their best player was cause for anxiety but sending twenty-five game winner whitey Ford to the mound for Game one was helpful incoming Yankee fears we had whitey if it went seven games I was gonna pitch him at least three that was our ace in the hole and putting forward out there for Game one immediately paid dividends it was tough it was like that a surgeon just kind of cut us up and leaving no bleeding and he totally dominated the game Ford blanked the Reds 2 to nothing he'd have a chance to make history later in the series but the Yankees had to send someone else to the mound in game 2 and against Ralph Terry Cincinnati's bats heated up it was time for the bomber hitters to respond and without mantle they desperately needed something from Roger Maris Roger Maris was physically and emotionally exhausted resurgent Reds pitcher Joey Jay had led the National League in wins and now he silenced all the Yankee bats as Cincinnati even this series I pretty much shut him down I I think they ended up with four hits or something like that suddenly the mighty Yanks didn't seem so mighty Joe AJ was the guy that beat us and he says he wished the Yankees were in the National League they wouldn't last too far long enough standings back in Cincinnati the atmosphere was festive as the Reds were hosting a World Series game for the first time in 21 years and the red shared their fans enthusiasm for World Series glory going back to Cincinnati we definitely thought we had the upper hand after sitting out the first two games Mickey Mantle had seen enough deciding that no matter how much pain he was in he was going to play but as the game began mandals presence in the lineup didn't seem to matter as knuckleballer Bob Perkey baffled the ax perky was pitching so well that we thought we had the game in hand with the Reds leading 2 to 1 with 2 outs in the eighth inning they were just four outs away from taking a series lead then Johnny Blanchard was summoned to pinch-hit I was looking for my bat and Mickey Mantle is standing up by the bat rack and he said John he's gonna throw you a slider first pitch for a strike a hard slider and then he's going to come back with the knuckle ball well I'm telling you right now I couldn't had a knuckle ball if Bob Perkey would have thrown the ball in the press box I'd have jumped up and swung at it I was swinging at the first pitch because Mickey Mantle told me well sure enough here comes the hard slider for a strike [Music] the sales over the fence for a home on círculo basis and all the guys are happy you know make you still stand down by the bat rack he wouldn't smile on either he said hey Blanche I said yeah he says you owe me a six-pack of Pepsi I said oh man oh I'll get your case the Yankees had pulled even and as the game moved into the ninth roger maris step to the plate yet to record even a hit in the series [Applause] he hits the home run that puts the Yankees ahead with some mystical sprang some magic that he still had left in his body Maris's homer would give the Yankees the victory in Game three and for the fourth game they sent out whitey Ford to put ask wrangle hold on the series like Maris and mantle Ford had a chance to break one of babe ruth's records consecutive scoreless innings pitched in World Series play before the game in Cincinnati right is when he going for the record today and I had no idea what they were talking about while Ford didn't receive the attention his teammates had he did break the record and he continued to frustrate the rest [Music] for support mantle made a timely contribution in the Yanks crucial rally to help give Ford the only run he would need but it came with a price man decides if the courageous mantle has gone as far as he can no Mickey or limb guys it you can hardly get him out of the ballgame and he was gonna stay in there I was really worried when I saw the blood that was scary gosh there was a spider bot five inches or about that big around a blood coming through his shorts in his uniform I finally realized how courageous this guy was to even want to play him in that condition but that's what I remember most about that series not so much being Babe Ruth's record like Maris mantle had given the Yanks just enough in the fifth game New York would have enough without as their revenge on Joey J [Music] the Bronx Bombers knock Jo in the first inning and routed the Reds taking the series and five games once again champion why did you think of this Yankee Championship team is the greatest one what you play well I don't have to go along with that well here anybody any team has ever hit and the series capped one of the most remarkable seasons in history and crown one of the greatest teams ever anybody that says it was a better team than that I'd have to disagree with him there might have been one as good but I don't think anybody could ever been better after their world series lost to the Yankees in 1961 the Cincinnati Reds fell back into the NL pack for several years and wouldn't return to the postseason until 1970 with a group of players who had win back-to-back Series titles as the Big Red Machine in 1975 and 76 by that time Frank Robinson was long gone from Cincinnati the only player ever to win the MVP award in both leaves he made more history in 1975 when he became the first black manager in major league history with the Indians as for the Yankees they would win another World Championship in 1962 followed by two more AL pennants in 63 and 64 then the team of the century hit a rough patch and floundered for much of the next decade whitey Ford's consecutive scoreless inning streak in the World Series would eventually reach 33 and 2/3 innings that would remain the all-time mark until 2000 when it was broken by another postseason Yankee great Mariano Rivera consecutive scoreless innings in the playoffs and World Series Ford's teammate Mickey Mantle would win his third and final MVP in 1962 and his mantle gutted his way through another seven seasons after the epic chase of 61 his transformation from the Yankee hero to baseball icon continued it turned out that no less than 14 teammates had named their own sons Mickey and you couldn't get a higher compliment than that Roger Maris played in New York for five more seasons but never got comfortable in the spotlight he'd eventually be traded to st. Louis where he won another World Series ring in 1967 30 years after the 61 season Commissioner fav isn't finally declared Maris the sole official single-season home run record holder removing the asterisk from Maris's record is actually one of the prouder achievements that we at the Elias Bureau we're happy to have a role in and recognized him for what he was the single-season all-time home run hitter Maris never lived to see anyone seriously challenges record but in 1998 Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa waged a dramatic battle all season in pursuit of 61 and with members of the Maris family in attendance it all culminated on September 8th at Busch Stadium the plan of the sky tabbed his heart and where I interpreted that I was his acknowledged and dad saying that was in his heart in such a big moment Mark McGwire's life to include that in that special moment was something we'll never forget in 2001 the homerun record would be broken once again by Barry Bonds over the past decade allegations that both McGuire and bonds may have used performance-enhancing drugs have led many to still view Maris's record as the true all-time mark nearly half a century after it was said even in the shadow of baseball's modern-day power surge the amazing season of 61 still resonates a year when homerun is sold out of ballparks all across the game capped by an epic chase that will be remembered forever for its uncommon drama and unlikely Victor [Music]

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Id: Pozy3ojmvkU

Length: 47min 59sec (2879 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 24 2019