Mantle chasing Gehrig's "Unbreakable" record?
In 1946, on the day that Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig took off his Red Sox jersey for the last time... two things were certain. One, the single greatest ballplayer ever to step into a batter's box was gone. And two, that his Career totals of 4014 hits and 730 Home Runs would never EVER be caught, much less broken.
That same year, an upstart left fielder named Stan Musial was traded from his Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies... that year, he would hit .370, and rack up 209 hits. Now, almost 20 years later. Stan Musial, now 42 years old, has just passed Gehrig's all-time hits record. His career total jumping to 4080 hits in what could be the last year of his storied career. Musial, however, is still 300 Home Runs away from Gehrig.
But, while the country's attention was turned in 1962, to Eddie Mathews and 'Killer' Killebrew chasing Ruth's single season record of 56 Home Runs. Back in Boston, Mickey Mantle was doing something quite spectacular.
Mantle, already considered a huge talent in Sox Country, bounced back from a 1961 and '62 that were plagued by injury, and slammed 47 Homeruns, a Career high for the 31 year old Switch hitter. And going into '63, Mantle has a career 425 HR's putting The Mick on pace with Babe Ruth, who hit a total 665, before a late career injury took most of his power. Could we be witnessing another of Gehrig's cherished records about to be swept away?
That same year, an upstart left fielder named Stan Musial was traded from his Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies... that year, he would hit .370, and rack up 209 hits. Now, almost 20 years later. Stan Musial, now 42 years old, has just passed Gehrig's all-time hits record. His career total jumping to 4080 hits in what could be the last year of his storied career. Musial, however, is still 300 Home Runs away from Gehrig.
But, while the country's attention was turned in 1962, to Eddie Mathews and 'Killer' Killebrew chasing Ruth's single season record of 56 Home Runs. Back in Boston, Mickey Mantle was doing something quite spectacular.
Mantle, already considered a huge talent in Sox Country, bounced back from a 1961 and '62 that were plagued by injury, and slammed 47 Homeruns, a Career high for the 31 year old Switch hitter. And going into '63, Mantle has a career 425 HR's putting The Mick on pace with Babe Ruth, who hit a total 665, before a late career injury took most of his power. Could we be witnessing another of Gehrig's cherished records about to be swept away?
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