[MightyVotto]

Week Results
Record: 6-1
2-1 vs Detroit
4-0 vs Cleveland
Total Record: 30-20 .600
1st place AL East

Mantle Performance Overview
After winning AL Player of the Week last week, Mr. Mantle dropped off a little this week. He hit .233/.343/.500 with a .843 OPS. He had 2 2Bs and 2 HRs while driving in 8. He regained the HR edge in the AL from Luke Easter 14 to 13, and he continues to have a solid lead in the RBI lead with 55. His season totals are .299/.389/.553 with a .942 OPS. His OPS+ is 149.

One thing that stuck with me after reading Mantle's biography is how much he was booed by Yankee fans throughout the first half of his career. The expectations he played under to live up to Joe Dimaggio's legacy were nearly impossible to meet. Many of the fans just didn't like him since he wasn't Dimaggio. Stengel also didn't help early in Mantle's career when he told the press that #7 was going to be the next Babe Ruth. The pressure didn't subside on Mantle until Maris joined the team and became the new focus of the fans' ire for threatening Ruth's HR record. Mantle became more the hero because he was a lifelong Yankee. They wanted him to break the record rather than some guy who came out of nowhere from a different team. It reminds me of how many of our great players today get booed or scrutinized negatively in the press for not meeting lofty expectations. Joey Votto was eviscerated by many people in Cincinnati for walking too much during the first half of his career. An earlier example in Cincy was Griffey, Jr. who got booed massively just for not being able to stay healthy. Maybe things don't change as much as we think.

Team Performance Overview
It was a much needed rebound week for the Yankees. They took 2-3 from Detroit and swept the Indians in Cleveland Stadium. This put them back in 1st place in the AL East 2 games up on the Red Sox. This was one of the best stretches of quality baseball they've played so far this season. Hitting, pitching, defense all were strong.

In my last entry, I mentioned how poorly Berra had been hitting all season and questioned if he could turn it around this week. Well, he most certainly did. He won AL Player of the Week by going .484/.543/.774 with a 1.317 OPS. He hit 2 HRs and drove in 6 runs. Maybe this means, how Yogi goes, so goes the Yankees.

The crazy No-Hitter affliction continued. Vic Raschi pitched his first career No-Hitter on Wednesday against the Tigers. This is the 6th no-no pitched this season, which is already a league record. It just isn't as exciting when you expect to see one each week.

Up Next
The Yankees continue their 2nd western tour of the season. They'll visit Detroit for three followed by a four-game series vs. the West Division leaders, Chicago.