Mickey Mantle

One fall, late in his storied career with the New York Yankees, Mickey Mantle drove with a friend to Fort Worth to watch a football game between the University of Texas and TCU.After the game, the friend suggested they stop by the Texas locker room and say hello to Darrell Royal. When the Texas coach shook his hand and said how pleased he was to meet him, Mantle grinned and ducked his head and said, "Darrell, we've met before."The embarrassed Royal said: "We have? When was that?""I was a senior in high school," came the reply, "and Bud Wilkinson tried to recruit me as a halfback to play football for Oklahoma.

When Oakland's Geronimo Berroa hit his 35th homer last weekend, he and Mark McGwire, who had 46 at the time, set a club record for most homers by teammates. McGwire and Jose Canseco set the record in 1987, when that duo hit 80. The major-league record is 115, by Mickey Mantle (54) and Roger Maris (61) of the 1961 New York Yankees.Cleveland finished the year 7-17 against Texas and New York, the other two division leaders.When Mike Greenwell drove in nine runs in Boston's 9-8 win over Seattle on Monday, he broke a record held by Bob Johnson, who drove in eight in the Philadelphia Athletics' 8-0 win over St. Louis on June 12, 1938.

BEFORE WE GET to this business of a ballplayer's chewed bubble gum fetching thousands of dollars in an online auction, a word about baseball memorabilia from a simpler time. One day, when I was a young boy living in southern New York, my uncle took me to a game at Yankee Stadium. As we walked near the players' entrance a few hours before the game, I spotted the great Mickey Mantle and asked him for an autograph. At first, Mantle looked at me the way you'd look at a fingernail in your soup.

More than 41,000 people in the United States alone are waiting for an organ transplant, most of them needing a new kidney or liver or heart to survive. Each and every day, on average, eight of those people die waiting.Among the fortunate, at least briefly, was Mickey Mantle, the baseball great. On June 8, having been sentenced to death by a terrifying triumvirate of cirrhosis, hepatitis and cancer, Mantle was granted a reprieve in the form of a new liver. He survived until Aug. 13.Shortly before that, I spent a morning with the Mantles and their attorney, Roy True, also one of their closest friends.

There was always something special about Mickey Mantle. It was a mystique that captivated a generation of young baseball fans.His baseball cards have always been special, too. They seemed to be harder to get than those of other stars. And, in those days when cards were traded for cards and not cash, a Mantle was worth a stack of other players' cards.Even though Mantle's rookie card was a 1951 Bowman (No. 253), his first Topps card (No. 311 in 1952) has become the most valuable of the post-war era. The Topps carries a Beckett book value of $25,000, while the Bowman is listed at $8,200.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Ken Griffey proved last night that he belongs to the ages. The Seattle Mariners proved they belong in the AL West.Another home run -- his 21st of the season -- gave Griffey the fastest two-month start of any hitter in major-league history.Another poor start by Dave Fleming and a barrage of extra-base hits by the Oakland Athletics, and the Mariners remained mired in mediocrity, beaten, 7-5, by the weakest team in the worst division in baseball."You saw history," manager Lou Piniella said of Griffey afterward.

Mickey Mantle is 62. It makes you wonder where the years went. It has him wondering, too.Because he can't remember many of them. He can't remember because he lived them through an alcoholic haze.Mickey Mantle, American hero, living legend, is an alcoholic. In baseball, and in most other places that Mantle traveled, he just would have said he was a drunk.He says it from the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.It is the sad and terrifying story of how a man who is a hero to millions looks at himself and sees a failure.

Before America gets carried away with creating its own distorted perception of Mickey Mantle, now that he's in his grave, an effort should be made to correct false impressions. It's terribly unfair -- also inaccurate -- to say he was a drunk. A %J drinker, yes. But there is a difference.Mickey Mantle never lost personal dignity or his status. And he always insisted, when asked if he played under the influence or with a hangover from the night before, that he never hurt the team. If you believe otherwise you've been misled, misinformed.

A scout's take On Hanley Ramirez, Florida's 22-year-old rookie shortstop, who is batting .273 with 19 steals and 50 runs scored Defense -- He's got quickness, great instincts with his feet and hands and has a plus arm. He's just instinctive. He gets great jumps and has tremendous range and arm strength. He'll be in the top class of shortstops. He'll be in the discussion as one of the game's best shortstops in the next two or three years. Attitude -- He was a little maligned in his makeup with the Red Sox, but this is a great, great kid. He has a great work ethic, has fun playing and is a great teammate.

NEW YORK -- Some baseball players need to pass a milestone to be recognized, to be fully appreciated. Until then, they seem to blend into the scenery, if not the shadows.It was like that for Billy Williams, who finished with 426 homers while Ernie Banks, his Cubs teammate, hit 512. It was even like that for Eddie Mathews, the Braves third baseman who hit 512 homers while Henry Aaron was hitting 755.Until now, it's been like that for Eddie Murray.When the now-36-year-old switch-slugger was with the Orioles for 12 seasons, the headlines trumpeted Jim Palmer and Cal Ripken Jr., even though Murray finished in the top five in the Most Valuable Player award voting five consecutive years.