In an earlier post on Tom Carvel, I mentioned my encounter with Mickey Mantle and his attempt to lure a nun to his hotel room. Would you believe I got two e-mails that actually questioned the validity of this story? I had to be making this up because a Yankee legend would never do something as audacious as this.
Oh, gimme a friggin' break. Have you ever paid attention to baseball history? The guy was a mean drunk who was abusive to a lot of people. You keep hearing about how his career would have been a lot more productive without all the injuries. Yeah, well, it's a well known fact that excessive alcohol drains body muscles of all their resiliency. How many times did he sit out half-seasons due to hamstring pulls? He was his own worst enemy and certainly not worthy of anybody's sympathy.
And guess what? I've got another tale that will illuminate how much of a dirtbag the Mick was. And it also makes somebody else look pretty stupid as well, so it's certainly my kind of fun tale. And it really did happen. I heard it from a friend who saw and heard it all on one of Mickey's last appearances at that annual funeral requiem, better known as Yankee Oldtimers Day. My friend was on the field as a guest of another more reputable Yankee oldtimer and he also backs up the story.
Comedian Billy Crystal was hanging around during the Oldtimers pre-festivities. As you probably know, Billy fancies himself as the ultimate Yankee fan. In fact, he would have you believe that there was no such thing as Yankee baseball until he walked up the Stadium ramp during some game in the fifties.
He's absolutely nauseating with his fervor and, on this day, running around the field in a Yankee uniform like some Little Leaguer who missed his daily Ritalin. Because he met Mickey Mantle on the Dinah Shore show some years back, he somehow translated that into some lasting friendship with #7. If you watch the special features on the "61*" HBO movie DVD that Crystal directed (and it is admittedly a great movie and 100 times better than that "Bronx is Burning" crap from ESPN), you will hear all about Billy's ongoing love affair with his favorite centerfielder. Who knows how much of it was true? I figure most of this was scripted in Billy's version of unreality. On this day, Crystal's goal is to stand in the outfield and have a catch with his buddy the Mick. Gag.
Billy makes himself a pest chasing the big Texas lug all over the place. Finally, he sidles up to #7 and virtually begs him to play catch with him for a few minutes. I hear that Mantle rolled his eyes and finally acquieced to the request.
They're tossing it around in the outfield. Crystal has a grin that stretchs all the way up Jerome Avenue to Fordham Road. Finally, Mantle waves him over. Billy runs up like a kid that has been summoned to the candy store. He thanks Mickey profusely and runs off to presumably change his soiled underwear. Mickey turns to my friend and the other Yankee Oldtimer who witnessed the entire exchange.
"Can you believe I had to play catch with that stupid goddamn Jew?"
Yep, a Yankee great.
Dinner last night: BLT at Cage 50s.
3 comments:
Was the nun dressed like a nun or in normal clothes? If she didn't have the penguin suit on, the Mick may not have known she was a sister. If he was loaded, that didn't help either.
I had nuns for eight years of grammar school, plus two nuns in the family. Believe me, those broads were not hot. Mick must've had his pick of hot and cold running baseball Annies. Who needs nuns?
Mickey Mantle is from Oklahoma and not Texas!
Duly noted. He died in Texas, which added to my confusion.
Actually, Oklahoma, Texas, tomato, tomatoe. They're both states you should fly over.
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