How many home runs did Mickey Mantle hit in 1961?

Mantle and Maris were in a heated battle in the race to break Babe Ruth's single season home run total of 60. Maris passed Mantle for the final time on August 15th and then in early September, Mantle was forced to pull out of the race due to an abscess in this hip joint. Maris went on to hit 61 home runs but due to the Commissioner of Baseball, Ford Frick, stating that to set a new record it was needed to be accomplished within 154 games just like the Babe, the record went into the books with a "distinctive mark". In reality Maris hit his 60th home run in fewer at bats than the Babe, 684 vs. 689.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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7 Comments

John W Shreve

The author is incorrect as to the number of at bats (ABs) accrued by each player. ABs are Plate Appearances (PAs) minus walks (BBs), hit by pitch (HBP), sacrifices (SH), and sacrifice flies (SF). By this accurate standard, Ruth hit his 60 home runs in 540 ABs, with Maris hitting his 61 in 590 ABs, giving Ruth the edge in fewer ABs per home run. However, modern record books compute home run percentage (HR%) using PAs, not ABs, and Maris and Ruth are each recorded as having an HR% of 8.7%. Also, Commissioner Frick's "distinctive mark" was never used. The books simply recorded Ruth's record as being posted in a 154-game season and Maris's in a 162-game season. Frick, by the way, had been a personal friend of Babe Ruth's and his ghost-writer and did not want The Babe's record broken.

Howard Groopman

Easy for this lifetime Yankees fan. We went to Cooperstown that summer, and the nearby souvenir shop had a running total of Maris/Mantle's home runs. Mantle's injury cost him a shot at the magic number 60. I have a scrapbook with the newspaper clippings from the day after Maris hit #61. Both men died way too young from serious illnesses.

earlepg

I was pulling for Mantle that year and was disappointed when Maris got his 61st.

George Oliver Prince

Followed that race closely. Mickey Mantle is my all-time favorite player

filmnut

Annie, Sports, across the board were more enjoyable back in “the day”. About the only sport that has advanced is: World Cup (Olympic) Ski Racing. The Downhill and The Super Giant Slalom ( introduced in 1981) have gotten faster (times) and the subsequent improvements on equipment have contributed to the speed and safety of the sport, to include casual participants.