I’ve got something different for you guys this week. Instead of telling you how bad the Yankees are – which they are, or how they should sell – which they should, let’s kick it to a better time in Yankees history: 1961.
A listener of our podcast, Daniel, was nice enough to send me his copy of 61* after I put the ask out. It went down like an internet drug deal, except the drug was some Yankees porn.
I hadn’t seen 61* in some time, but I did remember liking it. Since I’m a Yankees fan and this movie is directed by Billy Crystal, one of the more well-known celebrity Yankees fans, it’s right up my alley.
Instead of doing a traditional movie review (whatever that is), I decided to “live blog” my thoughts as I was watching. Warning: some of these thoughts are sentimental, some are random, and others are even more random.
[00:00:00] The movie starts with Mark McGwire’s 60th home run of the 1998 season. This footage immediately took me back to that summer, which I have said many times was the most memorable baseball season of my childhood.
[00:4:09] First shot of original Yankee Stadium. No Delta signs anywhere to be seen. #nostalgia
[00:04:13] Bob Cerv, a backup outfielder played by Chris Bauer – whom I only know from True Blood, sadly – appears in the movie for the first time. He talks to Maris, who is shagging fly balls warming up for Opening Day.
After a quick baseball-reference check, I found that the Yankees traded for Cerv on May 8, 1961 from the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels took Cerv from the Yankees after the 1960 season in the expansion draft (remember, the league expanded for the 1961 season). So this is a long way of saying I’m not sure how he was talking to Roger Maris in the outfield during batting practice on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium considering Cerv was in Baltimore, batting 5th for the Angels.
Not that it takes away from the movie, nor did I know this information until I looked it up, but I’m a stickler for those kinds of movie and TV show facts. Get it right.
[00:10:04] Ralph Houk, the Yankees manager in ’61 talked to Mickey Mantle about being the leader of the team. He alluded to off-field “blowing off of steam,” and that Mick needs to step-up as the leader because the guys look up to him. The closest comparison to an athlete today that I could come up with is Patrick Kane, who is a notorious off-ice partier but still considered one of best players in the league. Mickey was putting up MVP numbers while routinely stumbling into the clubhouse hungover.
[00:11:05] The first time we see and hear Mel Allen, the voice of the Yankees in the 1940s, 50’s and 60’s. Bizarro Michael Kay.
[00:13:38] Thomas Jane, the actor who played Mantle, had The Mick’s mannerisms down to a t. The way he scooped his helmet off from the back and tossed it aside was a signature move of Mickey’s, kind of like the way Jeter would hold his right hand towards the umpire and tap his bat on home plate as he prepared for every at bat. Jane nailed this, and many other Mickey behaviors.
[00:15:55] We find out that Maris made $38K in 1961 – roughly the same amount of money Jacoby Ellsbury makes per at-bat in 2016.
[00:22:30] There’s a scene of Mickey, Maris, Whitey Ford, and others out to dinner in a lounge. Everybody was dressed like they were attending the Academy Awards, with cocktail in hand. This was just a casual night out for people in the 1960’s.
I’ve been on a 1960’s-era kick. Mad Men is one of my all-time favorite shows and recently I’ve been watching James Franco’s 11/22/63 on Hulu. While it’s certainly not as good, and much different from Mad Men, I can’t get enough of the 1960’s culture. If there is one decade I’d choose to go back to if I found a rabbit hole in a dingy diner closet, it would be the 60’s. I’d be sure to attend some Yankees game, if I went back.
[00:24:30] This movie really portrayed Joe DiMaggio as a dick. He seemed horribly jealous of Mickey’s abilities, I’m sure because Joe D could no longer keep up. Some of the players – Cerv, Whitey Ford, and Elston Howard, talked about how Mickey was welcoming to all new players while DiMaggio was not.
[00:26:10] The boys wake up in the middle of the night to go get Mickey, who crashed his car wasted. He was drinking his pain away because DiMaggio was throwing out the first pitch the next day. I could not confirm if this incident actually happened (Google, you’ve failed me!) but just imagine if Social Media were around for Mick’s time.
[00:29:42] The parents (Maris, Yogi, Cerv, and Howard) are worried about Mickey’s drinking, as the Chairman of the Board (Whitey Ford) tries to calm everyone down.
[00:44:00] The media controlled the public perception back then because they were the only intermediary between the people and players. It’s no wonder some of the baseball writers today are butt-hurt about things like blogs, The Players’ Tribune, Twitter, etc. They are no longer the center of attention. It’s also no wonder the fans, supposedly, were pulling for Mickey.
[1:14:02] Maris received hate and death threats. It takes a certain type of psycho to write an actual death threat and mail it to somebody. It’s much easier now to hate on your (least) favorite player with the evolution of Social Media.
[1:24:20] Did Mel Allen’s doctor really infect Mickey’s hip? That wound was nasty. It looked like something out of Alien.
[1:36:10] (note, the movie facts are slightly different from history) The Yankees played their 154th game of the season on September 19 in Baltimore. Maris was going for HR number 59 and 60, which would tie The Babe in the same number of games he played in 1927 and “legitimize” the record in Ford Frick’s mind.
Maris popped one in his second at bat, and with the Yankees leading 3-1 in the 9th inning, Maris stepped to the plate.
Orioles manager, Lum Harris, called for knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm, making it that much more difficult for Maris on a windy night, who ended up grounding out to Wilhelm on a check swing. Buck Showalter would have been proud of this move.
[1:51:35] Why wasn’t it a sellout for the final game of the season with Maris going for 61? Today, those tickets would be going for $300 a pop on Stub Hub Yankees Ticket Exchange. Also of note, Mrs. Ruth and Frick neglected to attend.
[1:55:00] Sal, the man who caught Maris’ 61st, is the 1961 version of Foul Ball Guy.
Other thoughts and notes:
Maris played CF when Mantle was injured, and he did so throughout the playoffs.
I was underwhelmed with Paul Borghese, who played Yogi Berra.
McGwire was hilariously jacked. Paul Bundy type stuff.
