Meeting Mickey Mantle - His Idol
Meeting Mickey Mantle would be a dream comes true. A dream
realized for Dan on his 38th birthday, when his wife honored
him with a week long stay at the Yankee Fantasy Camp in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida. Dan played with some of the Yankee
legends: Bobby Murcer, Mickey Rivers, Ron Guidry, Moose
Skowron and Catfish Hunter. The games were great and being
on the same field with some of the players he had watched on
TV or at Yankee Stadium was mesmerizing.
But what made the week particularly special was the friendship
he nurtured with his hero. The Mick even gave Dan a nickname -
“Nails” for the scrappy, Lenny Dykstra-way that Dan played.
While Mickey didn’t play in any these games, he did spend a
lot of time with all the campers. Dan took this time to get
to know Mickey. He loved his down to earth quality. He loved
his honesty. He loved being around him.
“Getting to know Mickey Mantle was as much fun as playing
with the pros,” Dan told me later.
In one of the games that Mickey was umpiring, Dan strolled
to the plate with the bases loaded. His big chance was here
and he didn’t miss the opportunity as he walloped a long
double into the gap. He hit a rope, and as he glided into
second base Mickey yelled to him, “You hit the sh*^ out of
that ball, Nails!”
This was like a call from God. Hearing his idol tell him how
well he hit the ball was more fulfilling than Dan could ever
have imagined.
What could be better than meeting and then hanging out with
Mickey Mantle? How about being recognized as a ballplayer
by your childhood hero?
It doesn’t get any better than that.
The content of the story was contributed by Dan Markim.
A long time Yankee fan.
Written by Aron Wallad
|
Aron Wallad has been a baseball lover for over 40 years. |
No Responses to “Meeting Mickey Mantle - His Idol”
No comments yet