Baseball Legend Mickey Mantle

By Shawna S. Ruppert

There are a certain group of baseball legends which have certain things in common. Most of the most legendary players were from a certain era, and most played for the New York Yankees. Mickey Mantle trivia will certainly show that he is no exception to this, and he still stands as one of the most popular Yankees, and indeed most popular players of all time.

An interesting piece from a Mickey Mantle quiz is that he almost had his career ended before he started. He was growing up in Oklahoma, and was playing football when he got an injury resulting in an infection. The infection might have claimed his leg except that penicillin was becoming widely available, and he was able to get the treatment he needed to keep the leg, although he would suffer from after effects of the osteomyelitis for the rest of his life.

Mantle would first take the steps towards Pro Ball with a team called the Baxter Spring Whiz Kids, a semi pro team. Mickey Mantle trivia shows this is where he was first scouted by the Yankees. Although he was sent back to the minors after the first time he was called up, accusations from his father and the prospect of becoming a miner for the rest of his life spurred him on to become the ball player that would evolve into a legend.

One of the most threatening things about Mantle as a ball player was his uncanny ability to switch hit, and to still be an effective hitter from either side of the plate. A Mickey Mantle quiz question about his switch hitting ability might mention the number of home runs he managed to hit batting from either direction. Over the course of his career, he would hit 372 home runs from left handed at bats, and 164 right handed.




During his day, Mickey Mantle would become the highest paid player in the league, although others would make more before and since. Mickey Mantle retired in 1969 from baseball, and shortly thereafter was inducted into the hall of fame, and had his number, 7, retired by the Yankees. Many people don't know that Mantle wore number six the first time he got to play major league ball, but during the time that he had been sent back down to the minor leagues another player had claimed that number, leaving Mantle to choose number 7 when he got his second chance with the team.

Masters of Trivia is a website dedicated to trivia games and quizzes that cover several different areas of interest. The various trivia questions available on the site can be easily accessed and played by going to http://www.mastersoftrivia.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shawna_S._Ruppert

===Advertisement from our sponsor:=====

Baseball2u.com/CoachesBest.com is the ultimate online baseball training and coaching store. With over 1400 products organized into categories Baseball2u.com makes finding that baseball training product easy and simple. Order securely online or by phone. Baseball2u.com is a fully licensed company and has a full time staff available from 8:00 to 5:00 CST. Their toll free customer service number is 1-877-431-4487.

The Categories they have are: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!