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A Game In Progress
A Game In Progress
The game is getting down to the nitty gritty and the opposing team is ready to pull ahead if we don't get our stuff together. Oh well I know I had him, blind ump. The next batter is their number four batter and he is ready to...
Dieting where you do not need to starve yourself
I am somebody who has had an ongoing battle with my weight for most of my life. I have to be very careful what I eat as I seem to gain weight very easily. I have tried many diets, however I wanted to find a way of losing weight without having to...
Teaching Your Boy the Game of Baseball!
Teaching Your Boy the Game For those who “coach your son” (or those players who are coached by Dear Old Dad), lend me your ears. Here are some quick and easy thoughts to answer the common problems that surround coaching your own kid. 1st &...
The Origins of Baseball.
No one knows for sure where baseball exacted originated. However, most baseball buffs will concur that the sport is based on the English game of rounders. In the United States, baseball became popular in the early 1800's, originally known as...
Why Diets DON'T Work
One of the biggest scams ever successfully pulled on the American public is - somewhat appropriately - a 4-letter word. That word is, of course, Diet. By now you have seen advertisements for more diets than you can easily remember, and have also...
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Meeting Mickey Mantle
Meeting Mickey Mantle
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 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.
This story was contributed by Dan Markim. A long time Yankee fan.
Written by Aron Wallad
About the Author
Aron Wallad has been a baseball lover for over 40 years. Writing about his favorite subject, baseball, has been a blessing. You will enjoy the tender stories, the unusual statistics and inspiring quotes. But mostly you will love the heartwarming stories that hit a home run to your heart.
Go here for inspiring baseball stories :
BaseballsPrideAndJoy.com
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