The Legend of the Mick by Jonathan Weeks

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Five Things You’d Probably Never Guess about Me

1. Despite my passion for baseball, it’s actually not my favorite sport to watch. I know more about baseball than any other game, but given a choice, I would watch hockey nine times out of 10. It’s faster and more exciting. The difference between baseball and hockey is like the difference between classic rock and heavy metal. I do love baseball, but I prefer the thrill of a hockey game.

2. I’ve had more than 10 books published, but writing is not easy for me. In fact, it’s a grueling process. I’ve suffered from writer’s block in the past. It’s very difficult to break out of once it hits. The act of writing for me is not like painting with watercolors. It’s more like blasting a tunnel through bedrock. I really have to hammer away at it. There are days when I churn out two or three full pages and end up having to completely rewrite them later.

3. I’m very superstitious. I never put the volume on “13” in my car because I believe the number is bad luck for me. If I’m heading to a sporting event, I’ll try to wear the same outfit I had on the last time I saw my team win a game. I’ll never predict a championship in advance for any of my teams because that’s just tempting fate. I knock on wood to reverse bad luck and avoid crossing paths with black cats. Yeah, I know it’s a little nuts. But that’s just me being me.

4. I like to watch romantic comedies. I’ve been a movie fan for most of my life. Horror and Sci-Fi are my preferred genres, but beneath my hard exterior I’m soft inside. I’m a sucker for movies like Jerry Maguire, As Good As it Gets, and Silver Linings Playbook (three of my all-time favorites). I’m not ashamed to admit it. I like what I like.

5. I’m very shy. I cover it up by cracking jokes and talking a lot when I’m in social situations. But I’m actually uncomfortable being the center of attention. I avoided doing presentations when I was in high school and college. I’d get anxiety bordering on panic. And if I had to get up in front of a group to speak, my face would turn bright red. (Very embarrassing) I did some radio work during my college days and it helped a little, but I found that I was only comfortable if the dialog was scripted.

In the 1950s, America entered the television age. And Mickey Mantle, a country boy from Commerce, Oklahoma, was made for the moment. Signed by the New York Yankees as a teenager, he made his major league debut in 1951 as a right fielder alongside Joe DiMaggio. When DiMaggio retired at the end of the season, Mantle inherited not only Joltin’ Joe’s position in centerfield but also his stature as the face of the franchise. His boyish good looks, breathtaking power from both sides of the plate, and blazing speed on the basepaths made him an instant superstar. He won league MVP three times, came in second three times, was a 16-time All-Star, a Triple Crown winner in 1956, and a seven-time World Series champion.

Mickey Mantle’s career was the stuff of legend and in this book, Jonathan Weeks tells us why. Mantle’s extraordinary (and at times incredible) tales carry readers on an enthralling journey through the life of one of the most celebrated sports figures of the twentieth century.

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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, MICKEY MANTLE?

Born in Newark, Jew Jersey, and raised in Queens, New York, singer-songwriter Paul Simon forged an illustrious career that spanned six decades. A winner of mutiple Grammy awards, he is perhaps best known for his collaboration with Art Garfunkel on the song, “Mrs. Robinson,” which was featured in the 1967 film, The Graduate. Simon had no idea when he wrote the lyrics that he would offend two of the greatest Yankee players of all time.

Simon grew up attending Yankee games and was a self-proclaimed fan of Mickey Mantle. “Mantle was my guy,” he told a reporter from the New York Daily News. “Mantle was about the promise of youth.” In spite of those sentiments, Simon paid homage to Joe DiMaggio when he penned his most famous song, which contains the iconic lines:

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you---woo, woo, woo
What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson?
Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away—hey, hey, hey

Mantle never understood why he was never mentioned in the song and, during a 1970 appearance on the Dick Cavett Show, he decided to ask Simon about it in-person. Simon assured the former slugger that there was no intentional slight. “It’s about the syllables, Mick,” he explained. “It’s about how many beats there are.” Mantle seemed satisfied with Simon’s response and there were no hard feelings. But it was not the first time Simon was forced to explain himself.

As the song began climbing the pop charts in 1967, rumors swirled that DiMaggio believed he was being ridiculed and was considering a legal suit against Simon. A chance encounter between the two at an Italian restaurant in Central Park South helped smooth things over. Simon approached DiMaggio at his table and introduced himself. Well aware of who the singer was, “The Yankee Clipper” invited him to sit down. Simon explained that there was no insult intended in the lyrics and that DiMaggio was actually being hailed as a hero. The Yankee icon was relieved to hear it.

Proving that Mantle was still “his guy,” Simon recruited “The Mick” to appear in a video for the song, “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” Originally released in 1972, the song reappeared on Simon’s 1988 greatest hits album, Negotiations and Love Songs. The opening sequence of the video, which was shot at Mathews-Palmer Park in Hell’s Kitchen, features appearances by Warner Brothers recording artists, Big Daddy Kane and Biz Markie. NBA point guard Spud Webb is pictured playing basketball with neighborhood kids in another scene. Mantle turns up a bit later in a stickball segment. Batting left-handed, he swings through one of Simon’s pitches and then launches another one clear out of the schoolyard. The video ends with former NFL coach John Madden attempting to offer advice to some kids engaged in a pick-up football game. “They don’t listen to coaches the way they used to,” Madden grouses as the players ignore his instructions. Simon’s Negotiations and Love Songs attained certified platinum status, selling over a million copies.

About the Author: Jonathan Weeks spent most of his life in the Capital District region of New York State. He earned a degree in psychology from SUNY Albany and currently works in the mental health field. He has written several sports biographies and two novels, one of which was a posthumous collaboration with his father.

BLOG: http://www.jonathanweeks.blogspot.com
GOODREADS AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5862273.Jonathan_Weeks
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jonathan-Weeks/author/B00DXL3JM4

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Mick-Mickey-Mantle-Stories/dp/1493070177/ref=sr_1_1

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The Umpire was Blind! by Jonathan Weeks

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jonathan Weeks will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

FIVE THINGS YOU WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT ME

--In spite of my lifelong love of sports, I wasn’t really a great athlete. I played organized baseball until I was thirteen. Once the pitchers started throwing curveballs, I couldn’t get a hit to save my life. I was too short for basketball, too skinny for football and too clumsy on skates to play hockey. I guess that’s why I started writing about sports instead.

--Though I began submitting my work to publishers at the age of seventeen, I didn’t get a single word published (outside of school newspapers) until I was in my mid-forties. I tried my hand at writing screenplays, short stories, novels, and poetry. I even wrote a couple of children’s books that never saw the light of day. In 2011, a screenplay I wrote with a friend made it into the semi-finals of a contest sponsored by Amazon Studios. That’s as far as we got.

--Anyone who knows me is well aware of my passion for baseball. I have an extensive collection of trading cards and memorabilia dating back to the 1950s. I’ve published several books on the topic. But the funny thing is—my favorite sport is actually hockey. I finally wrote a book about my favorite team—the Boston Bruins. It’s being released next year through the McFarland Publishing.

--I’ve been churning out biographies and an occasional novel for most of my adult life, but I get writer’s block constantly. It’s awful. There are times when I sit down to write and mysteriously can’t compose two sentences that fit well together. I’ve found that the best thing to do when this happens is to walk away. Once I’ve focused my attention on TV or a good book, my ability to write usually returns in time. Playing the guitar also helps for some odd reason.

--Though writing is one of the things that define my personality, I have never been able to make a living at it. I decided long ago that I wanted to help others less fortunate than myself, so I began working as a mental health counselor. I’ve been at that job for close to twenty five years now.

In the words of former American League umpire Nestor Chylak, umpires are expected to “be perfect on the first day of the season and then get better every day.” Forced to deal with sullen managers and explosive players, they often take the blame for the failures of both. But let’s face it—umpires are only human.

For well over a century, the fortunes of Major League teams—and the fabric of baseball history itself—have been dramatically affected by the flawed decisions of officials. While the use of video replay in recent decades has reduced the number of bitter disputes, many situations remain exempt from review and are subject to swirling controversy. In the heat of the moment mistakes are often made, sometimes with monumental consequences.

Read an Excerpt

JOE DiMAGGIO’S 56-GAME HITTING STREAK

…“The Streak” was in serious jeopardy on multiple occasions. In fact, DiMaggio extended it during his final plate appearance nearly a dozen times. But never was he more in danger of losing it than on June 10 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. After a pair of groundouts and an infield pop-up, the Yankee icon came to bat in the seventh inning against right-hander Johnny Rigney, who was one of Chicago’s top hurlers in those days. DiMaggio smashed a sizzling grounder to third, where the sure-handed Dario Lodigiani was stationed. “Lodi” could only block it with his body, but he recovered in time to nail the Yankee centerfielder at first by a quarter of a step. Fortunately for DiMaggio, first base umpire Steve Basil saw things differently, making a “safe” call on the play.

Basil, who had turned to umpiring after his playing career stalled out at the Class-D level, was in his sixth year of major league service. Though generally even-tempered, he was not afraid to assert his authority when his calls were held in question. Never was this more apparent than in June of 1938, when he tossed three members of the St. Louis Browns out of a game for arguing balls and strikes.

According to AL arbiter Joe Rue, Basil was a bit of a tattletale who was constantly trying to curry favor with MLB officials. In particular, he had established intimate relationships with umpire supervisor Tommy Connolly and AL president William Harridge. “Basil was always playing up to Connolly,” Rue asserted bitterly. “And he’d run to Connolly and Harridge with everything.”

There was no need to seek the counsel of league officials on the date in question. In fact, the White Sox hardly protested at all as DiMaggio’s streak was extended to twenty-five games. Basil’s call proved to be of monumental importance when Joe D. grounded into a double play in his final at-bat of the day. Had Basil made the correct decision, “The Streak” would have been divided into two roughly equal halves—impressive, for sure, but not exactly the stuff that legends are made of.

The events of July 17, 1941, have attained an almost mythical quality. DiMaggio had pushed his streak to fifty-six games and was on his way to Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium in a cab when the driver, recognizing the iconic outfielder and his teammate Lefty Gomez, said ominously: “I got a feeling if you don’t get a hit in your first at-bat today, they’re going to stop you.” (Several versions of the quote exist) Flabbergasted, Gomez snapped: “Who the hell are you? What’re you trying to do—jinx him?”

…Gomez might have been on to something.

The jinx appeared in the form of Indians third baseman Ken Keltner, who made a pair of spectacular stops to rob DiMaggio. “The Streak” ended that day and “Joltin’ Joe” hit safely in his next 16 games. Many years after the fact, he claimed to have had an encounter with the mysterious Cleveland cab driver. “Now this is thirty years later,” DiMaggio asserted. “He apologized and was serious. I felt awful. He might have been spending his whole life thinking he had jinxed me, but I told him he hadn’t. My number was up.”

About the Author:

Weeks spent most of his life in the Capital District region of New York State. He earned a degree in psychology from SUNY Albany. In 2004, he migrated to Malone, NY. He continues to gripe about the frigid winter temperatures to the present day. He has published several books on the topic of baseball. He would have loved to play professionally, but lacked the talent. He still can't hit a curve ball or lay off the high heat. In the winter months, he moonlights as a hockey fan.

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