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In 1952, his first full season in the majors, Mickey Mantle batted .311 and hit 23 homeruns. But he struck out 111 times. During that winter, the writers and baseball magazines related how the Yankees were upset with Mantle’s high number of strikeouts. It was generally acknowledged that Mantle would never be a true star unless he stopped striking out so much because striking out was just not acceptable if one were to be considered a great hitter.
Mantle never did cut down much on his strikeouts, yet he went on to have an outstanding career. The late 1950s and the 1960s were the beginning of the “acceptable” strikeout for power hitters. Willie Mays, Ralph Kiner, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey, Frank Howard, Wille Stargell, and Reggie Jackson were just a few of the sluggers who averaged almost 100 strikeouts a season but yet were stars and considered great hitters. Exceptions to power hitters who struck out a lot were Hank Aaron, who averaged about 65 strikeouts a season, and Al Kaline, who averaged about 57 strikeouts a year. It is interesting that Aaron and Kaline were considered great hitters with power rather than just power hitters. The game has not changed since the 1950s. What has changed is the way the game is played. Instead of trying score anyway possible, most managers wait for the homerun. They are willing to sacrifice the sacrifice bunt because most players swing for the home run and the manager figures that every time a player gives up a swing, a potential long ball is not hit. An interesting, revealing statistic is the number of runs a team scores in a season. Mantle’s 1952 Yankees scored 727 runs in 154 games, averaging 4.72 runs a game. The team batted .267 with 129 home runs and 652 strikeouts. The 2001 Yankees scored 804 runs in 162 games, averaging 4.99 runs a game. The team batted .267 with 203 home runs and an almost unbelievable 1,266 strikeouts. The 2001 team had a designated hitter. Go To Page: 1 2 |
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