Mickey Mantle was known for being one of the greatest baseball players of his time. Mickey was drafted to the Yankees in 1951, where he played his entire 18-year career. Although he was seen as a nice and humble man to some, he allowed his decisions to change his life. Even though Mickey Mantle was a kind man and a major influence to those who watched him play, he can be seen as a tragic hero because of his choices throughout and after his career with alcohol. His selfish choices also led to affecting the people around him in his life. Mickey “The Mick” Mantle had injuries upon injuries, just like most professional sports players, but the way he handled them is the cause of other problems down the road of his life. He had major drinking problems …show more content…
Mantle started in the big leagues at the age of 19 after signing to be in the minors for two years. He was an amazing player with 52 home runs, a batting average of.353 and 130 RBI’s (runs batted in) in 1956, leading him to win the American League Triple Crown and he won American League Most Valuable Player 3 times throughout his career. Mantle suffered his first major injury in 1951 during the World Series when he dislocated his knee. This year, as a 19 year old, is when he began his drinking habits that continued to go downhill after the death of his father in 1952, his shyness to the public, and injuries, that led him to rely heavily on alcohol and drinking everyday. Mantle retired in 1969 at the young age of 37 years-old. Although Mantle didn’t think anything about his alcoholism at his young age, it later caught up to him majorly. As stated in an American Heritage article, “Only later would his heavy drinking define the arc of his life.” Mantle’s drinking led him to the Betty Ford Clinic in 1994 where he was diagnosed with the diagnosis that changed his life. It was determined that he had hepatitis, cancer of the liver, and