Baseball Card Generations is a series of fictional stories that chronicle Grandpa John and his grandchildren Howard and Victoria. John was a security guard for the Yankees in the 1960's and shares his love of baseball with his grand kids through baseball cards. We join Grandpa John along with his grandchildren Howard and Victoria in Land High Lakes for another edition of Baseball Card Generations.
Unique moments in baseball, Jimmie Foxx edition
It was a beautiful, sunny day at Land High Lakes. The sun shined brightly in the sky and temperature was perfect to go outside and play some baseball. In fact Howard and Victoria are doing just that. Today is Opening Day for Howard and Victoria’s little league team and the kids were getting ready to head to the field.
Grandpa John walked in to see his grandchildren dressed, but with looks of doubt all over their faces.
“What’s wrong with you kids?” asked Grandpa John. “It’s opening day! You should be happy and excited for the start of a new season.”
Howard and Victoria both looked at the ground and then up at Grandpa John. Then at the same time, they both said, “We’re afraid, Grandpa. What if we have a horrible season?”
Grandpa John saw the doubt and fear in his grandchildren’s eyes. He knew something had to be done in order to lighten up their spirits. It was at that moment when Grandpa John came up with an idea.
“You know kids, seeing you worried about your upcoming season reminds me of a baseball card I have. Wait here for a second.”
As Grandpa John walked out of the room, Howard and Victoria began to wonder out loud.
“I wonder what baseball card he’s talking about?” asked Howard.
“I’m wondering how he always has a baseball card that’s able to help us in life?” asked Victoria.
It was then Grandpa John walked back into the room. In his hands, Grandpa John was holding a baseball card. The card was in a double layered protective case. Howard and Victoria looked up at the card and read the name out loud.
“Mickey Mantle,” they said together.
“Yes kids, this is a Mickey Mantle baseball card,” said Grandpa John. “To be more precise, it’s a Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card.
“Why are you showing us a Mickey Mantle baseball card Grandpa?” asked Howard. “Mickey Mantle never worried or stressed about baseball; he’s a Hall of Famer!”
Grandpa John looked at Howard and smiled.
“You’re only half right Howard. Yes Mickey Mantle is a Hall of Fame baseball player. In fact, I think he was one of the greatest players in baseball history.”
It was then Victoria decided to chime in.
“Mickey Mantle was a career .298 hitter. He was known “The Mick” by his teammates. His 536 career-home runs are second in Yankees’ history; trailing only Babe Ruth himself. Mickey Mantle also holds the record for most career World Series home runs with 18. He finished his career with three MVPs and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.”
Howard and Grandpa John looked at Victoria as if she had three heads. They both knew that Victoria was a baseball historian at heart; but even she never spouted baseball statistics that quickly.
“Well Victoria, that was a lot of information; even for you,” said Grandpa John,“Yeah sis. How did you know all that?”
“I watched Yankeeography “Mickey Mantle” this morning,” Victoria said with a smile.
Grandpa John burst into laughter. He had a huge smile on his face. As he fought through the tears in his eyes, Grandpa John said, “Well you’re absolutely right Victoria. However there was a reason I chose this baseball card to show you. You see Mickey Mantle put a lot of pressure on himself early on in his career. Many people thought Mantle was the next “Joe DiMaggio” and as such Mantle put high expectations on himself.”
Howard and Victoria began to listen even harder as their grandfather continued to talk.
“In fact Mickey was sent down to the minor leagues because he was struggling so badly. Mickey was thinking about quitting baseball until his father told him to “man up” and play the game he loved. It was then Mickey took the pressure off of himself and began to play baseball the way he always did; with passion and pride.
Mantle returned to the Major Leagues later that season and helped the Yankees win the World Series. He never looked back. You see kids; the moral of the story is to never put pressure on yourself while playing baseball. Baseball is the greatest game on earth and should be played for fun and the love of the game. Once Mickey realized that again, he became one of the greatest players in baseball history!”
Howard and Victoria smiled. They realized that putting pressure on themselves was useless. They needed to go out and play baseball to the best of their abilities and have fun while doing it. Then at the same time Howard and Victoria said, “Thank you Grandpa!”
“You’re welcome kids. Now let’s get a move on. Grandma is already in the car and we got ourselves a little league game to get!”
Howard and Victoria then ran to the car. While sitting in the back as Grandpa John drove to the field; they remembered the story of Mickey Mantle. Howard and Victoria realized that baseball was a game to be played for fun. Never again would they worry about stressing themselves out playing baseball. Baseball was meant to be fun and Howard and Victoria were going of have a lot of fun.
This article was also featured in NJ Baseball Magazine.
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