Home Run Derby- Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays

crosscreekcooter

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Captain Sasquatch

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Pitching wasn't anywhere near as good back then, but guys understood how to hit a hell of a lot better.
 

crosscreekcooter

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I became a Dodgers fan during the 60's-Sandy Koufax-Don Drysdale-Johnny Podres-Ron Perranoski. These guys could bring it.
 

Marine1

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Loved the pitching in the 60's and 70's. Koufax, Drysdale, Jenkins, Gibson, Marichal, Seaver, Niekro, Ryan to name a few.
 

Lake Gator

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Loved the pitching in the 60's and 70's. Koufax, Drysdale, Jenkins, Gibson, Marichal, Seaver, Niekro, Ryan to name a few.

Whitey Ford, Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, Steve Carlton, Nelson Briles, Denny McClain, Mickey Lolich, Jim Lonberg, Luis Tiant and on and on.
 

78

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Pitching wasn't anywhere near as good back then, but guys understood how to hit a hell of a lot better.

That depends on which slice of time you're evaluating. The pitching got so dominant by '68 that the league felt it necessary to lower the mound.
 

Marine1

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That depends on which slice of time you're evaluating. The pitching got so dominant by '68 that the league felt it necessary to lower the mound.

Gibson' 1.12 ERA was insane.

It was also an era where elite starters through complete games regularly.
 

Murph265

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I became a Dodgers fan during the 60's-Sandy Koufax-Don Drysdale-Johnny Podres-Ron Perranoski. These guys could bring it.
In the 1963 World Series the Dodgers staff gave up only 4 runs against the Yankees and won in 4 games. That was a great Yankee team, too! Whitey Ford, Jim Bouton, Mantle, etc
 

Captain Sasquatch

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That depends on which slice of time you're evaluating. The pitching got so dominant by '68 that the league felt it necessary to lower the mound.
Well yeah, if you're basically throwing a pitch straight down to the catcher, it's going to be REALLY hard to hit.

Guys these days throw harder and have more break on their breaking balls than anyone ever has. Watch Bill Mazeroski's or Bobby Thompson's famous home runs. Those were fastballs back then. Total gopher balls. Look at Hank Aaron's 715th home run. Also a fastball.

The game has changed drastically and pitchers don't go the distance like they used to, but that's large in part due to the extra velocity and break these guys are throwing. Arms can't handle that stress like they could when fastballs topped out in the high 80s.

Hitters were much more strategic and better at hitting to all fields back then, and I don't think that will ever change. Chicks and general managers dig the long ball.
 

78

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Well yeah, if you're basically throwing a pitch straight down to the catcher, it's going to be REALLY hard to hit.

Guys these days throw harder and have more break on their breaking balls than anyone ever has. Watch Bill Mazeroski's or Bobby Thompson's famous home runs. Those were fastballs back then. Total gopher balls. Look at Hank Aaron's 715th home run. Also a fastball.

The game has changed drastically and pitchers don't go the distance like they used to, but that's large in part due to the extra velocity and break these guys are throwing. Arms can't handle that stress like they could when fastballs topped out in the high 80s.

Hitters were much more strategic and better at hitting to all fields back then, and I don't think that will ever change. Chicks and general managers dig the long ball.

Of course the arms are better today. Look at all the advancements in training and nutrition. When you compare eras, you need to compare them on a relative basis.

Relatively speaking, pitching was just as good 50 years ago as it is today, at a time when guys are automatically sent to the shower after 100 pitches. Those weaker-armed guys of yesteryear somehow managed to complete a whole lot more of their starts. Those late-inning outings, esp the tense games, didn't come without a cost.
 

Captain Sasquatch

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Tell that to Bob Feller 106, Nolan Ryan 108 Walter Johnson 102
And Babe Ruth used to hit 600 foot home runs. :rolleyes3:

None of those pitchers threw that fast. I mean, I know you're in the "uphill both ways in 10 feet of snow" generation, but come on. Ryan could hit 100, I'll give you that, but that's about it.
 

Swamp Donkey

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And Babe Ruth used to hit 600 foot home runs. :rolleyes3:

None of those pitchers threw that fast. I mean, I know you're in the "uphill both ways in 10 feet of snow" generation, but come on. Ryan could hit 100, I'll give you that, but that's about it.
Nolan Ryan was tossing 100mph at 45 years old.

It's hard to compare the eras however because the height of the mound has been moved through the years. Those tall mounds back then were quite the advantage.
 
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78

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Why all the emphasis on mph? So many of the great ones -- guys like Maddux and Spahn and Martinez -- became that way for the complete repertoire of pitches as well as being able to control the count. Heat helps. Moxxy and control are just as important.
 
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My late husband and I had the pleasure of meeting Mickey Mantle at a 7-11 in the FL Keys while both of us were buying ice for our beer cooler. Then 2 days later met up with him again at the Coral Grill Restaurant in Islamorada. Real friendly and personable guy.
 

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