Remembering Mickey Mantle’s Deathbed Conversion
There is something magical about October baseball, perhaps because its seasonal arc seems perfectly positioned and scripted for the drama of life itself.
It was the late Bart Giamatti, the Yale president turned baseball commissioner, who so poignantly observed:
An extra round of playoffs has shortened the loneliness of fall a bit, but the opening of the World Series this weekend between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers is something of a nostalgic reunion. The Dodgers and Yankees have previously met 11 times in the Fall Classic, the most of any other franchise match up.
Growing up in New York, my Yankee-fan father waxed poetic about those epic Subway Series of the 1940s and 50s. He’d talk about racing home from school to listen on the radio or standing on the sidewalk in front of a Manhattan television store catching updates through the sets in the window.
My dad’s two favorite Yankees were Hall of Famer’s Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. He once ran into Joe at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach. Joe was predictably debonair and gracious. Sadly, my father’s one Mickey encounter was less idyllic, talking with the intoxicated former star outside his restaurant across from New York City’s Central Park.
Linked forever as legendary centerfielders for the New York Yankees (Mickey’s first year was Joe’s last), both men’s faith journeys made news over the years. DiMaggio, a cradle Catholic, at times sparred with the leadership of his church. After marrying and then divorcing Marilyn Monroe, New York’s Archbishop Fulton Sheen told the Yankee Clipper, “You had no right marrying her in the first place.” An upset DiMaggio responded defiantly, and although he never spoke to Bishop Sheen again, he continued to attend Mass regularly.
My father had caught Mickey Mantle at a low point, the former slugger weakened by the ravages of alcoholism. It wasn’t until 1994 that The Mick finally tackled the addiction, checking into the Betty Ford Clinic. He wound up receiving a liver transplant the following summer, but it was too late. Dying, Mantle phoned his friend and old teammate Bobby Richardson and invited the team’s former second baseman for a visit. A devout Christian, Richardson enthusiastically agreed.
“I can’t wait to tell you this,” Mantle told Richardson when his friend arrived inside his hospital room. “I want you to know that I’m a Christian. I’ve accepted Christ as my Savior.”
Taking no chances, Bobby Richardson, who is now 89 years old, and who had previously witnessed unsuccessfully to his teammate, wanted to make sure his conversion was real.
“Mickey, you and I are both sinners,” he responded. “We are in that same category. And the Bible says there’s a penalty involved. ‘The wages of sin is death’ — eternal death. The good news is that Christ died for our sins. He was buried, and He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. That day as a young boy, I responded to ask God to forgive me and for my sins, and I received Him as Lord and Savior of my life.”
“That’s just what I’ve done,” Mickey assured his friend. “I have received Jesus Christ as my Savior.”
Mantle’s deathbed conversion came to mind recently watching Charlie Rose interview longtime NBC sports broadcaster Bob Costas. At 82 years old, Rose, the former PBS broadcaster, was abruptly cancelled in 2017 after accusations of repeated sexual harassment claims. He’s been quietly trying to make a comeback online.
A fanatical Mantle fan, Costas carried the Yankees’ centerfielder’s baseball card in his wallet for decades. Over the years, they became friends, so much so that Costas was invited to eulogize Mantle at his funeral.
Speaking with Rose, Costas recalled a memorable dinner he hosted in his St. Louis home with both Mantle and Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial. It was around the same time my father bumped into the inebriated Mick in New York City.
Here’s how Costas described it:
When Stan Musial passed away in 2013 at the age of 92, New York’s Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan, a lifelong Cardinals fan, called his St. Louis hero, “A great American, a great baseball player, a great Catholic.”
Mickey Mantle was right that a great life comes from being a good man. But most importantly, he learned that eternal life comes not from doing, but from accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life.
It remains to be seen how epic this 120th World Series will be, but Christian fans, especially, have inspiring player storylines to follow. From the Yankees’ home run king Aaron Judge, who points to Christ after each blast, to star reliever Luke Weaver’s “Bible glove” to the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, who prays before he plays, there will be a refreshing Christian witness on the diamond.
Let the leaves fall and the chilly nights descend as winter knocks on the door. Let’s play ball!
Image credit: National Baseball Hall of Fame
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul J. Batura is a writer and vice president of communications for Focus on the Family. He’s authored numerous books including “Chosen for Greatness: How Adoption Changes the World,” “Good Day! The Paul Harvey Story” and “Mentored by the King: Arnold Palmer's Success Lessons for Golf, Business, and Life.” Paul can be reached via email: [email protected] or Twitter @PaulBatura
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