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Allen
Barra's latest book, Mickey and Willie, is about two legendary
baseball figures, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. The author
wants his readers to understand that this is not a dual biography
but a book paralleling the intersections and similarities
between the lives of these two players. His theme throughout
this book is to show how they were the products of baseball-playing
families that shaped their lives.
The author
states that both these players' lives were remarkably similar
since they were the same age, about the same size, received
fame at about the same time in the same city, New York, lived
in the shadow of Joe DiMaggio, and had secret lives where
they struggled with being a role model. In addition, both
father and son saw it as an escape from a lifetime of brutal
manual labor: Willie would have become a steelworker in the
South and Mickey a miner in Oklahoma. Barra sees these figures
as "the last great products of the industrial baseball
leagues. These leagues were a big factor in organized baseball
from WWI through the Eisenhower years. As manufacturing in
the US dropped off so did this league."
Barra
traces their lives from the time their fathers taught them
the game of baseball, making them the most influential figures
in Mantle and Mays' lives. That is until they entered the
Big Leagues where Frank Forbes and Hank Bauer, fellow big
leaguers, became their mentors, acting as older brothers.
Throughout
the book the author distributes tidbits of trivia. Here are
just a few he emphasizes: Mantle received his famous knee
injury chasing down a fly ball hit by Willie Mays, and Willie
Mays came up with his own nickname, the "Say Hey Kid.
When asked whom he thought was the better player, Barra responded,
"If Mickey was injury-free he would be considered the
greatest. Mickey in his peak years was better than Mays. Give
Mickey two good knees and he would have been better than Mays.
A joke in the New Yorker, 'how I would have loved to see what
Mantle could have done on steroids. To find out why I hope
people will read the book."
Throughout
the book he shows how the two players faced both trials and
tribulations. Mantle's personal life was a disgrace from being
a heavy drinker to having constant affairs. Mays suffered
anxieties and did not have a successful personal life. Barra
wanted to show how "these two men were very immature.
They had a problem growing into adults. It is tough to carry
the burden of being that great athlete as well as that great
person. I am hoping, if the reader gets nothing else out of
this book, 'beware of hero worship.' It is ok to love and
admire athletes, but as Red Smith says, 'Don't G-d them up.'"
Anyone
who loves the game of baseball will want to read Mickey
and Willie. This book offers a lot to those who want
to learn more about the legendary figures, Mickey Mantle and
Willie Mays.
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