“The Mick” and “The Man”
He had a number of nicknames, but his most well-known nickname was simply “The Mick.” All that a fan of baseball has to hear is “The Mick” and we know that the person being discussed is Mickey Mantle.
Likewise, those same baseball fans know immediately who is being discussed when somebody says “The Man.” Stan “The Man” Musial was my first sports hero. I can’t see any possibility of anybody ever taking his place in my mind.
Recently I watched a clip of an interview with Bob Costas. He was discussing an evening during which he, Mickey Mantle, and Stan Musial were together at Mr. Costas’ house.
Bob Costas had invited Mickey Mantle to St. Louis for some sort of charity event. He and his wife invited Mantle to their house for dinner. They had also decided to invite Stan Musial and his wife as well.
After the meal and after the Musials had left, Bob Costas and Mickey Mantle stayed up past midnight talking. In the interview I watched, Costas related something from that conversation that I found interesting.
While I don’t have the exact words that were said, the gist of the comments is that Mantle told Costas that nobody could hit a ball as hard as he could during his career and, until he got hurt, nobody could run as fast. However, in his estimation, Stan Musial was a better player than he was because he was a better man than he was. “The Mick” said that “The Man” made the best use of what he saw as God-given talents. Mickey Mantle added that, for that reason, Stan Musial was not having to live with the regrets that continued to haunt him.
There is a much better than average chance that nobody reading this will wind up in any sort of Hall of Fame. I know that that’s certainly true for the one writing this.
At the same time, a short clip of an interview helped me with something. Maybe it will help you, too. That might be especially true for those who try to “live by the rules.” It may seem at times that successful people have little or no regard for such things as honesty, morality, integrity, etc.
When and if those kinds of thoughts arise, there is a real possibility that people who are trying to live right could begin to think that those “successful” people see them as losers. The “dirty little secret” that I learned in the interview is that at least some people who seemingly have it all actually realize who the real winners are.
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
