New age of baseball needs new Mickey Mantle, says sports historian

Major League Baseball continues to fight for the spotlight as it slides into opening day Thursday (March 29), says a Purdue University historian and author of a new book on legend Mickey Mantle – an icon in the professional sport's golden age.

"When Mantle played, baseball was everything," says Randy Roberts, a distinguished professor of history who studies pop culture and sports. "Football and basketball were not as big at this time. Now we've got professional football and basketball, college football and basketball, the NCAA tournament, there's been the rise of Tiger Woods and golf, and other sports. There's a greater fight for publicity and for the spotlight."

Since the Mantle era, when baseball was in its heyday, football has gradually risen to become the favorite sport in the United States. A Gallup poll in January, for example, found 9 percent of Americans listed baseball as their favorite sport, with 11 percent for basketball and 37 percent for football.

In "A Season in the Sun: The Rise of Mickey Mantle," which was published Tuesday (March 27) by Basic Books, Roberts and co-author Johnny Smith document the sports star's historic 1956 season, which brought both Mantle and MLB into the headlines.

"During this season, two things happen: He has a phenomenal performance with a home run race with the ghost of Babe Ruth and a Triple Crown race; but he also becomes more of a public figure," Roberts says. "We're beginning the dawn of television, and Mickey Mantle was so photogenic, he was perfect for that era. The book deals with the molding of the Mickey Mantle image and time when he was viewed as full of hope and promise. Most people who look at him tend to look at his end – his alcoholism and his death – and then extrapolate backwards and ask, 'How did he get here?'"

Although the sport is without a slugger of Mantle's stature, MLB players posted a historic home run rate last season, according to Sports Illustrated. The rate was higher than the previous record in 2000 during what many baseball fans refer to as the "steroid era." A repeat of 2017 could propel professional baseball back into popularity, Roberts says.

"It's going to be hard to catch those home run records from the steroid era," he says. "But there's nothing like the long ball. Mantle in 1956 starts off so hot right off the bat, and it caught the attention of the media and the entire country."

MLB is taking other measures to grow its fan base in the 21st century. During the 2018 season, the league will live-stream 25 games on Facebook and will add new "pace-of-play" rules restricting the amount of mound visits and limiting between-inning breaks and timing of pitcher changes, according to two MLB news releases.

"The games take too long," Roberts said. "The league should shorten the game, and they're trying to do that. It's a long season and the games are long. There's still a lot of baseball fans, but for just sheer drama and excitement, it's hard to compete with professional football or basketball. The new rules are just the beginning of it. That's not going to change the pace of play that much, but it's a start. It's cracking open the door." 

Provided by Purdue University