1961. New York Yankee outfielder Roger Maris had yet to hit forty home runs in a year. Maris, a farm boy from North Dakota, was unaware that he was about to endure the most pressure-packed season to date while challenging Yankee legend Babe Ruth's mark of sixty home runs set in 1927. Many considered him only the second best player on the current Yankee team behind Mickey Mantle. Maris began 1961 struggling with the bat with his batting average sinking below .200 in late April. Then after a talk with Yankee management, Maris relaxed and began sending balls out of the park at a record pace. By the time he reached forty homers, he was nine ahead of Ruth's pace. However, Maris couldn't relax long as the New York media began harassing him once they saw Ruth's record endangered.
Maris had company in teammate and friend Mickey Mantle who was close behind
Maris' total throughout the home run race. Nicknamed the M and M boys, Mantle had
played longer for the Yankees than Maris and was more receptive to the media.
These traits made him the fans' favorite to break Ruth's record. The New York media
unsuccessfully tried to create animosity between the two while fans began to occasionally
boo Maris while cheering Mantle. As Maris edged closer to Ruth, commissioner Ford
Frick added to the pressure ruling that the record had to be broken in 154 games or be
marked with an asterisk. This ruling was made because Frick's former friend Babe Ruth
only played in a 154 game season in 1927 before the season was extended to 162 games
due to expansion.
By the time Maris reached fifty-six home runs on September 10, 1961, Mantle had
fifty-three but also a terrible cold that only allowed him to manage one more home run.
All attention focused on Maris as the number of naging reporters increased daily until
reaching thirty-five, unprecedented coverage at the time although McGwire would later
encounter as many as six hundred at one time. Maris developed a rash and began to lose
his hair in clumps as the pressure mounted. Crowds booed opposing pitchers when he
walked and Maris himself when he didn't hit a home run. He later tied Ruth's sixty in the
team's 159th game of the year but sat out the next two. Overwhelmed by physical and
mental fatigue, Maris refused to play in the final game but was forced to by the Yankees'
management. He proceeded to break the record with a 365-feet home run to right field.
Exhausted, Maris ran straight to the dugout after crossing home plate with little
celebration and let out a long sigh of relief. After retiring Maris was quoted with saying, "Maybe I wasn't the chosen one. But I'm the one who got the record".
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