On this day in 1956, Mickey Mantle hit one of the most memorable home runs in his career. It happened on the second game of a doubleheader with the Washington Senators.
He hit a pitch from Pedro Ramos that came within 18 inches of leaving Yankee Stadium. The experts were dumbfounded and could only speculate. It was Mantle’s 20th home run of the season. He won the Triple Crown that year: .353 BA, 53 HR & 130 RBI.
As for Pedro Ramos, he was 21 and would go on to win 12 games and pitch 152 innings that season. Ramos was an “innings eater” and also gave up 316 HR in his long career. My guess is that he still remembers this one.
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