Legends Field harbors nostalgia

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, March 24, 2008

The New York Yankees, love them or despise them, have a rich baseball tradition envied by most Americans who closely follow the Great American Pastime.

Legends Field in Tampa is home to Monument Park where Yankee legends that the field is named after are honored. Fargo native Roger Maris is among the 16 greatest Yankees who are revered with retired numbers and plaques.

Maris is in some good company, with the likes of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson and others. These legends are part of Yankee history that includes 26 World Series titles.

“Roger not only was a great player but also was a great person,” said one Yankee fan wearing a Maris T-shirt with the insignia “61 in 61” commemorating Maris hitting his 61st home run in 1961 to break Ruth’s single-season home run record.

Prior to the start of the New York-Boston game on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, a video paid tribute to Yankee great Yogi Berra who was part of the New York baseball dynasty in the 1950s and 1960s.

When World War II was in full swing, Berra participated in the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach and served in North Africa and Italy. In 1946 Yogi began his career with the Yankees.

Berra went on to become a 15-time All Star, winning the American League MVP three times (1951, 1954 and 1955). He played in 14 World Series and holds numerous World Series records including most games by a catcher (63), hits (71), and times on a winning team (10).

After the video tribute to Berra, the song “Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio” played for the 11,000 fans in attendance at Legends Field, across the street from Raymond James Stadium, home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pro football team. The lyrics and music for “Joltin' Joe DiMaggio” was created by Alan Courtney and Ben Homer in 1941.

DiMaggio was the team's superstar beginning in 1936 and ending in 1951. He appeared in 11 All-Star Games and 10 World Series. Three times DiMaggio was voted his league's most valuable player, in 1939, 1941 and 1947. In 1941, a magical season, Joltin’ Joe had a record 56-game hitting streak.

DiMaggio, who like Berra served in the military during World War II, played in 1,736 games, had a career batting average of .325 and hit 361 home runs while striking out only 369 times — one of baseball's most amazing statistics.

Mickey Mantle joined the Yankees 1951, DiMaggio’s final year in Yankee pinstripes.

"He's got more natural power from both sides than anybody I ever saw,” said DiMaggio about Mantle, a switch hitter.

Mantle moved to center field in 1952, replacing the retired DiMaggio. He played center field until 1967, when he was moved to first base. Among Mantle's many accomplishments are all-time World Series records for home runs (18), runs scored (42), and runs batted in (40).

Southpaw pitcher Whitey Ford began his career with the Yankees in 1950 and made a spectacular debut, winning his first nine decisions before losing a game in relief. In 1951 and 1952 Ford served in the Army during the Korean War and rejoined the Yankees in 1953. He won the Cy Young Award in 1961, the year Maris broke Babe Ruth’s home run record and the same year New York won the World Series.

Yankee tradition is something very special. This storied franchise has been blessed with super athletes.

Tom Hintgen is a reporter with The Daily Journal. His column runs Mondays.