1962 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
MARIS WILL HIT 44 IN '62
Past Performances Indicate 28 Per Cent Dropoff
"If Roger Maris goes the way of all homer flash, he'll hit 44 home runs in 1962. That's a 28 per cent falloff from his record 61 in '61. And 28 per cent was the average decline suffered by the game's all-time homer kings the season following their boom years.
In fact, of the eight sluggers who hit 50 or more in one season before Maris- and did it 13 times between them- only one ever was able to follow through with a higher total the next year.
That was Babe Ruth, who went on to 59 homers in 1921 after hitting 54 in 1920. Ruth was the only big league player to hit 50 or more homers in each of two consecutive seasons and he did the tandem act twice. After improving his own big-league record to 60 in 1927, he hit 54 in 1928.
That was the smallest decline that ever set in after a 50-or-better season. Ralph Kiner was next-best in being able to hold the four-base line. After hitting 54 in 1949, he came through with 47 in 1950.
Other 'slumps' ranged from Jimmie Foxx's 10-off (from 58 in 1933 to 48) through Mickey Mantle's 18 (52 to 34 in 1957) down through Hank Greenberg's differential of 25 (58 to 33 in 1939) and Ruth's own 34 (from 59 down to 25 in 1922).
But the 'championship' in this reverse respect is held by the National League's home run king, the late Hack Wilson who, bothered by eye trouble and prohibition beer, dwindled all the way down to just 13 round-trippers in 1931, just a year after he had powered his way to 56 homers and 190 runs batted in, the latter a record that has withstood the assault of big leaguers for more than three decades.
Maris, already a member of one the game's most exclusive clubs, the '50-or-more' set, can join an ever more exclusive club next season. Those who have performed the feat twice are the '50-or-more' set's inner circle. Besides the Babe, only Foxx (1932, 1938) and Kiner (1947, 1949) have qualified. Two others, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, are in a position to make it next year, too. Of the other 50-or-more men, Greenberg and Mize have shown no intention of coming out of retirement and Hack Wilson is dead."
-Herbert Simons, Baseball Digest, January 1962
THE VOICE OF SENOR MARIS
"Frank Eck of the Associated Press comes up with one of the best postseason stories of the season. It was unfolded by Earl Torgeson, then a Yankee coach, on the special World Series train back to New York.
Torgeson told of an experience with two girls and roommate Luis Arroyo, the ace relief pitcher, in a Baltimore hotel late in the season.
'These two girls were in the hall of our hotel in Baltimore,' Torgeson began. 'They asked if I were with the Yankees. I told them I was.
'Then they told me they wanted to see Roger Maris, who had hit his fifty-ninth home run just days before.
' 'We just want to see Roger Maris,' one of them said.
' 'He's not in that room,' I told them.
' 'We know he is,' both girls said in unison. 'We just want to touch him.'
'So I knocked on the door and said: 'Rog, you in there?'
' 'Si,' came the answer. 'And I theenk I hit my sistieth (60th) home run manana (tomorrow).' ' "
-Frank Eck, the Associated Press (Baseball Digest, February 1962)
"A near-perfect swing has catapulted Roger Maris to national fame. His homer total of 61 in 1961 gave him the all-time one-season mark and enabled him to take the most-valuable-player prize for the second straight season. Roger's booming bat (he also paced the loop in RBIs) has generally overshadowed his excellence as a fielder; he has fine range in right field and an amazingly strong arm.
Born in Hibbing, Minnesota, Roger also toiled at Cleveland and Kansas City and has 158 homers and 457 RBIs for five campaigns."
-Don Schiffer, The 1962 Major League Baseball Handbook
"Roger Maris has been a Yankee for only two seasons. In that short time he has won two consecutive Most Valuable Player awards, has led the American League in RBIs each year, has hit a total of 100 home runs, won the coveted Hickok Belt as the Outstanding Professional Athlete of 1961, was named the Associated Press' Pro Athlete of the Year and, above all else, hit a record of 61 homers.
At 27 Roger should just be approaching his peak. He can hit with power, as every fan knows. But he can do most everything else well, too. But the pressure of his tremendous achievement last season has weighed heavily on him. He hopes this season to live his life normally and still make a big contribution to another Yankee pennant drive.
Assuming community responsibilities, Maris recently accepted an appointment as volunteer national co-chairman of the 1962 Multiple Sclerosis Society Hope Chest campaign. Fame has brought Maris stardom in a motion picture (with Mickey Mantle)- Columbia Pictures' 'Safe at Home.' He also authored a recently published book (with writer Jim Ogle) 'Roger Maris at Bat,' the story of the 61 home runs.
But for all the fame, the furor and the pressures, Roger said this spring that ' ... the only goal I have is to try to have as good a year as I can and help the club- the club comes first.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook
Roger Eugene Maris (OF) #9
Born September 10, 1934, in Hibbing, Minnesota, resides in Raytown, Missouri. Height: 6-0, weight: 200. Bats left, throws right.
Married and father of one girl, Susan Ann (4), and three boys, Roger Eugene Jr. (3) and Kevin Joseph (1) and Randy Jude (4 months).
-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook
Led American League in runs batted in (112), 1960.
Led American League in slugging percentage (.581), 1960.
Hit home run in first World Series at-bat, October 5, 1960.
American League Most Valuable Player, 1960.
Hit 61 home runs in 1961- more than any player in one season.
Combined with Mickey Mantle to break Babe Ruth's and Lou Gehrig's 1927 home run [record for teammates] (107) with 115.
Set American League record for most home runs in six consecutive games (7), 1961.
Led American League in runs batted in (142), 1961.
Tied for American League lead in runs scored (132), 1961.
Winner of Hickok Belt as Top Professional Athlete of the Year, 1961.
American League Most Valuable Player, 1961.
Associated Press Athlete of the Year, 1961.
-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
"Twenty-seven-year-old Roger Maris made baseball history last summer when he smacked 61 home runs. The Hibbing, Minnesota, native was selected as the Junior Circuit's Most Valuable Player for the second straight year and his slugging feats were the talk of the nation.
His home run assault was selected as the outstanding sports achievement of 1961 by the Associated Press and his 142 runs batted in were the tops in the circuit. The RBI title was also Maris' second in a row.
Roger came to New York from Kansas City in December 1959 along with infielders Kent Hadley and Joe DeMaestri. The Athletics received Don Larsen, Marv Throneberry, Hank Bauer and Norm Siebern in the transaction.
The blond slugger, who now resides in Raytown, Missouri, during the off-season, originally signed with the Cleveland Indians' organization. He spent four summers in the minors before joining the tribe in 1957.
As an American League rookie, Rog batted .235 and hit 14 homers. In 1958 he upped his batting mark to .240 and doubled his circuit total while sending 80 runs across the plate. The Indians dealt him to Kansas City during the '58 season for Vic Power and Woody Held, and immediately rumors had Maris heading for New York.
In 1959 the six-foot, 200-pounder was going along at a .300 clip when he was stricken with appendicitis. After 30 days on the disabled list, he returned to action and his average dropped off to .273. His HR total for the '59 season was 16.
The trade to New York was made and Maris really began to move. He rapped out four hits, including a pair of four-baggers, in his Yankee debut and wound up the 1960 season with a .283 average, 112 runs batted in and 39 homers. The 39 circuit clouts just missed winning him the title, being topped only by Mickey Mantle's 40.
Last season Roger's average was only .269, but in addition to his 61 circuit belts, he also had 16 doubles and four triples for 366 total bases; and he sent seven of his 142 runs across the plate with sacrifice flies.
In the 1960 World Series against Pittsburgh, the Rajah batted .267 and had two homers and a double. Last fall he played a major role in the victory over Cincinnati. His ninth-inning home run was the deciding blow in the third game, and he did a fine job filling in for the ailing Mantle in center field.
Maris, who has a rifle arm, moves extremely well for a big man.
Commissioner Ford C. Frick ruled that his record would go into the books with an asterisk, but Rog came close to tying the late Babe Ruth's total in 154 games. He got No.59 in the Bombers' 154th game and just missed with two long fouls on subsequent appearances at bat.
His record smasher came off Boston's Tracy Stallard and was worth $5,000 to the young fan who caught the ball.
During the summer Roger rooms with Mickey Mantle and Bob Cerv.
Nobody expects Rog to repeat his '61 performance this year. But the father of four youngsters has earned his niche in the books and is one of the game's most respected sluggers now. He's among the top salaried Yankees and his off-the-field earnings make him a very comfortable man."
-1962 Jay Publishing Yankees Yearbook
"So what if a guy only bats .269 or has an asterisk after his name. Any time he reaches the top level of achievement, as Roger did last year, his name is etched in baseball history. (Is there anyone who doesn't know about his 61 homers?) The blunt-spoken Yankee star also qualifies as an outstanding defensive outfielder and covers a wide area."
-Tom Gallery (Director of Sports for NBC), NBC Complete Baseball 1962
MARIS IN 1962: HOW MANY? A Poll of Top Experts and Roger Himself
"The difference between Roger Maris and the other great sluggers in the history of baseball- Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Ralph Kiner, Mickey Mantle- is a matter of distance. They could and did send the ball on a tape-measure journey. Roger, on the other hand, has a grooved swing; with just the right click of the bat, he gets the same results the others got (and Mickey is still getting), except that they sent the ball deeper into the stands.
Roger explains it quite coldly: 'I don't see them giving two home runs for a ball that goes 800 feet. If I hit it just right, it goes about 450.'
This almost clinical approach to the art of hitting home runs- although one shouldn't forget that Roger is also blessed with strong forearms, good eyes and a compact physique- assures Roger's niche in the slugging gallery. Once it's conceded that Roger is no fluke, the most intriguing aspect of the 1962 baseball season is what the future holds for Maris.
To give readers an authoritative glimpse, NBC Baseball went to authoritative men in all facets of the game- general managers, managers, coaches, players- to get an idea of what Maris will do in 1962.
Will he eclipse his own mark of 61 homers? How many will he hit? Will the pitchers treat him any differently?
Here's how they answered:
-Ralph Houk, manager of the New York Yankees:
'I'll settle for about 40 homers and about 100 runs batted in. I don't think he'll draw more walks than last year. They won't be pitching any more carefully. They still got Mickey to worry about coming up next. Why should they be concentrating on him any more than before? They've already concentrated on him. And you saw the results.'
-Hank Greenberg, who hit 58 home runs in one season for the Detroit Tigers and has been an American League general manager:
'You know he's not going to hit 61 home runs this year. But he doesn't have to hit that many to have a fine season. Roger is definitely a .300 hitter. He has the ability. It depends on him and what he's trying to do. They'll walk him a lot more. He won't get the good balls to hit because no pitcher likes to be known as a man who contributed to a home run record. Pitchers will be watching out for him.'
-Gil McDougald, a former Yankee infielder who played with Maris the first year he came to New York, in 1960:
'He should hit about 35 homers and knock in about 125 and maybe bat .320. He has the smooth stroke, and he's always been a good hitter from what I've seen of him. Sure, the pitchers will be bearing down more. But the way he swings I feel that Roger could also be a steady .320 hitter without cutting down on his homers.'
-Jimmy Piersall, the volatile center fielder of the Washington Senators and an improved hitter himself in '61:
'If he hits 40 home runs and knocks in 100, it'll be a helluva season. To be compared with anyone like Ruth, you know, he's got to hit 59 a couple more years. And the conditions for doing it aren't the same, or as good. He has to play under lights. He's got to travel a lot more, too, with irregular hours and increasing tensions. They'll be pitching him differently. If anybody is equipped by temperament to handle it, Roger is. The only pressures he'll have will be off the field, with endorsements and that kind of stuff and people running after him. On the field, he's not the kind to let it bother him.'
-Gabe Paul, general manager of the Cleveland Indians, the club that originally enlisted Maris for baseball:
'The pitching won't be any different. Why should it be? Maris was no stranger to them before 1961. But those kinds of years don't come two in a row. I'd say he'll be doing well if he hits 35 home runs. For average he'll probably hit higher, but .290 is close to his limit because he pulls everything.'
-Frankie Frisch, Hall of Fame second baseman and an outspoken critic of modern-day baseball:
'The home run today is the forward pass of pro football. I can see Maris hitting 75 home runs if he thinks he can do it. Didn't he get a bad start last year? His average doesn't indicate his strength. How he does this year has a lot to do with Maris. Will the chicken circuit catch up with him? A player should take two months off after the season and go away with his family for a rest. But he's strong, the ball is lively and the bat willowy. He'd have been a helluva ballplayer in my day, too.'
-Bing Devine, general manager of St. Louis:
'You know you're talking to a .200 hitter (when Devine was a minor league infielder). Maris was an established power hitter before last year. So why should anything he does be surprising? He'll never bat more than .300 because he's not going for average. But he should hit 45 homers this year. And what's wrong with that number? I'll take him, even if you say he has to play center field.'
-Jim Gentile, the first baseman of the Baltimore Orioles who hit 46 home runs last year to establish himself as a threat to Maris' laurels:
'He's a cinch to hit at least 40, and maybe more than 50. What the heck, he's a power hitter. He could even touch 60 again. He's got the good ball park and the swing. Everybody in the country is watching Maris. Everybody knows who he is. The difference in pressures between me and him is I only have to worry about Baltimore.'
-Joe DiMaggio, Hall of Fame center fielder for the New York Yankees and their springtime batting coach:
'I'm not going to say that Roger will exceed his superb mark of 61 homers this year because of the many pressures on him, but I will say this: we are entering an era in which the home run totals will continue to spiral and I expect someone to raise the total within the next five years. Maybe Roger himself.
'Everything is done to help the long-ball boys. I have noticed a sharp reduction in knock-down pitching. If you throw close, the umpires warn you. And that helps the batters. We knew about 33-ounce bats years ago. But we had respect for averages. Now the home run is the big thing. There'll be more of them.'
-Jim Bunning, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, a one-time 20-game winner noted for his strikeout ability:
'Fortunately, he didn't get any off me last year, but he had his share before that. Remember, I've been pitching to him since we were both in Triple-A ball. Roger always hit pretty good. But why should I bother to guess the number of homers he's going to hit? I work the opposite side of the street.'
And then, of course, Maris himself should be heard on the subject
'Don't expect 62 in '62. The question that bothers me most is when they ask if I'm going to hit that many. How the hell do I know how many I'll hit, or if I'll hit any? It doesn't take much to throw a hitter off. For a long while last year, I thought the whole season was going to be a mess. When I go bad, brother, I go bad. But if I don't do well, it won't be because of the record.'
Roger has historical precedent going for him when he expects fewer than a record number of homers this year. After Ruth set his first mark of 59 in 1921, he dropped off to 35 in '22. Jimmie Foxx went from 58 in 1932 to 48 a year later. Greenberg dropped from 58 in 1938 to 33 in 1939.
But since when does any homer total over 30 require apologies?"
-Murray Olderman (Sports Columnist, Newspaper Enterprise Association), NBC Complete Baseball 1962
ROGER MARIS, OCT. 1, 1961
"Maybe Rog Maris couldn't equal or surpass Babe Ruth's feat of hitting 60 homers in a 154-game season, but in the Yankees' 162nd game (163rd counting a tie) Maris still etched his name in the record books. It was the last game of the season and the Yankee Stadium crowd of 23,154 had come out with one thought in mind: to see Maris hit a home run. After flying out in the first inning, Rog obliged in his second at-bat in the fourth inning.
Boston's Tracy Stallard had got behind on a two-ball, no-strike count when Rog smashed the next pitch, a waist-high, down-the-middle fast ball into the stands in right field, ten rows back and about 12 feet to the right of the Yankee bullpen. That proved to be the only run of the game in the Yanks' 1-0 victory. More important, it made Maris the only man in the major leagues to hit 61 homers in a season.
Thus Rog finally reached his goal when it seemed the elusive 61 was going to pass him by."
-Dick Gordon, from The 20 Most Dramatic Homers, Baseball Digest (August 1962)
"Roger Maris this year did not reach the great heights of his 1961 season when he set the new home run standard of 61. But the Yankees' star right fielder led the club in home runs again, and in RBIs, and contributed to the Yankees' third straight pennant since he joined the club in 1960. Rog was the American League MVP those first two years, and an important man again this year."
-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)
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