Now ready for the big stage, Maris was traded to the Yankees on December 11, 1959, along with Joe DeMaestri and Kent Hadley for veterans Don Larsen and Hank Bauer and unproven youngsters Norm Siebern and Marv Throneberry. Maris at the 1960 All-Star game as shown in Life magazine 273 with 21 doubles, 16 home runs and 72 RBI in 122 in 1959. 247 with 19 home runs in 99 games over the remainder of the 1958 season and hit a solid. Fitzgerald's words would prove prophetic: Maris played just a season and a half for Kansas City, batting. Whether the charges are true or not that Kansas City is a farm club for the Yankees, it must be recognized that Maris has a better chance now to join the Yankees than he had while in the employ of the Cleveland club". His transfer to Kansas City may delay his arrival at Yankee Stadium. 225 with 9 home runs and 27 RBI when he was included in one of Lane's innumerable trades, being packaged with infielder Preston Ward and pitcher Dick Tomanek to the Kansas City Athletics in return for infielder Vic Power and utility man Woodie Held.Įven at the time, the trade was speculated as but a way-stop on the road to the New York Yankees: on June 18th, Eugene Fitzgerald wrote in the Fargo Forum that "It is no secret that the Yankees would like to have Maris. He did not help his case by being well-known as a brooder who would silently rehash all that was going wrong. ![]() ![]() Bragan thought that Maris was exaggerating his pain and labelled him a malingerer, after which Maris only played sporadically. 280 with 3 home runs when he pulled a muscle in his lower back in early May. Maris began the 1958 season hitting well, batting. After the season, both General Manager Hank Greenberg and Farrell were fired, and their replacements, Frank Lane and Bobby Bragan, had no particular stock invested in the young outfielder. 271 as of July 17th when he went into a slump that lasted until the end of the season, leaving him with unimpressive numbers overall. He then went on the disabled list in late June after fouling a pitch off his right instep. Things began to go sour when he broke two ribs trying to break up a double play on May 10th against the Kansas City Athletics he was hitting. However, those statistics are misleading: on Opening Day, April 16th, he went 3 for 5 off Billy Pierce of the Chicago White Sox then hit the first home run of his career two days later off Jack Crimian of the Detroit Tigers on his way to hitting safely in his first nine games. Maris impressed manager Kerby Farrell in spring training and broke into the major leagues with the Indians in 1957 where he hit. Going into spring training in 1957, he was written up as one of baseball's top rookie outfielders, combining speed, power, a high batting average and excellent defense. In four years in the Cleveland Indians farm system, he led teams in Keokuk, Reading, Fargo-Moorhead and Indianapolis to the playoffs from 1953 to 1956, the latter two to league championships. ![]() However, that was not typical of his minor league apprenticeship: he was a top-ranked prospect, labelled by almost everyone who saw him play as "can't miss". While Maris was playing for the Tulsa Oilers in 1955, manager Dutch Meyer kicked him off the team. ![]() This inborn shyness and thin skin made it impossible to later handle the publicity, pressure, and criticism hitting 61 home runs in a season stirred in media-crazy New York City. Always sensitive, he changed his name while in the minor leagues over fans' tendency to call him "Mare-Ass". He remains the player with the highest single-season total for home runs among those never suspected or accused of using steroids.īorn Roger Maras in then small-town Hibbing, MN, he grew up in Fargo, ND. Roger Maris will forever be famous for breaking baseball's then most prestigious record, besting Babe Ruth's iconic 60 home run 1927 campaign with a legendary 61 in 1961. As an individual, I doubt if I could possibly go through it again." - Roger Maris, about his 61-home-run season "As a ballplayer, I would be delighted to do it again.
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