1961 Yankees

Last night I finished reading a book about my dream team, the 1961 Yankees. As a wide-eyed, awestruck kid of nine years old, I watched with eager anticipation as two of my heroes chased the record of baseball's ultimate hero.

Every day I had to know whether or not Mantle or Maris had hit a home run in their effort to break Babe Ruth's home run record for a season. I didn't know about Maris' hair falling out due to stress. I didn't know about Mantle's struggle with alcohol. I didn't know about the "asterisk" that would be put by Maris' record due to the season being longer.

All I knew was, two giants were chasing another giant, and I was out of breath with excitement. My main hero, Mantle, did not break the record. I've always regretted that, but I'm glad Maris did.