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DIMAGGIO or MANTLE?

I thought I'd just throw this out there for fun. Everyone knows of the Fab Four of Yankee Lore: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle. But of the latter two, whose autograph would you cherish more, The Yankee Clipper or the Mick?

Even though I'm a Royals fan, I love the Yankees history, and I think all four of those guys were fantastic. But talking DiMaggio or Mantle, for me personally, if I could only have one of their autographs, I would want Mantle's slightly more for some reason. Maybe it's because I got to meet Mickey when I was 10 years old. I'm not sure. I guess maybe I should value Joe D. more since I'm Italian, but that hasn't swayed me. I'd like both of their autographs, but choosing just one I'd probably go with Mantle.

Who gets your vote? Or maybe you can't decide.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 21, 2014 at 5:27pm

I think someone hit the nail on the head with the baby boomer comment. Mantle was the star Yankee at just the right time to perfectly intersect with the birth of mass media, WS wins in the 50s, the baby boomers and the nostalgia of the time, which gives him an edge in popularity.

Plus Mantle was a friendly guest at shows and made people feel special while DiMaggio was a cold fish. (Although, there are plenty of stories how Mantle was real nasty to fans during his playing days.)

Both signatures are about as rare as dirt, so I'm not sure it makes much of a difference in that regard. Mantle may have signed a little more, but there are still a ton of DiMaggios in circulation.

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Permalink Reply by Null on October 28, 2014 at 7:50am

Price wise they are about the same... Can get an 8x10 for $90-$150. Ball for $300-$350 with patience. The reason I would choose Mantle is because he wasn't an a****** like Joe D. I've read just about every book on both The Mick and Joe D, and well, Joe D's read more like a nightmare.

The guy expected everything to be free because he was "Joe D". He would routinely not sign for kids or anyone because he felt they were "making money off his name", and that he should get that money. When Ted Williams raised his autograph prices at shows, Joe D would raise his a little higher than his just to be the most expensive.

The guy was an ass. He once had hurricane damage at his house, (and expected someone to fix it for free because he was "Joe D"). A friend of his put him in touch with a construction company who was willing to fix the damage for free (just to work on the great "Joe Ds" house), they just had 1 request: Each worker wanted a signed ball. After fixing 30k in damages, they asked Joe's friend to get their signed balls. He refused, and kept putting them off. FINALLY, he agreed but only if he had every worker's name to personalize, and 1 ball each, because "those bastards aren't making $1 off my name". I mean WOW.

Quite the opposite, Babe Ruth would sign buckets of balls for poor kids and tell them to go sell them and make money for their family. I'm sure The Mick had his a****** moments, but I have not heard any nightmare stories about meeting him, and he just seemed like an all around fun guy to be around who wasn't absolutely MISERABLE when signing. I recall a late interview where a reporter asked Mantle if he had regrets, and of course he did. And one thing he mentioned is that he remembers going through airports and kids asking for autographs where he just blew them off, and he wished he would've taken the time to sign for them as it would've been something they cherished their whole life.

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Permalink Reply by James on October 28, 2014 at 11:40am

Very nice post. Great information. I had heard some bad things about DiMaggio, but not even anything I could specifically remember. That is really amazing regarding Joe D.'s attitude towards the workers on his house. Talk about ungrateful! And obviously he had more money than any of those workers could ever dream of having. And yes, I think the Mick was an overall good guy. And it seems that the Babe's kindness and generosity were only surpassed by his playing ability.