Yanks Regain First Place in A.L.

Nov. 16 at the Boston Garden. He said he weighed 230 pounds, but both he and his assistant trainer, Drew (Bundini) Brown, insisted he was not fat.

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6:30

[have pic Berra congratulates slugger Mickey Mantle on passing the 2,000-hit mark of his career]

Yanks Regain First Place in A.L.

Sept. 17, 1964 - Prematurely declared “dead” four weeks ago by some over-eager detractors and fainthearted supporters, the Yankees today regained their accustomed position atop the American League standings just 17 days before the end of the 1964 season.

By beating the Los Angeles Angels, 6-2, in a twilight game at Yankee Stadium, the Yanks made their record 86-59, for a percentage of .593. The Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox, both idle today, are tied for second at .591 with identical records of 88-61.

No single player has been responsible for the comeback, and this evening’s triumph was also the result of several contributors: winning pitcher Mel Stottlemyre, Roland Sheldon, Mickey Mantle, Tom Tresh, Joe Pepitone, and Roger Maris.

Stottlemyre allowed only a bunt single in the first six inning as he gained his seventh victory in nine starts since being brought up from Richmond last month. Meanwhile, the hitters provided a 4-0 lead.

When Stottlemyre was suddenly raked for four singles and two runs in the seventh, Sheldon took over. Altogether, Roland retired seven men in a row before giving up a hit with two out in the ninth.

Mantle, meanwhile, had provided an extra margin of safety with his 31st home run, good for two runs, in the seventh. Until the fourth, Mickey had made only two hits in his last 28 times at bat. Then he lined a ground-rule double to left.

In the sixth, Mantle lined a single to center for the 2,000th hit of his career, a level reached by only four other Yankees: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Yogi Berra.

Umpire Frank Umont halted the game and reclaimed the ball for Mantle’s collection. When the public address announcer announced the achievement, the 10,957 fans stood and cheered. Mantle later expressed surprise “that so few people could make that much noise.”

And when he hustled home after a fielder’s choice and a single, after Angel first baseman Joe Adcock had told Mantle, “I’d shake hands with you, but it would look kind of funny,” the crowd paid another tribute to Mantle.

“It made me feel good — like about the day I pinch hit here after breaking the foot in Baltimore last year,” Mantle said. That day he hit a home run. “This gave me about the same feeling, goose pimples and all.”

Hit No. 2,001 came on Mantle’s next time up — his 450th home run. In some ways, it means more than his total hits. While other active players have 2,000 hits, none have that many homers.

“I think the pressure’s more on the other clubs than us now,” said Mickey, when asked about the pennant race. “We’ve got both of them two in the loss column. I know everybody feels better than they have. We’ve got four starting pitcher who can do the job. Pedro [Ramos] has been doing a great job in relief. And finally, the others have to come and get us.”

Of the 13 pennants the Yanks won in the last 15 seasons, only in 1949 did they wait later than Sept. 16 to step into first place to stay. Tonight, Sept. 17, the Yanks found first place for the first time since Aug. 6.

“I thought we were through once,” Mickey said. “When we got down four in the loss column, I was feeling like that. We weren’t hitting. Whitey was having problems.” But since Aug. 22, the Yanks have been 17-7 while the Orioles have been 12-14 and the White Sox 13-12.

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