>> Micky Mantle and his gang were drinkers.
>
> Mantle tells a story of being called on to hit on a
> day he hadn't expected to play. He'd stayed out all night
> drinking the night before. He hit a home run ...
That's the thing about this story: alcohol is a performance DECREASING
drug.
I'll take Mantle over Bonds any old day.
/jordan
^^^^
CB: My personal experience with alcohol agrees with you, but then in the story Mantle hits a home run, which is top performance. He Billy Martin, Whitey Ford , et al. supposedly caroused a lot, but they performed well enough to win lots of pennants and world series. On the other hand, Mantle was injured a lot, and maybe he was more prone to it from drinking so much. He died of a liver ailment, waiting for a transplant, I think.
I think there may be different responses to alcohol from different bodies. A limited amount of alcohol might give some players some relaxation or release that enhances performance. I know Nick J. , who is sort of a Babe Ruth of our local softball teams ,drinks like a fish. There are lots of stories about him sitting in the bar with two drinks in his hand and then going out the next day, or later in the day and hitting so well to be the tournament MVP.
As for Mantle over Bonds, that just seems like nostalgia for the era of one's youth. I'll say I have the same "hero" memory of Mantle, switch hitting , power hitter who could run fast too. Of course, The Mick was favored by the media and Bonds is not. Mantle and Mays were on New York teams and so national media focused on them. Meanwhile, Hank Aaron, from the boondocks, won the home run race over both of them.
You go , Barry !