Mutt’s Dream Making the Mick

His father’s dreams shaped who Mickey became. Mutt Mantle saw only a few options in life for himself, and some have said that the obsessive and unrelenting pressure he put on Mickey caused psychological damage to his son. Mutt knew only that he was giving Mickey the chance for a far better life than his, and Mutt was driven by this hope.

Burman provides descriptions of other elements that molded Mickey: the sexual abuse by a half-sister, the freak injury that almost cost him his leg, and the camaraderie of friends in a dirt-poor mining community during the Great Depression.

This is Mickey’s story before he was famous, and of the upbringing that forged the legend of “The Mick.”

Even casual baseball fans know about the career of Mickey Mantle– Mutt’s the mammoth home runs, the blazing speed, the nagging injuries. They know about his accomplishments on the baseball field, and about his later problems. But do they know how he became that way?

By exploring his early years, Mutt’s Dream: Making the Mick provides insight into how Mickey’s father and his upbringing in Depression-Era Oklahoma forged the myth that became The Mick. Written in a theatrical style and based on actual events, Mutt’s Dream tells the background story of Mickey’s life until the day he signed his first professional contract.

This is not just a baseball book– it is also an engaging account of a time pregnant with the excitement of adolescence and the promise of adulthood, and how a poor miner’s son ultimately became an American icon.

There are many books detailing Mantle’s professional career and life after baseball. Mutt’s Dream: Making The Mick is unique. By exploring his early years, readers will come to understand the roots of this enigmatic hero.