Cru Jones Society

 

Every Wednesday between now and the end of baseball season the Cru Jones Society brings you a new baseball movie examined for both overall entertainment value and treatment of our favorite game. To suggest a film, email us at staff [at] crujonessociety.com. Otherwise, pour yourself an $8 beer, crack some shells, and let’s play ball.

Date Released: April 28, 2001
Box Office Total: N/A
Team Featured: New York Yankees

“I just can’t figure it out. Why do they only have room in their hearts for one guy?” -Roger Maris

In 1961 Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were poised to break Babe Ruth’s single season homerun record. This was 37 years before McGwire and Sosa were duking it out for that record. And it was 34 years after Babe Ruth set the record. 61* is the story of Mantle, Maris and the record breaking season many people didn’t want.

Plot Synopsis

Roger Maris’ widow is in a hospital room watching McGwire as he nears the single season homerun record. Upon hitting the homer to tie the record, we see Maris’ widow and her eyes have that looking off into the distance look and suddenly we are transported to center field at Yankee stadium in 1961. We are treated to batting practice before opening day, which consists of outstanding field work from Maris, and homerun after homerun from Mantle and Maris.

During this time we are introduced to a gaggle of characters. Mainly ball players and reporters, many of who are placing ideas of breaking Ruth’s record into the heads of Mantle and Maris. We quickly learn the personality traits of our two protagonists. Maris is the modest mid western sophomore who is more concerned with getting to the World Series than breaking Ruth’s record. Mantle is the aged veteran who knows how to handle the media and embodies exactly what Kid Rock is talking about when he says, “It’s not cocky if it’s true.”

Mantle and Maris are not off to a hot start. Neither is hitting that well. Then the manager decides to bat Maris in front of Mantle and that makes all the difference. Suddenly we’re off to the races. Mantle and Maris are hitting away, and they are having fun, Mantle maybe a little too much fun.

Maris is worried about Mantle’s reckless extra curricular activities and invites him to come and live at the place where he and Bob Cerv are staying. Mantle does and he starts playing better. The Yankees are playing well and they are the dominating team we have come to know and expect.

Meanwhile the reporters are hounding Maris and Mantle. Maris doesn’t know how to handle them and his words constantly get misinterpreted. This causes the fans to turn on him, even though he is nothing more than a mid west boy who loves playing baseball.

Now to complicate things, Ford Frick, the commissioner of baseball during this time, and close personal friend to Babe Ruth, decides that in order for the single season record to truly count, the homeruns have to be hit in 154 games, the number of games in the season during Ruth’s days and not in the new 162 game season. He then states that if the record is broken after those 154 games it would go into the books with an asterisk. Sounds familiar.

Now the race is back on. Mantle and Maris are both friendly to each other and are in a friendly competition to reach the goal. Maris still holds that it is more important to win the World Series than break the record. But due to Maris’ lack of charisma, most of America is puling for Mantle. Very few people will back Maris, the ones who do are the ones who matter: his wife, his friend and teammate Bob Cerv, Yankees manager Ralph Houk, and maybe most importantly, Mantle.

As the season progresses, Mantle’s age and inherited Hodgkin’s disease catch up to him. He can no longer play, ending his season with 52 homers, 8 shy of Ruth. All hope was then put on Maris. Those fans who once booed him and threw chairs at him were now hoping to see him rise above Ruth.

Maris stays on track. When game 154 comes around, Maris has 58 home runs. Game 154 is in Baltimore, with strong winds. While all of Yankee nation is backing Maris, no one else is. Not Mrs. Ruth, not Ford Frick, and apparently not the Orioles’ manager. Maris’ first hit is kept in by the winds. His next at bat he knocks out number 59. Third at bat falls short for a fly out. Unless the Yankees can rally, Maris won’t get another chance. Mantle then starts up the guys and they rally to get Maris one final chance. That’s when the Orioles’ manager calls time and puts in his knuckle ball throwing mad man who we’re told has the nastiest pitch in the league, so nasty that the catcher has to get a larger glove. The manager then tells the pitcher that he will be fined for throwing a fastball to Maris. Sportsmanship at its finest folks. First pitch, Maris fouls off. Second pitch Maris makes contact on a check swing and is beat out to first. And Maris’ fails to tie the record in 154 games.

Maris’ wife and Babe Ruth’s widow attend the next game in New York. Mrs. Ruth is portrayed as a bitch and assumes she knows exactly how Ruth would have felt had Maris broken the record: no sir, he wouldn’t have liked it. Then Maris hits homer number 60, or I should say 60*, and she gets a smug pissed off look on her face. Then Maris hits a slump. The final game of the season and Maris is one home run shy of hitting more homers in a season than Ruth, regardless of season length. I won’t spoil it, but remember the movie is called 61*.

Mantle tells Maris that no matter what anyone says, that record is his. We are then brought back to the present where Maris’ widow is watching McGwire who then hits number 62. As she watches, she gets tears in her eyes, but she still has a half smile on her face.

Treatment of Baseball/ Quality of Baseball Scenes:

This movie was directed by Billy Crystal who is probably the biggest baseball fan in Hollywood. From that I expected high quality in the baseball scenes. I got that, though it was limited. For a movie about chasing a baseball record, there weren’t a lot of baseball moments.

The moments we did get were mainly upper torso close ups of Mantle and Maris hitting homers. Some of which looked like they were poorly made with special effects, though this was only an HBO move, so maybe that should be expected. There were a few shots of fielding and a couple base runs and slides. All of which looked good. But again these were in minimum quantity.

What this movie did do well in regards to baseball was in the talk. Not nearly as well as Little Big League, but it held up pretty well. The best example of this was right after Maris and Mantle were switched in their batting order and the opposing team decided to pitch around Mantle. The announcer says, “They’re gonna walk Mantle. I tell ya that’s good baseball, but I don’t want to see it.” A lot of people get mad when a good player is intentionally walked, but only real baseball fans understand that it is a good strategy.

Then there is the whole locker room thing that is portrayed well, complete with minor details to the time period, like players smoking and drinking in there. One other touch I like was Maris, Mantle and Cerv living together during the season. You often hear stories about players, usually the rookies, moving in with a vet. And this movie shows that.

 But the best part was the inclusion of Yogi Berra. This was awesome because he was there only to spout off some of his infamous quotes. There are no shots of him playing, and really he’s only in two scenes, but both those scenes have some of those classic one liners and it’s another small touch that adds to the overall authentic baseball feel.

Annoying Romantic B-Story/ Stifling Spouse:

Nope. Maris is often talking to his wife on the telephone, but she is often encouraging and I think this is done to show that Maris is a man who loves his wife and children, unlike Mantle who is out with a different dame every night despite the fact he has a wife and kids, who he usually only calls at 2:30 am while drunk.

The main romantic story he is that between people and the game of baseball, or more accurately, the history of the game. So many people held such attachment to Ruth’s record. They didn’t want to see it fall.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this movie a great deal. I remember when it came out I wanted to see it, but for whatever reason I never did. So when we decided to do this feature, I was excited to get this one. And it did not let me down. I was captivated the entire time.

On the basic level this was a story I was familiar with. But beyond Mantle and Maris racing to break Ruth’s record, I didn’t know much else. It was fascinating to get the whole story. I don’t know how accurate it all is, but I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the game, and the history.

The movie also got me thinking about the way in which we set a double standard for athletes. As a society we cheer for a player to play right and do well. But if doing well means they are going to break some 30 year old record, that for reasons unknown, we hold so dear then we suddenly hope they fall short. I must admit I am guilty of that and this movie made me realize it. I am a huge Rickey Henderson fan and I was thinking I hope nobody breaks his steals records. But while watching this movie I asked myself “why?” They’re not my records, and I think it might actually be really awesome to see someone steal that many bases. Then being able to say I saw that, to witness such an incredible feat.

I can kind of see the argument about the season length, but everything evolves and changes, everything. We just have to accept that and realize records will be broken. That said I am against records being broken by breaking rules.

Why indeed, do we only have room in our hearts for only one guy?

Ruling from the Scorer: A home run, asterisk free.

lee.s.hart@crujonessociety.com