| 61* | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Billy Crystal |
| Produced by | Robert F. Colesberry |
| Written by | Hank Steinberg |
| Starring | Thomas Jane Barry Pepper |
| Music by | Marc Shaiman |
| Distributed by | HBO Films |
| Release date(s) | April 28, 2001 |
| Running time | 129 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
61* is a 2001 American sports drama film directed by Billy Crystal. It stars Barry Pepper as Roger Maris and Thomas Jane as Mickey Mantle on their quest to break Babe Ruth's 1927 single-season home run record of 60 during the 1961 season of the New York Yankees. The film first aired on HBO on April 28, 2001.
Contents |
In 1998, the family of the late Roger Maris are preparing to go to Busch Stadium to watch Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals break their father's record with 62 home runs. Before the game, Maris' widow, Pat, is hospitalized due to complications from arrhythmia and watches the game on television from a hospital bed.
Decades earlier in 1961, Maris is presented with the Most Valuable Player award for the 1960 baseball season. Mantle is the team's superstar. As the season begins, Mantle starts off hot, Maris not. Roger thinks he might be traded, but new manager Ralph Houk decides to have Mantle and Maris switch places in the Yankees batting order to see if it helps. It does and Maris begins to hit home runs at a record pace. Mickey keeps pace and it becomes clear that both "M & M Boys" are going to make a run at the Babe's record.
Mickey's life off the field is taking a toll on his playing. He drinks, enjoys the Manhattan nightlife and goes to the ballpark hung over. More than once, pitcher Whitey Ford has to bail him out or sober him up. Maris and teammate/roommate Bob Cerv invite Mantle to move in with them in a modest apartment in Queens to stay out of trouble, with one condition: no women.
New York's fans and media are pulling for the popular and personable Mickey, a long-time Yankee. The quieter Roger is viewed as an outsider, aloof and unworthy. As they get closer to the record, MLB Commissioner Ford Frick, who also happened to be Babe Ruth's admirer and ghostwriter, makes a decision. Unless the record is broken in 154 games (the same number Ruth played in 1927), the new record would be listed separately from Ruth's record, because MLB's season is now 162 games long. Contrary to popular belief (and the movie's title) there was never any "asterisk" involved or mentioned in real life.
It appears Mantle is not going to make it. His health deteriorates and he plays in pain. The relationship is taking a toll on Maris, too. Pressure is mounting and Maris feels antagonism from all sides. Roger is not accustomed to the kind of attention that Mickey gets every day. Mickey is more easy-going and knows how to handle the press. The fans heckle Maris, even throw objects at him on the field. The press dissect or distort everything he does and says. Maris is getting hate mail and even death threats. His wife lives far from New York, usually available only by phone. The stress is so great that Roger's hair begins to fall out in clumps. The Yankees owner also tries to favor Mantle by asking Houk to switch Mantle and Maris in the batting order. Houk refuses, saying the lineup he has is winning for him, even remarking sharply, "The right guy is going to break that stupid record!"
Chronic injury and alcohol abuse catch up with Mickey and an ill-advised shot by a doctor infects his hip and lands him in a hospital bed. Now the record is all Roger's to get. He comes up just shy in the 154th game of the season, but he does finally hit the record-breaking 61st home run on the last day of the season.
According to a voiceover (by long-time Yankee Stadium public address announcer Bob Sheppard), during the end credits, no asterisk was ever officially placed next to Roger's feat, due to separate records being created for the 154 and 162 game seasons. It is revealed that in 1991, six years after Roger's death, baseball's then-Commissioner Fay Vincent decided that a season is a season and separate records would no longer be kept, making Maris the only record holder.
Most of the baseball action scenes, including those set at Yankee Stadium, were actually filmed at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. A combination of strategic photographing and post-production effects were used to enhance the illusion of the "classic" layout of Yankee Stadium. Tiger Stadium was credited as "playing" Yankee Stadium in the closing credits. The shots depicting Fenway Park and Baltimore's Memorial Stadium were shot at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
In the beginning of the movie, Bob Cerv was seen with the Yankees on Opening Day. In reality, Bob Cerv was a member of the Los Angeles Angels until May and then was traded to the Yankees.