WHY WE HAVE THE MODERN DAY MANTLE & MARIS

I was reading a chart in Yankees magazine over the weekend and it had numbers of both Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson in 2011 and it compared them to both Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle from back in their famous 1961 season. I'm not going to lie...when I saw the headline I thought "Oh boy, here we go, the Yankees magazine is going to try and force something so it looks like Cano and Granderson are the new Mantle and Maris." But you know what? The numbers were unbelievably similar.In 1961, Mickey Mantle & Roger Maris combined looked like this:

H: 322
HR: 115
RBI: 269
2B: 32
3B: 10
XBH: 157
AVG: .292

In 2011, Robinson Cano & Curtis Granderson combined looked like this:

H: 341
HR: 69
RBI: 237
2B: 72
3B: 17
XBH: 158
AVG: .283

Amazing. I mean, aside from the home runs (1961 wins) and doubles (2011 wins) all the other numbers are incredibly similar. Which makes you realize something pretty damn special. While guys like Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris are names that are a thing of the past, iconic Yankee legends... you really have to stop and think about just how special it is that we are seeing legends in the making right now. I mean, Curtis Granderson may have started a Detroit Tiger, but he IS a New York Yankee and leads by example. He fits the mold. Last season was huge for him hitting 41 home runs and he just carries himself in just a classy way to boot, you gotta love that. And look at Robinson Cano, a home grown talent that has more focus and dedication now than he's ever had. Cano just gets better and better batting over .300 5 out of 7 full years in the major leagues. Cano's power is slowly increasing as well, something you have to seriously look at. These guys could potentially be a future Mantle and Maris combination.

I don't know, I just thought those numbers really said something about the kind of guys we bring in and breed to wear the pinstripes... it kind of gives me chills, that's all.

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