All kinds of sports memorabilia will draw eyes on the auction block, and right now, a unique piece of paper penned by one of the greatest Yankees of all-time is looking to become a best-seller.
Lelands Auction House currently has up for bids a handwritten dedication letter authored by Mickey Mantle, which is written in a tone that appears to reveal it was meant to be the foreword or dedication for a memoir from “The Commerce Comet.”
The letter is a tragic tale, however, as Mantle cautions his readers early and often not to abuse drugs or alcohol, noting how the latter ruined his career. The Mick notes that, despite being a three-time AL MVP and seven-time World Series Champion, he could have been even better had booze not been as big a part of his life as it was.
“I want to dedicate this book to all my friends. Old, new & especially young friends. Please don’t do alcohol & drugs. I never did drugs but alcohol hurt my career terribly," Mantle wrote in the letter. “"If I had taken better care of myself I could have done a lot better. I drank too much when I was playing from 1952, after my dad died till 1969. After I retired in '69, I drank more and more (I’ll always be ashamed of)."
Mantle later cautions, “Don’t end up over the hill before you even start to climb it.”
The slugger also answers the age old question of who was better between himself, Willie Mays, and Duke Snider – the three New York Legends named together in Terry Chapman’s iconic 1981 song “Talkin’ Baseball” (which younger readers may know as the basis for “Talkin’ Softball,” the end song from the iconic “Homer At The Bat” episode of The Simpsons), and the trio after whom the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America named their annual award honoring “a group of players, or a specific team, forever linked in baseball history.”
“I think you have to look at final statistics and Willie was far ahead at the end,” Mantle wrote.
The auction, which ends at 11 p.m. ET on Friday, June 19, had a starting bid of $500, and the current high bid as of Thursday afternoon was up to $4,076.