Did Maris Deserve More From Broadway Critics?
The tragedy of Roger Maris wasn’t that he didn’t get full credit for hitting 61 homers--climbing higher than Everest. The tragedy was that he had the talent but not the temperament to be the hero his feat required. If 30,000 people cheered him and 100 booed--and what seems to be forgotten is that most fans and sportswriters cheered his heroics--he heard only the boos.
Nutballs and malcontents booed Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle and Jackson, too. If you can’t handle the boos, you can’t play Broadway.
LARRY MERCHANT
Santa Monica
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