Yankees Feel Like Part of Them Died Along With Mickey Mantle : Baseball: Yankee Stadium marks passing of New York legend.

The death of Mickey Mantle on Sunday touched baseball people everywhere, but emotions were probably deepest at New York’s Yankee Stadium.

A crowd of 45,866 honored the former Yankee center fielder with a moment of silence and a two-minute standing ovation. A montage of Mantle highlights was shown on the video screen, flags flew at half staff and Yankee pinstripes included a black arm band.

Some players wore a No. 7, Mantle’s retired number, on their caps as they defeated the Cleveland Indians, 4-1.

Bobby Murcer, a teammate of Mantle’s late in Mantle’s career and a fellow Oklahoman signed by the same scout, Tom Greenwade, was crying as he described Mantle as an idol.

“He was the greatest player I ever saw,” said Murcer, now a Yankee announcer. “I don’t think to this day that Mickey realized how much he touched the hearts of fans.

“We truly lost not only a major-league hero, but a person who portrayed the innocence and honesty that we’d all like to have.”

Longtime Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen also wept as he said: “Mickey was a country boy who came to the big city and became one of the greatest and most powerful switch-hitters who ever lived. He was the most exciting player since Ruth and DiMaggio, a big-leaguer in every way.”

Said Yankee owner George Steinbrenner: “He transcends any game and any team. Just as Jesse Owens was to track and field and Michael Jordan is to basketball, Mickey Mantle is to baseball. Great athletes like Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio transcend the game. They are heroes to every fan.”

Citing his struggle with alcohol abuse, Mantle recently said he should be neither hero nor role model, but former teammate Tony Kubek said he was both.

“People could identify with Mickey, could look on him as a role model, because he wasn’t phony or contrived,” Kubek said. “He was a genuine person who brought a lot of Oklahoma with him to New York, and never really changed. He never blamed anyone else for his failures or shortcomings. He always showed humility and never let the stardom go to his head.”

Said former teammate Gene Woodling: “What can you say about Mickey, after you say he was one of the greatest? He had talent he didn’t realize he had. If he’d had [Joe] DiMaggio’s serious, bear-down attitude, there’s no telling how great he could have been. He had one good leg and still outran everyone.”

Mantle had five operations on his right knee, the first after his rookie season. Home run king Henry Aaron referred to Mantle’s leg problems when he said: “Mickey meant an awful lot to me. He was a tremendous athlete. People didn’t understand him the way they should have. He played 10 years on one leg. But more than that, he was a tremendous person.”

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda agreed. Lasorda remembered attending a New York baseball banquet honoring Jose Canseco for the season he stole 40 bases and hit 40 home runs. “Mantle got up to speak,” Lasorda said, “and he said, ‘If I thought they would make a big fuss about 40-40, I could have done that every year.’ And, you know, he could have, very easily, even with that bad leg.”

Former Yankees Moose Skowron, Hank Bauer and John Blanchard visited Mantle at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas on Thursday.

“I’m glad I went,” Skowron said. “He was in good spirits, still battling, but hurting. I’d rather he go than continue to suffer because he suffered enough in his career. We were always a family and that’s why we were so successful. He helped so many of his teammates even with all of his own physical problems. People should remember the good things he did, even to the end, drawing attention to the need for organ donation. He’ll be missed.”

Yankees captain Don Mattingly agreed. On a day of tears and tributes in the Bronx, Mattingly said:

“Mickey was a great, great player in the organization and a mythical figure in baseball. He’s part of the legacy of the great Yankee players. There was Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

“We all lost a friend, but more than that, a chapter in baseball history died with Mickey.”