Dick Radatz & Mickey Mantle

[Crash Course]

With the sad passing of Dick Radatz last Wednesday, there have been a lot of stories about his match-ups with Mickey Mantle and how often Radatz whiffed Mickey.

In the last 24 hours, I have seen or found the following different claims:

54 K's in 67 attempts.
47 in 63.
44 in 66.
44 in 67.
44 in 63.
And, 12 in 16.

Doesn't anyone check to see that what they are reporting is true or not?
BTW, does anyone know what the real numbers are?

[nyy26wc]

On SABR-L, someone reviewed all of Retrosheet's files and determined it 12 SO in 16 AB/19 PA.

[Crash Course]

Thanks Lee!
Maybe it was this guy?
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:sfUbPItlpesJ:www.retrosheet.org/Research/SmithD/Demythologizing%2520Dubious%2520Memories.pdf+radat z+mantle+career&hl=en

[nyy26wc]

No. It was David Vincent, the HR guy.

[KCBOOMER]

Radatz appeared in 328 games as an ALer in 5+ years. If he faced teams randomly he would have faced the Yankees 35-40 times. He averaged 2 innings an appearance. That means he would rarely face the same hitter twice in a game. For Mantle to have racked up 60+ AB's against him seems a real stretch. Particularly when you realize Mantle missed about 250 games during Radatz's tenure in the AL.

[Crash Course]

The fish always gets bigger with every telling of the story.