Join The Sporting News for a fascinating journey through one of baseball's most magical seasons--the Summer of '61.

Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris are forever intertwined in baseball history thanks to the unforgettable 1961 season, when the two Yankee icons spurred each other to new heights in pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record. History has largely overlooked the bond between the two men not as titans of their sport, but as people. Guided by Tony Castro, bestselling author and foremost chronicler of Mantle, readers will journey into history, from the Yankees' blockbuster trade for Maris, whose acquisition re-ignited Mantle's career after a horrendous 1959 season, to the heroics of 1961 and far beyond. This dual biography is a thoroughly researched, emotionally gripping portrait that brings Yankees lore alive.

In 1961 Roger Maris made Baseball history by hitting 61 home runs...and beating the great Babe Ruth's record. Yet he's still on the outside of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Has his time finally come? Did Maris earn his "title to fame?"

Much has been written about Roger Maris and the historic summer of 1961 when he broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record yet little is known about the pitchers on the other side of the tale. One of the many knocks against Maris was that he faced inferior pitching in an American League watered down by expansion from eight to 10 teams. But was that really the case? Did Maris face has-beens and never-weres while Ruth confronted the cream of AL pitching? Who were these starters and relievers and how good were they? Drawing on first-hand accounts, interviews and a range of contemporary sources, this study covers each of Maris' 63 home runs that season, including the lost one and his game-winning World Series dinger. Biographies of each of his 48 victims cover the pitcher's career, pitching style and the circumstances of the game. Maris faced some really fine pitching that summer despite what many contended then--and now.

Louis isn’t very good at playing baseball, but he knows and loves the game more than anybody. He loves the purity of the sport, the sound of the crack of a bat, and the smell of freshly cut grass in the stadium. And more than anything, he loves the New York Yankees. So when he becomes a bat boy for the team during the summer of 1961, it is a dream come true. Lucky gives readers baseline box seats to one of the most memorable seasons in sports history, and as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris compete in their legendary home-run race, Louis learns that the heroes he looks up to can teach him life lessons that will change him forever.

With a combination of speed, strength, power, and agility, Roger Maris knew how to best help his team win games, whether it was running extra bases, bunting to advance a teammate, or throwing a man out at home plate from right field. In 1961, Maris found himself in a home-run race with fellow Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle to take over Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60. On the last day of the regular season, Maris cracked home run number 61, adding him to the record books. Considered by some sport critics to be a one-year wonder, Maris reached the World Series seven times in his 12-season career and was voted the Most Valuable Player in the American League for two consecutive years. In Roger Maris, read how this Sultan of Swat used his instincts to become a talented baseball player, as well as a doting father and a loving husband.