May 18, 1962 - The Minnesota Twins won their first meeting of the season with the Yankees tonight in the Bronx. The score was 4-3, but that was only part of the misfortune that befell the Yankees before a crowd of 20,112. When the dust had settled, the Bombers were in third place instead of tied for first in the American League, and Mickey Mantle was Lenox Hill Hospital with a torn thigh muscle that may keep him out of action for a month. Mantle’s right leg buckled under him as he was running out a grounder that ended the game, and he fell heavily on his left knee. After being assisted from the field by teammates and before leaving for the hospital, Mantle said: “I saw that the shortstop was having trouble with the ball, so I put on an extra burst of speed. That’s when the leg buckled.” Roger Maris, the other half of the Yankees’ slugging tandem, injured his leg leaping unsuccessfully for a home-run blast in Fenway Park several days ago. He is expected to return to full-time duty tomorrow as the four-game series with the Twins resumes.
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