the better overall player was Mantle.. big time 5 tool; but the better hitter is Manny by a large amount. I recall an interview with Mantle.. his approach was simmple.. grip it and rip it.
Manny reminds me a lot of Williams in that he cares little for anything about the game other than the science of hitting. He may be happy go lucky or whatever way you wish to describe him but he takes hitting very seriously. Williams was the same way and in the same manner was not very well liked by the fans during his playing days.
I hated it when Manny was caught on his test.. I hated it for the histroy of the game because Manny will be one of the top rated hitters in history when he is done. Now it will be marked with an asterisk.
Its fashionable to hit hard on those who in the recent histroy of the game were caught using performance enhancers but does anyone who has read a good biography of the Babe think he really wouldnt have used them had they been available when he played? Is there an asterisk besides Gaylord Perry's name in the record book even though he cheated and continued to throw a spitter? Even the straightest arrow the game has ever known.. George Sisler used to put nails in his bat.. was there an asterisk beside his name for the single season hit record until Ichiro broke it recently?
I hate that it has sullied the history of the game but unless the rules were clearly in place and enforced concerning performance enhancing drugs we need to tip our hats to the great players of the past 2 decades and move on.