"In short, Mantle's strength was his weakness. He tore himself apart. This flawed medical knowledge would become an essential element of Mantle mythology. But it would not survive the test of time and medical scrutiny. Mantle wasn't brought down by the way he was built or his cavalier attitude toward off-season conditioning and rehabilitation. It was this simple: given the existing state of sports medicine, nothing could have presented the deterioration of his right knee (hurt in the 1951 World Series), short of another line of work."
Jane Leavey, The Last Boy, p. 107.
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