THE MICK: `DON'T BE LIKE ME'

Mickey Mantle's recent death from cancer was faced by baseball fans with profound sadness. It wasn't only that one of the games greats had passed way. It was sadness stemming from the realization that another link to baseball's heyday was severed.

The Mick was a larger-than-life hero from a time when baseball was still played for fun by athletes who loved the game instead of the money. The New York Yankees Hall of Famer was no exception. He was little more than a kid when the Yankees expected him to fill the shoes of the incomparable Joe DiMaggio.

During the 1950s and into the 1960s, No. 7 hit 536 home runs while leading his team to seven World Series championships. He was a three-time MVP in the American League, won the Triple Crown in 1956 and won four AL home run titles. His 18 home runs in World Series play is a record that isn't likely to fall soon. Amazingly, Mantle accomplished many of his feats on gimpy knees and despite a debilitating bone disease.

Less impressive was that while Mantle achieved immortality on the field, his off-the-field habits were unremarkable. He was a drunk. His heavy drinking led eventually to the health problems that cut his life short.

And yet in his death, the hope is that Mantle left behind more than a baseball legacy. By increasing the awareness of organ donation, the lives that may be saved may be Mantle's greatest contribution.

In interviews just prior to his death, Mantle gave the impression that is what he wanted most. Repeatedly he chastened young players, "You want a role model, look at me. I took the talents God gave me and wasted them. Don't be like me."

Mantle's demeanor was refreshing in an era of snivelling whiners who covet status as society's victims and reprobates who vainly defend their destructive behavior. His off-the-field conduct disqualifies Mantle as anybody's role model. His exploits on the field and his stoicism facing death assures that The Mick always will be a hero.