BOB CERV






Bob Cerv was a man who could-and would-replace the legendary Mickey Mantle, if only for a day. And Cerv was a baseball player who the Yankees just couldn't let go of. In an event that looks like a snapshot of Cerv's career, Yankee's skipper Casey Stengel sent Cerv in to replace Mantle after the Bronx legend made a key mental mistake. What Stengel did serves as an example of the way the Yankees treated Cerv-maintaining a bizarre on-again, off-again relationship with the outfielder over the next few years. Indeed, there were still moments of individual stardom for Cerv. Like in 1958, while with the A's, he blasted 38 homers and was even chosen over Ted Williams as the American League All-Star left fielder. His legacy stands, as few players in recent history have gone from bench to glory, while coming and going from the halls of a world champion, like Bob Cerv. In his career, Cerv tallied 105 homers - including 12 pinch-hit homers - and hit .267 while playing on four World Series teams with the Yankees