#20: Post-Retirement Life
After retirement, Mantle’s post-baseball years were turbulent but also redemptive. In the 1980s and early ’90s, he frequently appeared at old-timers’ games and memorabilia signings and even briefly worked as a part-time coach and ambassador for the Yankees.
He was always in high demand, and his signature became one of the most valuable in sports. But his drinking continued behind the scenes. Friends and fans worried about his health. He often joked about his lifestyle, but deep down, he knew he had wasted years.