The Joplin Miners was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Joplin, Missouri that played for 49 seasons between 1901 and 1954. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Herzog played for Joplin. Professional baseball returned to Joplin and Joe Becker Stadium when the Joplin Blasters began play in 2015.
1902 Joplin Miners baseball team
Mickey Mantle, 1951
Mickey Charles Mantle, nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York Yankees, primarily as a center fielder. Mantle is regarded by many as being one of the best players and sluggers of all time. He was an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player three times and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
Mantle in 1957
Mantle's boyhood home in Commerce, Oklahoma
Mantle as a 19-year-old rookie in 1951
Bowman's Mantle trading card, 1954