Mickey Mantle has developed progressive liver failure and may need a liver transplant, a close friend of the Hall of Famer said Tuesday.
Mantle, 63, was admitted May 28 to Baylor University Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Denise Kile Walton said he was in stable condition.
Mantle and his wife, Merlyn, live in Dallas, as do their sons Danny, David and Mickey Jr.
Roy True, a Dallas attorney and longtime friend of the former New York Yankees outfielder, said in a statement that doctors have characterized Mantle’s condition as progressive liver failure due to infection. True quoted Drs. Daniel DeMarco and Kent Hamilton, specialists in gastroenterology, as saying Mantle may require a liver transplant.
True told The Dallas Morning News for Wednesday’s editions that Mantle is in good spirits and the former slugger asked to know more about his condition.
“I told him it was probably good you can be a legitimate candidate for a transplant,” True said. Reached by the Morning News at his hospital room Tuesday, Mantle said only, “I’m not doing too good.”
Mantle comes from a family with a history of health problems and he has had a variety of troubles in recent years, including a highly publicized bout with alcoholism.
Mantle retired from baseball in 1968. He hit 536 career homers, eighth on the all-time list.
