Watch the original center field phenom Mickey Mantle blast his 500th home run

Think of all the crazy posts you've seen on the Internet about Mike Trout and Bryce Harper -- blog posts with titles like "Watch Mike Trout leap into the timestream to bring back a home run from the grave," and "Bryce Harper flexed his biceps so hard that there were reverberations felt in Poughkeepsie." To be fair, many of those posts can be found on this here website. 

One thing you may also notice is how often these two sluggers are compared to the great Mickey Mantle, with the two young phenoms constantly being held to the standard of the Yankees Hall of Famer. Which makes me wonder: Can you just imagine what the baseball Internet would be like if Mantle were playing today? 

We'd be writing headlines like: "Mickey Mantle's talent is so great, Casey Stengle forgets how to speak," after quotes like: 

And don't even get me started on the GIF lists we would post like "10 longest Mickey Mantle home runs," "10 plays no one but Mickey Mantle could make in the outfield," and "10 times Mickey Mantle made me question whether we were both a member of the same species." 

Well, this is one of those pieces. Because 48 years ago today, Mickey Mantle did what we can only hope Trout, Harper, Kris Bryant and all the other phenoms can do: He crushed his 500th home run.

At the age of 35 and nearing the end of a career ravaged by injuries, Mantle came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, the Yankees leading the Orioles, 5-4. With two outs and none on, Mantle ripped Stu Miller's offering down the right-field line to give the Yankees a necessary insurance run in their 6-5 victory. 

Of course, that wasn't the only notable game Miller in pitched in that year. Entering in relief of Steve Barber on April 30, Miller was part of the first combined no-hitter in nearly 60 years. The Orioles pulled off another doozy as they lost that one to the Tigers, 2-1, thanks to Barber's 10 walks. 

As for Mantle, he would finish the season with 22 dingers before hitting 18 more in his final season in '68. Even then he was plenty productive, posting a 143 OPS+. Not counting Shoeless Joe Jackson, whose retirement was not by choice, that's the second-highest OPS+ to end a career, just two points behind Will Clark's 145 mark.