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JOHNNY MIZE ♦ : Mize, Running Out of Records To Break, Can Retire After 53 t Big Slugger Can Bow Out With List of Achievements Few Major Leaguers Realize By NORMAN MILLER United Press Sports Writer NEW YORK, N. Y., June 17.— With his 2,000th hit in the record books and a chance to share in a fifth straight world championship, big Johnny Mize of the Yankees now can retire to his Florida fishing lakes at the close of this season. The huge, tomato-faced slugger wont concede yet that this is his last year In baseball, but his 40-year-old bones creak louder with every pinch hit. "And what goals will there be for him to conquer after this season — especially if the Yankees win another World Series? He can step down with a list of achievements few major leaguers ever realize. Besides the 2,00 Ohits and the prospect of five straight World Series, Mize sports 356 home runs which puts him sixth on the all-time list, a lifetime mark around .315, more than 1,300 RBIs, and a host of lesser records. Like Any Other Goal • "It all depends on whether the club wants me," he says in discussing his future. "Thats the way I felt last year after the World Series. "Naturally, I wanted to shoot for the 2,00 hits, but I only wanted to play another year if the Yankees, or any other club, felt I could help them. "The 2,000 hits were like any other goal," he explained, "you never start thinking about anything like that until you get close to it. Never had any idea about it until I read somewhere that I had only about five to go. Then, of course, I really wanted to make it." Mize, with 15 hits in 45 times at bat for a .333 average so far this season, can make this one of his most glorious, despite his limited appearances. He has knocked in 14 runs — nearly one for every hit hes made — and there is something about his calm presence at the plate in a pinch which thrills Yankee audiences. After 15 years in baseball, Big Jawn is! well fixed financially. He has a home in Deland, Fla., and next to baseball theres nothing he likes better than fishing. After this year, probably the only lure that could bring him back to baseball is a Major league coaching job or an attractive offer to manage a triple A Minor league team. His only immediate problem is what to do with the baseball he rapped for his 2,000th hit. Mize has promised it to the baseball Hall of Fame at Coopertown, N. Y., but someone else might want it. "Its my partner in a liquor store down south,he explained. "He might want it for the store and raise all heck if I give it away." ,
