| | 61*Synopsis: The year was 1961. Baseball legend Babe Ruth's incredible 60 homer record was under attack. New York Yankee teammates, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, were the challengers. Though friends, Maris and Mantle could not have been more different. Mantle was outspoken, a media darling. Maris was quiet, intensely focused. At the season's opening, veteran Mantle was off to a hot start. Maris however, started poorly and feared he might be traded during his first season with the Yankees. Shockingly, Maris was slotted in the third batting spot - ahead of Mantle. Maris cracked homer after homer, while Mantle's fast paced lifestyle dampened his performance -- until Maris encouraged his friend to move in with him and focus on baseball. Mantle accepted and the media soon tagged them "The M & M Boys." Tension mounted as they approached Babe Ruth's record. Because 1961 was an expansion year, any record broken outside the regular season would be *asterisked* and considered in a separate category. The race heated, Maris got closer, but Mantle remained the public favorite. The tension weighed on both of them, and their friendship strained. Mantle was cheered on by millions, while Maris' quiet, anti-hero image won the support of none. Who would win? Could either succeed? Would friendship cave to rivalry? 61* is a story about two friends and teammates who battled themselves, each other and a nation to earn the right to call himself the best baseball player in history. Casts: Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Richard Masur, Bruce McGill, Chris Bauer, Christopher McDonald, Donald Moffat, Jennifer Crystal Foley, Renee Taylor, Bob Gunton, Anthony Michael Hall Duration : 122 minutes
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