Speaking of Buxton, I remember seeing Mantle play at Met stadium. He was playing first base, and infield practice was not pretty for him, as he limped around. He wore a knee brace that made his knee look doubled in size. Yet, he pulled himself out to the field or home plate. You also have to understand he originally damaged his knees early on in his career (ran over a sprinkler head in the outfield). I guess it's not fair to compare buxton to Mantle, physically, but I just have that imaged burned in my memory.