This is a special week for one of the grand men of the Grand Old Game.
Yogi Berra just turned 90.
As Yogi might say, “Getting old ain’t what it used to be.”
Old Yogi had a Hall of Fame career as a catcher and clutch hitter with the New York Yankees from 1946 to 1963. His last at bat in the bigs came with the New York Mets in 1965. Berra had a .285 lifetime average with 358 home runs. He played in 75 World Series games and hit another 12 homers and batted .274.
Berra managed for seven seasons in the majors with the Yankees and Mets. He won nearly 500 games and two league pennants, one for each of those teams.
These days, Yogi is best known as the funny man who twists the English language. Here are some of the best Yogi-isms from the Yogi Berra Museum, in Little Falls, NJ:
“It ain’t over till it’s over.”
“It gets late early out here.”
“It’s déjà vu all over again.”
“Never answer an anonymous letter.”
“When you come to a fork in the road … take it”
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
That last quote says it all. In many ways, the funny Yogi Berra was a creation of the New York sportswriters. But he always brought joy to baseball fans on and off the field and he truly loved the game.
Berra played with some of the best players of all-time. In his rookie season, 1946, Joe DiMaggio was playing the outfield for the Yankees. During the ‘50s and ‘60s, Berra had such teammates as Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.
I have three indelible, historical memories of Berra. One is a picture and video from the 1952 World Series between the Yanks and Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie Robinson steals home but Yogi looks like he made the tag on a close play. The umpire calls Robinson safe, and Berra goes ballistic, jumping up and down while screaming at the ump. To see it, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XY-XshGhMU
The next Berra memory comes in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series between the Yanks and Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s a tie game, bottom of the 9th and Bill Mazeroski leads off for the Pirates. He hits a home run to win the Series and the ball goes way over Yogi’s head in left-field. Poor Yogi could only watch the ball sail over the Forbes Field wall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix848GU0gNo
Then comes the 1956 World Series when Berra was behind the plate for Don Larsen’s perfect game. After the last pitch is called strike three, Yogi jumps up and down, throws his hands in the air and runs to the mound and nearly crushes Larsen by jumping on him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADvWhMnDgEE
Villager Stu Sachs grew up in the New York area and like all New Yorkers, has memories of Yogi.
“Yogi was one of the last of the old breed of ball players,” Sachs said. “As a Dodger fan I remember him hitting the ball that Sandy Amoros made an amazing catch on (in the 1955 World Series). The other visual images I have of Yogi are him jumping into Don Larsen’s arms after the no- hitter in the 1956 World Series and Yogi jumping up and down after Jackie Robinson stole home. He did manage the Mets and actually played 4 games with them. He took the Mets to the 1973 World Series against Oakland.
“As a batter, Yogi was one of the best bad ball hitters of all time. The strike zone meant nothing to him when he was hitting. When he was catching, he would talk on and on to the batters.”
Berra grew up in St. Louis and one of his childhood buddies was another major leaguer and star broadcaster named Joe Garagiola.
One time, Garagiola told the story of how Yogi moved into a retirement community.
“I said, ‘How’s it going, Yog?’ And he said, ‘It’s all right, but geez they’ve got a lot of old people here.'”
Sounds like Yogi Berra would be right at home in The Villages.
Happy birthday, Yogi – and long may you live. Baseball wouldn’t be the same without you.
Tony Violanti writes for Villages-News.com