Yogi Gone!
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Yankees legend Yogi Berra dies at 90
By Don Burke
September 23, 2015 | 2:26am
Yogi Berra, a three-time MVP who was the backbone of a record 10 world-champion Yankees teams in the 1940, 50s and 60s and who became one of the most beloved figures in franchise history despite a lengthy estrangement from the team, died Tuesday night, according to the Yogi Berra Museum. He was 90.
Berra, whose wife of 65 years, Carmen, died in March 2014, had been in failing health for some time. His death was announced by the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, N.J., to which Berra had devoted himself in the final years of his life.
Berra died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in New Jersey, according to Dave Kaplan, the director of the Yogi Berra Museum.
“While we mourn the loss of our father, grandfather and great-grandfather, we know he is at peace with Mom,” Berra’s family said in a statement released by the museum. “We celebrate his remarkable life, and are thankful he meant so much to so many. He will truly be missed.”
Berra, a catcher who was named the A.L.’s most valuable player in 1951, 54 and 55, led the Yankees to five consecutive world championships (1949-53) and also led a team that included Mickey Mantle and, for three of those seasons, Joe DiMaggio, in RBIs for seven consecutive seasons (1949-55). Berra was an 18-time All-Star, a member of a record 14 A.L. pennant winners and a 1972 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That was the same year his uniform No. 8 was retired by the Yankees.
Berra, who dropped out of school after the 8th grade to help support his family, is nearly as well known for his unique use of the English language as he is for his baseball career. His wit and wisdom — “It’s never over til it’s over.” “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”— have not only found their way into the American lexicon, but also into Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.
While Berra protested he “never said some of the things I said,” it was precisely those things that made him a part of the fabric of baseball for more than seven decades and a national treasure.
“People who don’t know anything about baseball, know about Yogi Berra,” former Yankees pitcher David Cone told The Post in 2012.
Following his playing career, Berra managed both the Yankees (1964) and Mets (1973) to the World Series, and is one of just six men to have managed teams to pennants in both leagues.
But that designation mattered little to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner when he fired Berra following a 6-10 start to the 1985 season after promising Berra — who guided the Yankees to an 87-75 record in 1984 — he’d be his manager all season. What Berra later said bothered him most was not the dismissal, but that Steinbrenner didn’t have the decency to do it himself. He instead sent general manager Clyde King.
Berra vowed he’d never set foot in Yankee Stadium again as long as Steinbrenner owned the team and for 14 years, until a truce was brokered by WFAN’s Suzyn Waldman in January 1999, he kept his word.
“He called and apologized,” Berra said after Steinbrenner reached out to him by phone and the two set up a meeting at Berra’s museum. “He said the right things. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
When Steinbrenner pulled up for their summit, Berra looked at his watch and told the Yankees owner “You’re 10 minutes late.”
In reality, Steinbrenner was 14 years late. But Berra’s prolonged absence only made the hearts of Yankees fans grow fonder and, with DiMaggio having died just two months after Berra made his peace with Steinbrenner, Yogi quickly became the most popular figure at Old-Timers’ Day and whenever he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before countless playoff and World Series games.
“Not too many guys can be recognized by one name,” former Yankees manager Joe Torre told The Post in 2012.
“When he left here for that long period of time, it hurt his feelings because of his loyalty to the organization. And then when he was welcomed back, he ran back.”
Berra even became a bit of a good luck charm. On that summer day in 1999 when the Yankees held “Yogi Berra Day” to formally welcome him home, Cone pitched a perfect game.
By Don Burke
September 23, 2015 | 2:26am
Yogi Berra, a three-time MVP who was the backbone of a record 10 world-champion Yankees teams in the 1940, 50s and 60s and who became one of the most beloved figures in franchise history despite a lengthy estrangement from the team, died Tuesday night, according to the Yogi Berra Museum. He was 90.
Berra, whose wife of 65 years, Carmen, died in March 2014, had been in failing health for some time. His death was announced by the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, N.J., to which Berra had devoted himself in the final years of his life.
Berra died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in New Jersey, according to Dave Kaplan, the director of the Yogi Berra Museum.
“While we mourn the loss of our father, grandfather and great-grandfather, we know he is at peace with Mom,” Berra’s family said in a statement released by the museum. “We celebrate his remarkable life, and are thankful he meant so much to so many. He will truly be missed.”
Berra, a catcher who was named the A.L.’s most valuable player in 1951, 54 and 55, led the Yankees to five consecutive world championships (1949-53) and also led a team that included Mickey Mantle and, for three of those seasons, Joe DiMaggio, in RBIs for seven consecutive seasons (1949-55). Berra was an 18-time All-Star, a member of a record 14 A.L. pennant winners and a 1972 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That was the same year his uniform No. 8 was retired by the Yankees.
Berra, who dropped out of school after the 8th grade to help support his family, is nearly as well known for his unique use of the English language as he is for his baseball career. His wit and wisdom — “It’s never over til it’s over.” “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”— have not only found their way into the American lexicon, but also into Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.
While Berra protested he “never said some of the things I said,” it was precisely those things that made him a part of the fabric of baseball for more than seven decades and a national treasure.
“People who don’t know anything about baseball, know about Yogi Berra,” former Yankees pitcher David Cone told The Post in 2012.
Following his playing career, Berra managed both the Yankees (1964) and Mets (1973) to the World Series, and is one of just six men to have managed teams to pennants in both leagues.
But that designation mattered little to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner when he fired Berra following a 6-10 start to the 1985 season after promising Berra — who guided the Yankees to an 87-75 record in 1984 — he’d be his manager all season. What Berra later said bothered him most was not the dismissal, but that Steinbrenner didn’t have the decency to do it himself. He instead sent general manager Clyde King.
Berra vowed he’d never set foot in Yankee Stadium again as long as Steinbrenner owned the team and for 14 years, until a truce was brokered by WFAN’s Suzyn Waldman in January 1999, he kept his word.
“He called and apologized,” Berra said after Steinbrenner reached out to him by phone and the two set up a meeting at Berra’s museum. “He said the right things. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
When Steinbrenner pulled up for their summit, Berra looked at his watch and told the Yankees owner “You’re 10 minutes late.”
In reality, Steinbrenner was 14 years late. But Berra’s prolonged absence only made the hearts of Yankees fans grow fonder and, with DiMaggio having died just two months after Berra made his peace with Steinbrenner, Yogi quickly became the most popular figure at Old-Timers’ Day and whenever he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before countless playoff and World Series games.
“Not too many guys can be recognized by one name,” former Yankees manager Joe Torre told The Post in 2012.
“When he left here for that long period of time, it hurt his feelings because of his loyalty to the organization. And then when he was welcomed back, he ran back.”
Berra even became a bit of a good luck charm. On that summer day in 1999 when the Yankees held “Yogi Berra Day” to formally welcome him home, Cone pitched a perfect game.
Born Lawrence Peter Berra to immigrant parents in St. Louis in 1925, he was nicknamed Yogi by a boyhood friend who thought, by the way he often sat with his legs folded under him and his arms hanging by his side, Berra resembled a yogi — an Indian holy man — the friend had seen in a recent movie.
Berra signed with the Yankees in 1942. A year earlier he had tried out with his hometown Cardinals but refused to sign for $250 because it was half of what the team’s general manager, Branch Rickey, offered Berra’s boyhood friend, Joe Garagiola. As it turned out, Rickey knew he was about to leave the Cardinals and wanted to hide Berra so he could sign him when he became general manager in Brooklyn in 1942. The Yankees, however, signed Berra first.
One of 35 baseball Hall of Famers to serve in World War II, Berra, then playing in the Yankees minor league system, joined the Navy. Just before dawn on D-Day, the 19-year-old Berra and his crewmates were sent out ahead of the main landing force to draw fire and help U.S. forces locate and eliminate enemy machine-gun nests in the Battle of Normandy.
“It was like Fourth of July to see all them planes and ships on Normandy, my gosh. You couldn’t see anything,” Berra said in 2010. “I stood up on the deck of our boat, looked up and my officer tells me ‘You better get your head down here before it gets blown off.’ I said ‘I like it up here.’ He said ‘You better get down here [or] you won’t have it. You won’t look at anything.’ Being a kid, ‘What the heck,’ I said. ‘Nothing can kill me.’ I found out later on.”
After his discharge, Berra returned to the minors where he was credited with driving in 23 runs in a doubleheader. He made his major league debut in 1946 at the age of 21, homering in his first game.
Known as a bad-ball hitter and for striking out infrequently — he struck out just 12 times in 597 at bats in 1950 — Berra may have had his best season in 1956 when he batted .273 with 30 homers and 98 RBIs as the Yankees won the pennant by nine games and beat the Dodgers in the World Series. He finished second in the MVP balloting that season to Mantle, who won the Triple Crown.
From 1950-56, Berra never finished lower than fourth in the MVP voting. He was behind the plate for a pair of no-hitters by Allie Reynolds during the 1951 season and for Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of that 1956 World Series.
The snapshot of Berra leaping into Larsen’s arms after the final out is one of the most iconic in baseball history.
“He did all my thinking for me,” said Larsen, who didn’t shake off Berra all afternoon.
When his playing career ended in 1963, Berra joined the Yankees coaching staff and managed the team to the pennant the following season. He was fired after a seven-game loss to the Cardinals in the 1964 World Series because, in the eyes of the front office, he was too close to the players who had been his teammates only a year earlier and had lost control of the team.
Berra’s fate may have been sealed by a late August incident on the team bus involving Berra and Phil Linz, a harmonica-playing utility infielder.
After being swept in a four-game series by the White Sox in Chicago, Berra got on the bus and heard Linz, who was seated in the back, playing “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” Upset with a recent string of bad play, Berra told Linz to stop playing, suggesting where Linz could shove his instrument.
But Linz couldn’t hear him and asked Mantle what Berra had yelled. Mantle said Berra wanted Linz to play louder.
So Linz played on and a furious Berra charged to the back of the bus to confront him. Reporters traveled with the team in those days and the next day an account of the incident was in every major newspaper in the country.
The Yankees had lost 12 of their previous 18 games at the time of the incident, but they went on a tear immediately after. They finished the season winning 30 of their final 41 to win the pennant. Still, Berra was dismissed that fall after losing the World Series to the Cardinals.
He hooked on with the Mets as a player-coach the following season, but after getting just four at-bats he became a full-time coach. Berra also managed the Mets for three-plus seasons, taking over after the sudden death of manager Gil Hodges in April 1972.
Despite an 82-79 regular season record, Berra’s Mets won the 1973 N.L. pennant. They lost the World Series to the A’s in seven games. Berra returned to the Yankees organization as a coach in 1976.
The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center on the campus of Montclair State University, which opened in 1999, is more than just a valentine to Berra. The center reflects the lifelong commitment the pudgy kid from the predominantly Italian working-class section of St. Louis known as The Hill who never attended high school had to the education of young people.
The museum was burglarized in October 2014, thieves making off with Berra’s three MVP awards and his World Series rings. None of the items have been recovered.
Funeral services are pending.
“You should always go to other people’s funerals,” Berra once said. “Otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
He is survived by three sons — Larry, Tim, a former NFL player with the Baltimore Colts, and Dale, who had an 11-year major league career, including two seasons with the Yankees, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/yankees-legend-yogi-berra-dead-at-90/
Berra signed with the Yankees in 1942. A year earlier he had tried out with his hometown Cardinals but refused to sign for $250 because it was half of what the team’s general manager, Branch Rickey, offered Berra’s boyhood friend, Joe Garagiola. As it turned out, Rickey knew he was about to leave the Cardinals and wanted to hide Berra so he could sign him when he became general manager in Brooklyn in 1942. The Yankees, however, signed Berra first.
One of 35 baseball Hall of Famers to serve in World War II, Berra, then playing in the Yankees minor league system, joined the Navy. Just before dawn on D-Day, the 19-year-old Berra and his crewmates were sent out ahead of the main landing force to draw fire and help U.S. forces locate and eliminate enemy machine-gun nests in the Battle of Normandy.
“It was like Fourth of July to see all them planes and ships on Normandy, my gosh. You couldn’t see anything,” Berra said in 2010. “I stood up on the deck of our boat, looked up and my officer tells me ‘You better get your head down here before it gets blown off.’ I said ‘I like it up here.’ He said ‘You better get down here [or] you won’t have it. You won’t look at anything.’ Being a kid, ‘What the heck,’ I said. ‘Nothing can kill me.’ I found out later on.”
After his discharge, Berra returned to the minors where he was credited with driving in 23 runs in a doubleheader. He made his major league debut in 1946 at the age of 21, homering in his first game.
Known as a bad-ball hitter and for striking out infrequently — he struck out just 12 times in 597 at bats in 1950 — Berra may have had his best season in 1956 when he batted .273 with 30 homers and 98 RBIs as the Yankees won the pennant by nine games and beat the Dodgers in the World Series. He finished second in the MVP balloting that season to Mantle, who won the Triple Crown.
From 1950-56, Berra never finished lower than fourth in the MVP voting. He was behind the plate for a pair of no-hitters by Allie Reynolds during the 1951 season and for Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of that 1956 World Series.
The snapshot of Berra leaping into Larsen’s arms after the final out is one of the most iconic in baseball history.
“He did all my thinking for me,” said Larsen, who didn’t shake off Berra all afternoon.
When his playing career ended in 1963, Berra joined the Yankees coaching staff and managed the team to the pennant the following season. He was fired after a seven-game loss to the Cardinals in the 1964 World Series because, in the eyes of the front office, he was too close to the players who had been his teammates only a year earlier and had lost control of the team.
Berra’s fate may have been sealed by a late August incident on the team bus involving Berra and Phil Linz, a harmonica-playing utility infielder.
After being swept in a four-game series by the White Sox in Chicago, Berra got on the bus and heard Linz, who was seated in the back, playing “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” Upset with a recent string of bad play, Berra told Linz to stop playing, suggesting where Linz could shove his instrument.
But Linz couldn’t hear him and asked Mantle what Berra had yelled. Mantle said Berra wanted Linz to play louder.
So Linz played on and a furious Berra charged to the back of the bus to confront him. Reporters traveled with the team in those days and the next day an account of the incident was in every major newspaper in the country.
The Yankees had lost 12 of their previous 18 games at the time of the incident, but they went on a tear immediately after. They finished the season winning 30 of their final 41 to win the pennant. Still, Berra was dismissed that fall after losing the World Series to the Cardinals.
He hooked on with the Mets as a player-coach the following season, but after getting just four at-bats he became a full-time coach. Berra also managed the Mets for three-plus seasons, taking over after the sudden death of manager Gil Hodges in April 1972.
Despite an 82-79 regular season record, Berra’s Mets won the 1973 N.L. pennant. They lost the World Series to the A’s in seven games. Berra returned to the Yankees organization as a coach in 1976.
The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center on the campus of Montclair State University, which opened in 1999, is more than just a valentine to Berra. The center reflects the lifelong commitment the pudgy kid from the predominantly Italian working-class section of St. Louis known as The Hill who never attended high school had to the education of young people.
The museum was burglarized in October 2014, thieves making off with Berra’s three MVP awards and his World Series rings. None of the items have been recovered.
Funeral services are pending.
“You should always go to other people’s funerals,” Berra once said. “Otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
He is survived by three sons — Larry, Tim, a former NFL player with the Baltimore Colts, and Dale, who had an 11-year major league career, including two seasons with the Yankees, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/yankees-legend-yogi-berra-dead-at-90/
SportsCenter Verified account @SportsCenter Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame catcher who helped Yankees reach 14 World Series during his time in NY, dies at age 90.
Clayton Collier @Clayton_Collier 7h7 hours agoRIP Yogi Berra, the true embodiment of a legend. I'll never forget him laughing at me for wearing a #Mets cap at a signing of his.
Clayton Collier @Clayton_Collier 7h7 hours agoI'm reminded of a fantastic piece I read in May in the @WSJ from @Yogi_Museum's Dave Kaplan on Yogi's "best yogi-ism" http://www.wsj.com/articles/yogi-berras-best-yogi-ism-was-a-profound-act-of-kindness-1431387000…
Great man too. Met him about 5 times and he was always cordial and friendly and funny and soft spoken. He fought on Omaha Beach too so he was one of the few left from the greatest generation. Born the same year as my Dad. This is a big loss for many. RIP Yogi.
SHU great Shaheen Holloway was honored that day so the Booster Club brought 2 1/2 tables to support him. Yogi sat behind us and to the left.
Jerry Carino @NJHoopsHaven 2h2 hours ago
In 2012 Yogi Berra came to the NJ Sports Writers banquet unannounced, as a regular guest. A model of humility. RIP to a great American.
Jerry Carino @NJHoopsHaven 2h2 hours agoIn 2012 Yogi Berra came to the NJ Sports Writers banquet unannounced, as a regular guest. A model of humility. RIP to a great American.
Yogi-isms
1. “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
2. “It’s deja vu all over again.”
3. “I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4.”
4. “Never answer an anonymous letter.”
5. “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
6. “You can observe a lot by watching.”
7. “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
8. “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
9. “It gets late early out here.”
10. “If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”
11. “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
12. “Pair up in threes.”
13. “Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel.”
14. “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
15. “All pitchers are liars or crybabies.”
16. “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
17. “Bill Dickey is learning me his experience.”
18. “He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.”
19. “I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.”
20. “I can see how he (Sandy Koufax) won 25 games. What I don’t understand is how he lost five.”
21. “I don’t know (if they were men or women fans running naked across the field). They had bags over their heads.”
22. “I’m a lucky guy and I’m happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.”
23. “I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.”
24. “In baseball, you don’t know nothing.”
25. “I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?”
26. “I never said most of the things I said.”
27. “It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.”
28. “I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house.”
29. “I wish everybody had the drive he (Joe DiMaggio) had. He never did anything wrong on the field. I’d never seen him dive for a ball, everything was a chest-high catch, and he never walked off the field.”
30. “So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.”
31. “Take it with a grin of salt.”
32. (On the 1973 Mets) “We were overwhelming underdogs.”
33. “The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.”
34. “You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
35. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
1. “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
2. “It’s deja vu all over again.”
3. “I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4.”
4. “Never answer an anonymous letter.”
5. “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
6. “You can observe a lot by watching.”
7. “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
8. “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
9. “It gets late early out here.”
10. “If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”
11. “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
12. “Pair up in threes.”
13. “Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel.”
14. “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
15. “All pitchers are liars or crybabies.”
16. “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
17. “Bill Dickey is learning me his experience.”
18. “He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.”
19. “I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.”
20. “I can see how he (Sandy Koufax) won 25 games. What I don’t understand is how he lost five.”
21. “I don’t know (if they were men or women fans running naked across the field). They had bags over their heads.”
22. “I’m a lucky guy and I’m happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.”
23. “I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.”
24. “In baseball, you don’t know nothing.”
25. “I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?”
26. “I never said most of the things I said.”
27. “It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.”
28. “I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house.”
29. “I wish everybody had the drive he (Joe DiMaggio) had. He never did anything wrong on the field. I’d never seen him dive for a ball, everything was a chest-high catch, and he never walked off the field.”
30. “So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.”
31. “Take it with a grin of salt.”
32. (On the 1973 Mets) “We were overwhelming underdogs.”
33. “The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.”
34. “You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
35. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
As a Yankee fan, a very sad day. Met him at a golf outing at Montclair Country Club years ago where he was a member. I was astonished at how short especially given that he caught. A very pleasant man and one of those guys that no one ever had a bad word for...very rare. RIP Yog!
This is from a great story by Lupica in today's Daily News. Brought a smile.
My own favorite was always the one about Yogi running into Mayor John Lindsay and his wife Mary on the street one day, on a hot New York City summer day. Yogi happened to be wearing a seersucker suit. Mary Lindsay looked at him and said, “Yogi, you look so cool in that suit.”
And Yogi said, “Mrs. Lindsay, you don’t look so hot yourself.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/lupica-yogi-berra-baseball-hero-article-1.2371022
My own favorite was always the one about Yogi running into Mayor John Lindsay and his wife Mary on the street one day, on a hot New York City summer day. Yogi happened to be wearing a seersucker suit. Mary Lindsay looked at him and said, “Yogi, you look so cool in that suit.”
And Yogi said, “Mrs. Lindsay, you don’t look so hot yourself.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/lupica-yogi-berra-baseball-hero-article-1.2371022
In 1950 he had 597 at bats and only struck out 12 times. Incredible. Oh and by the way, he hit .322 that year with 28 homers and 124 RBI.
A true Yankee Legend and Great. He played side-by-side with the likes of DiMaggio and Mantle, and managed to lead the Yankees in RBIs for 7 consecutive years. 3 Time MVP and 15 time All Star. His home run to strike out ratio is astounding. I had no idea how great he was until I read up on him recently. If anything, he is seriously underrated. RIP Yogi.
Great stories and some new Yogism's coming out from many who knew Yogi well. Never heard anyone ever say a bad thing about Yogi which may be the greatest testament to the person he was.
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anon_4htvdezyfe7k9
Guest
Before my time but I've read a lot and heard a lot about that Yankees era. I think he was the last living link to it. He used to come in to eat at Sinclaire's in South Orange occasionally while I worked there but I did my best to give him his space. Kind of wish I'd at least shook his hand. RIP
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A friend of mine was very involved with charity work in Northern NJ, and knew Yogi. He once said, "Yogi is one of the good guys." I asked him what he meant, and he replied that if you ask Yogi to attend any charity event, he just shows up.
In my naivete, I asked, "Don't all celebrities do that?" He responded that most demanded something, like a fee and/or special, often complex, accommodations, to get them to attend.
A thought I've always had after meeting Yogi once and being puzzled how this midget of an athlete could hit the ball deep, was that although he was famously left-brained challenged, maybe he was a right-brained genius. After all, Casey Stengel once answered a question about what he attributed to his winning so many games, by replying, "I never play a game without my man," referring to Yogi. And Yogi called every pitch in the Don Larsen perfect game. He said his secret to power and bat speed was to relax his hands until the last instant before contact (try that with your long golf swing-- I bet it'll work), and revealed other similar bits of insight that indicated he was a smart player. To say nothing of the special quick right-brained judgement that is involved in being both a bad ball hitter and rarely striking out.
In my naivete, I asked, "Don't all celebrities do that?" He responded that most demanded something, like a fee and/or special, often complex, accommodations, to get them to attend.
A thought I've always had after meeting Yogi once and being puzzled how this midget of an athlete could hit the ball deep, was that although he was famously left-brained challenged, maybe he was a right-brained genius. After all, Casey Stengel once answered a question about what he attributed to his winning so many games, by replying, "I never play a game without my man," referring to Yogi. And Yogi called every pitch in the Don Larsen perfect game. He said his secret to power and bat speed was to relax his hands until the last instant before contact (try that with your long golf swing-- I bet it'll work), and revealed other similar bits of insight that indicated he was a smart player. To say nothing of the special quick right-brained judgement that is involved in being both a bad ball hitter and rarely striking out.
A simple man.
A never-published January 2013 Q&A with Yogi, whose son Dale assisted by emailing back his beloved father’s answers.
Q: How did winning your last championship compare to winning your first championship?
A: They’re all great, but I wanted that World Series championship as a manager.
Q: What was it like meeting Babe Ruth and what did you two talk about?
A: A great honor, he told me to keep it up, I was doing well.
Q: Favorite Joe DiMaggio memory.
A: One time I didn’t run a ball out full speed, Joe got ahold of me, and let’s just say, it never happened again.
Yogi Berra and Mickey MantlePhoto: AP
Q: Favorite Mickey Mantle memory.
A: Seeing him for the first time, best-looking ballplayer I ever saw, and eventually my great pal.
Q: Favorite Whitey Ford memory.
A: The way he got people out, he never gave a guy a pitch to hit in an important moment.
Q: What was it like in the summer of 1961 watching Mickey and Roger Maris chase Babe Ruth’s home run record? Did you notice the pressure getting to Maris?
A: I just know they both helped us win, that’s all I worried about.
Q: Favorite Billy Martin memory.
A: Billy played hard, and beat you any way he could.
Berra and Casey StengelPhoto: AP
Q: Favorite Casey Stengel memory
A: He thought I was good enough to play every day, he trusted me.
Q: Why has Derek Jeter become one of your favorites?
Q: The best compliment I give Jeets is he could play on our teams.
Q: What was it like playing against Jackie Robinson?
A: Good player, I saw him in Montreal when I was in Newark.
Q: What was it like playing in Ebbets Field? What was the ballpark like?
A: A good park to hit in, I saw the ball good there.
Q: What kind of things would you say to opposing hitters behind the plate?
A: Where you going to dinner? What did you do last night? How’s the family?
Q: What do you remember thinking in left field when Bill Mazeroski hit the ball?
A: We won a lot before that, so for me it wasn’t that bad, somebody has to win. Yes, I knew it was gone.
Q: Your emotions when George Steinbrenner fired you, and how did you find out?
A: George wants to win and we became great friends, let’s leave it at that!
Yogi Berra accepts a light from Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto after Berra handed out cigars to celebrate the birth of his son in the Yankees clubhouse in New York on Sept. 25, 1951.Photo: AP
Q: Favorite Phil Rizzuto memory.
A: Hell of a player. He won the MVP ahead of me in ’50, and it was the best year of my career.
Q: Favorite Bob Sheppard memory. How would you describe his voice?
A: He had the Voice of God.
Q: What was it like joining the Mets as player-coach?
A: OK. Glad to stay in New York and be with Casey [Stengel] again.
Q: What was it like managing the 1973 Mets to the World Series? Who were your favorite players on that team? What do you remember about the young Reggie Jackson?
A: We won so it was good, didn’t see Reggie enough, he was in the other league, but we knew to be careful with him.
Q: What were your emotions the day you were inducted into the Hall of Fame?
A: Very proud, I wish my mom and dad could have been there.
Q: How did “It ain’t over till it’s over” start?
A: 1973, we needed to get hot, and I said, “You’re never out of it until you’re out of it,” then the next day I said it ain’t over . . .
Berra tags out Phillies shortstop Granny Hamner in a 1950 game.Photo: AP
Q: How did “It’s getting late early” start?
A: Playing left field in Yankee Stadium in the fall, that sun was a killer going down.
Q: When you came to a fork in the road, was there ever a time you didn’t take it?
A: Not that I can remember.
Q: Which was the best Yankee team you played on, and why?
A: They were all good, but the ’61 team was probably the best. A great combination of the pitching, defense and hitting.
Q: Which was your favorite Yankee team after you retired?
A: The ones that won.
Q: How would Mariano have done in the bottom of the ninth against Mazeroski?
A: He’d have a hell of a chance of getting him out, [Ralph] Terry was no slouch, though.
Q: How nervous were you when [Willie] McCovey was batting against [Ralph] Terry in the bottom of the ninth?
A: Not that nervous.
Q: Did you ever meet Muhammad Ali? JFK? Did you know Joe Namath? Who were your favorite athletes outside of baseball?
A: I was a fan of both Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis. Met all those guys, of course.
Q: Whom did you fear most up at the plate and why: Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Duke Snider, Stan Musial or Ted Williams?
A: Ted, them other guys I didn’t have to play against.
Q: What was it like hitting against [Sandy] Koufax? Who were the toughest pitchers for you to hit against?
A: I said about Sandy, I can see why he won 25, what I can’t figure out is how he lost five.
Q: What were your favorite New York restaurants? What was Toots Shor’s like?
A: Toots was a great hangout in those days, he took care of us.
Q: What did you think of Howard Cosell?
A: He didn’t bother me.
Q: What made Joe Torre the right manager for the Yankees?
A: Joe was a hell of a manager, but great managers have one thing in common, great players.
Q: What did you think of “The Bronx Is Burning”?
A: Billy did a good job.
Q: What was so great about being a New York Yankee?
A: Winning, tradition.
Q: What would you want Yankee fans to say about you?
A: That I gave my all.
Q: Any Lou Gehrig memories?
A: No.
Q: Any Bill Dickey memories?
A: Bill took me under his wing and taught me how to catch, he used to give me hell about not concentrating when we had a big lead, or hitting when nobody was on base.
Q: Was Jackie stealing home the angriest you’ve ever been on a baseball field?
A: Yes … and he was out.
Q: Who were your favorite players growing up in St. Louis? Did you have a boyhood idol?
A: Joe Medwick.
Q: Why has Carmen been the perfect wife?
A: Because who else with the brains she has would put up with me? She knows politics, art, theater and fashion. Carm is extremely cultured.
Q: What can you observe by watching?
A: Everything.
Q: What can you do when it gets late early?
A: Hang in there!
Q: How would you sum up what it’s been like being Yogi Berra?
A: Pretty good.
http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/berra-on-mantle-dimaggio-yogi-isms-in-never-published-qa/
A never-published January 2013 Q&A with Yogi, whose son Dale assisted by emailing back his beloved father’s answers.
Q: How did winning your last championship compare to winning your first championship?
A: They’re all great, but I wanted that World Series championship as a manager.
Q: What was it like meeting Babe Ruth and what did you two talk about?
A: A great honor, he told me to keep it up, I was doing well.
Q: Favorite Joe DiMaggio memory.
A: One time I didn’t run a ball out full speed, Joe got ahold of me, and let’s just say, it never happened again.
Yogi Berra and Mickey MantlePhoto: AP
Q: Favorite Mickey Mantle memory.
A: Seeing him for the first time, best-looking ballplayer I ever saw, and eventually my great pal.
Q: Favorite Whitey Ford memory.
A: The way he got people out, he never gave a guy a pitch to hit in an important moment.
Q: What was it like in the summer of 1961 watching Mickey and Roger Maris chase Babe Ruth’s home run record? Did you notice the pressure getting to Maris?
A: I just know they both helped us win, that’s all I worried about.
Q: Favorite Billy Martin memory.
A: Billy played hard, and beat you any way he could.
Berra and Casey StengelPhoto: AP
Q: Favorite Casey Stengel memory
A: He thought I was good enough to play every day, he trusted me.
Q: Why has Derek Jeter become one of your favorites?
Q: The best compliment I give Jeets is he could play on our teams.
Q: What was it like playing against Jackie Robinson?
A: Good player, I saw him in Montreal when I was in Newark.
Q: What was it like playing in Ebbets Field? What was the ballpark like?
A: A good park to hit in, I saw the ball good there.
Q: What kind of things would you say to opposing hitters behind the plate?
A: Where you going to dinner? What did you do last night? How’s the family?
Q: What do you remember thinking in left field when Bill Mazeroski hit the ball?
A: We won a lot before that, so for me it wasn’t that bad, somebody has to win. Yes, I knew it was gone.
Q: Your emotions when George Steinbrenner fired you, and how did you find out?
A: George wants to win and we became great friends, let’s leave it at that!
Yogi Berra accepts a light from Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto after Berra handed out cigars to celebrate the birth of his son in the Yankees clubhouse in New York on Sept. 25, 1951.Photo: AP
Q: Favorite Phil Rizzuto memory.
A: Hell of a player. He won the MVP ahead of me in ’50, and it was the best year of my career.
Q: Favorite Bob Sheppard memory. How would you describe his voice?
A: He had the Voice of God.
Q: What was it like joining the Mets as player-coach?
A: OK. Glad to stay in New York and be with Casey [Stengel] again.
Q: What was it like managing the 1973 Mets to the World Series? Who were your favorite players on that team? What do you remember about the young Reggie Jackson?
A: We won so it was good, didn’t see Reggie enough, he was in the other league, but we knew to be careful with him.
Q: What were your emotions the day you were inducted into the Hall of Fame?
A: Very proud, I wish my mom and dad could have been there.
Q: How did “It ain’t over till it’s over” start?
A: 1973, we needed to get hot, and I said, “You’re never out of it until you’re out of it,” then the next day I said it ain’t over . . .
Berra tags out Phillies shortstop Granny Hamner in a 1950 game.Photo: AP
Q: How did “It’s getting late early” start?
A: Playing left field in Yankee Stadium in the fall, that sun was a killer going down.
Q: When you came to a fork in the road, was there ever a time you didn’t take it?
A: Not that I can remember.
Q: Which was the best Yankee team you played on, and why?
A: They were all good, but the ’61 team was probably the best. A great combination of the pitching, defense and hitting.
Q: Which was your favorite Yankee team after you retired?
A: The ones that won.
Q: How would Mariano have done in the bottom of the ninth against Mazeroski?
A: He’d have a hell of a chance of getting him out, [Ralph] Terry was no slouch, though.
Q: How nervous were you when [Willie] McCovey was batting against [Ralph] Terry in the bottom of the ninth?
A: Not that nervous.
Q: Did you ever meet Muhammad Ali? JFK? Did you know Joe Namath? Who were your favorite athletes outside of baseball?
A: I was a fan of both Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis. Met all those guys, of course.
Q: Whom did you fear most up at the plate and why: Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Duke Snider, Stan Musial or Ted Williams?
A: Ted, them other guys I didn’t have to play against.
Q: What was it like hitting against [Sandy] Koufax? Who were the toughest pitchers for you to hit against?
A: I said about Sandy, I can see why he won 25, what I can’t figure out is how he lost five.
Q: What were your favorite New York restaurants? What was Toots Shor’s like?
A: Toots was a great hangout in those days, he took care of us.
Q: What did you think of Howard Cosell?
A: He didn’t bother me.
Q: What made Joe Torre the right manager for the Yankees?
A: Joe was a hell of a manager, but great managers have one thing in common, great players.
Q: What did you think of “The Bronx Is Burning”?
A: Billy did a good job.
Q: What was so great about being a New York Yankee?
A: Winning, tradition.
Q: What would you want Yankee fans to say about you?
A: That I gave my all.
Q: Any Lou Gehrig memories?
A: No.
Q: Any Bill Dickey memories?
A: Bill took me under his wing and taught me how to catch, he used to give me hell about not concentrating when we had a big lead, or hitting when nobody was on base.
Q: Was Jackie stealing home the angriest you’ve ever been on a baseball field?
A: Yes … and he was out.
Q: Who were your favorite players growing up in St. Louis? Did you have a boyhood idol?
A: Joe Medwick.
Q: Why has Carmen been the perfect wife?
A: Because who else with the brains she has would put up with me? She knows politics, art, theater and fashion. Carm is extremely cultured.
Q: What can you observe by watching?
A: Everything.
Q: What can you do when it gets late early?
A: Hang in there!
Q: How would you sum up what it’s been like being Yogi Berra?
A: Pretty good.
http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/berra-on-mantle-dimaggio-yogi-isms-in-never-published-qa/
I never saw either play, but growing up a Yankee fan in North Jersey I can't think of Yogi without thinking of the Scooter, and I can't think of Scooter without thinking of Yogi, and I can't think of either one without thinking of the beautiful women they were so committed to and married for so many years, Carmen and Cora.
Today I picture Yogi and Carmen, reunited with Phil and Cora in that great Italian restaurant in the sky, happy to be together again. Table for four please.
Today I picture Yogi and Carmen, reunited with Phil and Cora in that great Italian restaurant in the sky, happy to be together again. Table for four please.
One of the best reasons to watch the all star games and world series back in the day. It was the only time I could see Yogi and the few like him. The stats tell it all. A remarkable player. There won't be another ever like him. Only John Bench copares.
Brought back some memories from my youth growing up in the Bronx. Always loved Yogi.
PS - thanks for adding the Yogi commercial. That should also be added to his greatest Yogiisms:
"And they give you cash, which is as good as money".
The duck's reaction: priceless.
I was a Brooklyn Dodger fan growing up but I grew to love Yogi over the years The most beloved person to ever play the game.
I bumped into him on the streets of San Juan about 10 years ago-- he was with Carmen. A one minute chat- which I'll always remember.
One last thing, Robinson must have been out out because Yogi was the ultimate truth teller.
Rest in peace, Lawrence Peter Berra- you made the world a happier and better place.
I bumped into him on the streets of San Juan about 10 years ago-- he was with Carmen. A one minute chat- which I'll always remember.
One last thing, Robinson must have been out out because Yogi was the ultimate truth teller.
Rest in peace, Lawrence Peter Berra- you made the world a happier and better place.
My friend Stevee Hamilton a former Yankee pitcher told me a great story about Yogi. Both he and Yogi were devout Catholics and once on the road they attended a Mass near the airport. There were three collections in order to maximize the size of the offerings with so many visitors. After the third collection Yogi turned to Steve and with a straight face said" What are they going to do next search us?"
LOL turriddu.
An amazing Yogi stat - in 49 he had TEN TRIPLES, and he had fifty in his career. I guess the huge outfield by the monuments in Yankee Stadium partly explains this, but I was shocked when I saw this.
Mickey had double digit triples twice (I think 12 and 13) and 72 for his career as a point of comparison, Yogi vs the fastest legs in the game.
An amazing Yogi stat - in 49 he had TEN TRIPLES, and he had fifty in his career. I guess the huge outfield by the monuments in Yankee Stadium partly explains this, but I was shocked when I saw this.
Mickey had double digit triples twice (I think 12 and 13) and 72 for his career as a point of comparison, Yogi vs the fastest legs in the game.
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