Yogi Berra

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (born May 12, 1925) is a former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who played almost his entire career for the New York Yankees and was elected (with Sandy Koufax) to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. He is one of only four players to be named the Most Valuable Player of the American League three times, and one of only six managers to lead both American and National League teams to the World Series. He has lived in Montclair, New Jersey since his playing days.

Background

Born in a primarily Italian neighborhood of St. Louis called "The Hill", Berra was the son of immigrants who originally nicknamed him Lawdie, derived from his mother Paulina's difficulty pronouncing Lawrence or Larry correctly. He picked up his more famous nickname from a friend who said he resembled a Hindu holy man (yogi) they had seen in a movie, whenever sitting around with arms and legs crossed waiting to bat or sad after a losing game. (Years later, the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yogi Bear was named after Berra.) He began playing baseball in local American Legion leagues, where he learned the basics of play as a catcher.

The St. Louis Cardinals spurned Berra in favour of his boyhood best friend, Joe Garagiola, in 1942. On the surface, the Cardinals seemed to think Garagiola the superior prospect---but team president Branch Rickey actually had an ulterior motive: knowing he was soon to leave St. Louis to take over the operation of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and more impressed with Berra than he let on, Rickey apparently planned to hold Berra off until he could sign him for the Dodgers. But the plan was ruined when the Yankees got to him first, signing him for the same $500 bonus the Cardinals offered Garagiola.

Berra was considered by most observers to be the greatest all-around catcher in baseball history, although Johnny Bench has since supplanted him in the minds of many. In two recent (2004) approaches by sabermetricians, Berra is ranked first among catchers by the Bill James Win Shares method and third by the Total Baseball Total Player Rating method.

Yogi has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Berra, who quit school while attending the 8th grade, is also quite famous for his tendency toward malapropism and fracturing the English language in highly provocative, interesting ways, even though---by his own malapropping admission---"I never said half the things I really said"; see Yogiisms.

Yogi was named Wisest Fool of the Past 50 Years by the Economist magazine in January 2005.

Playing career

Following a spell in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he played minor league baseball with the Newark Bears before being called up for 7 games in the major leagues in 1946. The following season he played 86 games for the Yankees, and he would play more than 100 in each of the following 14 years.

During his 19-year career as a Yankee, Berra's teams dominated baseball, appearing in 14 World Series and winning ten championships, both of which are records. Berra's playing career coincided with the Yankees' most consistent period, which enabled him to establish the major league records for World Series games (75), at-bats (259), hits (71), doubles (10), singles (49), games caught (63), and catcher putouts (457).

Berra has become a beloved, cuddly figure in American sport, which in some ways has obscured his quality as a competitive athlete. Berra himself was a 15-time All-Star, and won the league's MVP award three times, in 1951, 1954 and 1955. He received MVP votes in 15 consecutive seasons, tied with Barry Bonds and second only to Hank Aaron's 19 straight seasons with MVP support. (Ted Williams also received MVP votes in every year of his career, but it was twice interrupted by military service.) Between 1949 and 1955, on a team filled with stars such as Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, it was Berra who led the Yankees in RBI for seven consecutive seasons.

Berra was a notorious bad ball hitter, covering all areas of the strike zone (as well as beyond) with great extension. He was simultaneously able to golf low pitches for deep home runs, and chop at high pitches for line drives. However, he also had great bat control; five times, Berra had more home runs in a season than strikeouts. In 1950, Berra struck out 12 times in 597 at-bats. This combination made him a feared "clutch hitter"; rival manager Paul Richards once called Berra "the toughest man in the league in the last three innings."

As a fielder, Berra was truly outstanding. Quick, mobile, and a great handler of pitchers, Berra led the AL eight times in games caught and chances accepted, 6 times in double plays (a major league record), 8 times in putouts, 3 times in assists, and once in fielding percentage. Berra left the game with the AL records for catcher putouts (8,723) and chances accepted (9,520)). He was also one of only four catchers to field 1.000 for a season, in 1958. Later in his career, he became a good defensive left fielder.

Berra also caught Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, the only no-hitter ever thrown in postseason play. The visual of Berra leaping into Larsen's arms following the 27th out has become one of the sport's iconic images.

In 1946, he wore uniform number 38 on the Yankees, switching to 35 the next year. In 1948, he changed to number 8, which became well-known as his number for the rest of his career on the Yankees and Mets. The number 8 was retired in 1972 by the Yankees, jointly honoring Berra and Bill Dickey, his predecessor as the Yankees' star catcher. On August 22, 1988, he and Dickey were honored with plaques to be hung in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. Berra's plaque calls him "A legendary Yankee" and cites his most frequent quote, "It ain't over till it's over."

In 1972, while he was manager of the Mets, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1999, he placed number 40 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and a fan balloting elected him to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Coaching and Managing career

1963 – New York Yankees player-coach
1964 – New York Yankees manager (won American League pennant)
1965–1972 – New York Mets coach
1972–1975 – New York Mets manager (won National League pennant in 1973)
1976–1983 – New York Yankees coach
1984–1985 – New York Yankees manager
1986–1992 – Houston Astros coach

Career statistics

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	SH	SF	HBP	AVG	OBP	SLG
2,120	7,555	2,150	321	49	358	1,175	1,430	704	49	414	9	44	52	.285	.348	.482

Non-Baseball Activities

In 1998, The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center ^* opened in Montclair, NJ. The Museum is currently the home of countless baseball relics including the mitt with which Yogi caught the only perfect game in World Series history, several autographed and game used items, three World Series Championship trophies, and all of Yogi's rings. Interestingly, the Museum was the location of Yogi and George Steinbrenner's reconciling differences between Yogi and the Yankees organization. Yogi is very involved with the project and frequents the museum for signings, discussions, and other events. It is his vision to teach children important values such as sportsmanship and dedication both on and off the field of play. How involved with the museum is Yogi? When asked "So, what is it you do here?" Yogi, without missing a beat, replied very convincingly, "It's my museum."

In February 2005 Berra filed a lawsuit against Turner Broadcasting System. He alleges that they used his name in a racy advertisement for Sex and the City. The advertisement asks what the definition of a "yogasm" is: a) a type of yo-yo trick, (b) sex with Yogi Berra and c) what Samantha has with a guy from yoga class. The answer given was c). This case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.

Berra has previously appeared on advertisements for AFLAC, Entenmann's, and Stovetop stuffing, demonstrating his famous "yogiisms."

Quotes

Yogi Berra is famous around the non-baseball world for his pithy comments and witticisms. Many of these are in the mould of the gravedigger in Shakespeare's Hamlet, the comments of a worldly-wise philosopher who does not have the education and vocabulary to express his thoughts accurately. These quotes are often called Yogiisms; there is an article devoted to them, but these are a taster:

Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded!
It ain't over 'til it's over
I don't know if it's good for baseball, but it sure beats the hell out of rooming with Phil Rizzuto – on hearing team-mate Joe DiMaggio was to marry Marilyn Monroe

Books

Four books by Yogi Berra (with co-authors):

ISBN 0070969477; (April 1989) Yogi: It Ain't Over
ISBN 0761110909; (April 1998) The Yogi Book: 'I Really Didn't Say Everything I Said'
ISBN 0786867752; (May 2001) When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It! Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes
ISBN 0743237684; (October 2002) What Time Is It? You Mean Now?: Advice for Life from the Zennest Master of Them All

Trivia

Berra has a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character named after him. See Yogi Bear.
Berra is a recipient of the Boy Scouts of America's highest adult award, the Silver Buffalo Award.

External links

The Official Yogi Berra Website

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