Baseball Legend, Yogi Berra, Turns 87

Yogi (Lawrence Peter) Berra

Baseball legend and Hall of Famer, Lawrence Peter Berra, known to the world as “Yogi”, has accoounted for some astonishing feats as a professional baseball career throughtout his 19-year career with the New York Yankees and as a manager for the Yankees and thir neighboring New York Mets rivals in the National League.

Yogi has put some awe-inspiring statistics into the record books with his bat, his catcher’s mitt and his managerial skills while gaining the further attention of the world of sports with his entertaining penchant for fracturing the English language.

As Yogi turned 87, looking back at this great athlete’s accomplishments suggest that it's “like déjà vu all over again”.  (I couldn’t resist, Yogi.

Seriously, this man, Yogi Berra is amazing. He played with ten World Series Championship teams; he’s a Baseball Hall of Famer, played and competed with some of the greats of the twentieth century.  Widely regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball history,  in 1999 Yogi was voted a member of the Team of the Century.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1925, Lawrence Berra was given the nickname, “Yogi,”by a friend who found his habitual cross-legged sitting style to be similar to that of a yogi.  Some wrongly attributed his nickname to his catching squat.

Well into his ninth decade, his celebrity and the depth of affection of his fans is remarkable.  But noe, to help you start shaking your head and awakening your funny bone, here are a few of the best quotes attributed to this veritable American idol:

·       “We made too many wrong mistakes."
·       "You can observe a lot just by watching.
·       "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."
·       "He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious."
·       "If the world was perfect, it wouldn't be."
·       "If you don't know where you’re going you might end up some place else."
·       As to remarks attributed to him, he said,"I didn't say everything I said."
·       "The future ain't what it use to be."
·       "Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house."
·       Ask why he hasn’t been seen lately at Ruggeri's Restaurant in St. Louis, “Nobody goes there no more; it's too crowded."
·      "I always thought that record would stand until it was broken."
·       "We have deep depth."
·       Giving directions to his home in New Jersey, accessible by two routes:
           "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
·     "Always go to other people's funerals,
          or they won't come to yours."
·       "Never answer anonymous letters."\
·       On being an honoree at an awards banquet:
          "Thank you for making this day necessary!"
·       "The towels were so thick there I could
            hardly close my suitcase."
·       "Half the lies they tell about me aren't true."
·       A comment on baseball:
              "Ninety percent of the game is half mental."
·       Asked if people running naked across the field were men or women, "I don't know. They had bags over their heads."
·       "It gets late early out there."
·       Yogi’s wife, Carmen, asked him:    "Yogi, you’re from  St. Louis, we live in New Jersey, and you played ball in New York. If you go before I do, where would you like to be buried?" Yogi replied,"Surprise me."
·       Last quote: "It ain't over till it's over."

Yogi Berra’s baseball career as a player, manager and coach, spanned a period of  43 years (1946 to 1989)  He batted left and threw right with a lifetime batting average of .285, while hitting 385 home runs and and accouting for 1,430 runs batted in. 

Yogi participated in 18 consecutive All Star Games, has played or managed in 13 World Series championships and played, managed or coached in 21 World Series and was one of only six managers to win a World Series in an American League and National League Team.  He was  named three times as American League Most Valuable Player (1951, 1954, 1955). A further honor of the New York Yankees was to retire his number (8). 


Hey Yogi,  
Best wishes on your birthday . . .
belated . . . (May 12th)

See ya' around, buddy!

Watch for a follow up story coming soon based on a personal experience when Ralph Branca introduced me to Yogi Berra at a Sportscasters Award banquet in New York about twenty years ago. 

Sources:  Wikipedia and various others on the Internet.