During his storied career as a catcher for the New York Yankees, Berra played in 14 World Series, 10 of which ended in World Championships – both more than any other player in baseball history.
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“He’ll go down in history as one of the great all-time Yankees and a Hall of Famer”, said Kaline, who last saw Berra a few years ago.
His baseball career was interrupted by a tw0-year stint in the U.S. Navy, which included serving as a gunner’s mate during the D-Day invasion in 1944 and receiving a Purple Heart after being wounded in an assault on Marseilles. When his son collected the alleged Yogisms into a book, Yogi went along with the plan, which is why I had the opportunity to interview him for Only A Game in 1998. He was also known for his good command of the English language – one that put him in Bartlett Familiar Quotations.
As a teenager, Yogi played American Legion ball and was offered a tryout with his hometown St. Louis Cardinals (along with boyhood friend, and fellow catcher, Joe Garagiola). It’s also to the American League insignia, which of course makes it more valuable.
“He loved her so much”, Dolan added. “Berra explained that this quote originated when he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hit back-to-back home runs in the Yankees’ seasons in the early 1960s”.
According to baseball-reference.com, Kaline had a 8.2 WAR, compared with 4.5 for Berra. In Berra’s honor, the museum holds programs to teach how to be a captain for high school student athletes, as well as character programs for younger kids.
“His numbers are incredible when you really look at them, but his presence and how he dealt with people was really the biggest thing”.
Tigers catcher Alex Avila said he spent some time looking at Yogi-isms online this morning.
His Yogi-isms (sayings that often made little to no sense or were somewhat contradictory) were legendary, as was the bravado with which he delivered them.
He later became manager of the Yankees, was sacked by George Steinbrenner, and refused to set foot in Yankee Stadium for years afterward.
“The next day I talked to him. It’s too crowded”.
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Fans were there before the doors opened Wednesday, looking to say goodbye to one of baseball’s best.
