Meet Yogi Berra

YOGI BERRA


Positions: Catcher and Outfielder
Full Name: Lawrence Peter Berra
Bats: Left - Throws: Right
Born: May 12, 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Died: September 22, 2015 in West Caldwell, New Jersey, USA
Organizations: New York Yankees (18), New York Mets (1)

Yogi Berra

YOGI BERRA'S WALL OF GLORY

HONORS AND AWARDS
  • Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1972, by BBWAA with 85.6%
  • All Star: 18 (1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959-1, 1959-2, 1960-1, 1960-2, 1961-1, 1961-2, 1962-2)
  • MVP: 3 (1951, 1954, 1955)
  • World Series Rings: 10 (1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962)

 FIELDING
  • Def. Games as C: 8 (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957)
  • PO as C: 8 (1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959)
  • Assists as C: 3 (1950, 1951, 1952)
  • Fielding % as C: 2 (195, 1959)
  • Double Plays Turned as C: 6 (1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1956)
  • Caught Stealing as C: 3 (1950, 1951, 1952)
  • Caught Stealing %: 1 (1955)
WHO?

"Yogi" was an American MLB catcher, manager and coach. He played 19 seasons (1946-63, 1965), all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was an 18-time All-Star and won 10 World Series as a player (more than any other player in MLB history)

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Despite his short stature (5' 7" tall) Berra was a power hitter and a strong defensive catcher. He caught Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. 

Image result for yogi berra larsen

He was known as one of the best "bad ball" hitters of all time, able to reach out to get to pitches outside of the strike zone and transform them in hits; that made it very difficult for pitchers to develop a pitching plan against him.

Image result for yogi berra rings

Berra had a career AVG of .285, 358 HR and 1,430 RBI. He is one of only 6 players to win the AL MVP three times (along with Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez and Mike Trout). He is commonly regarded as one of the greatest catchers in MLB history, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.




MY COMMENT:

Behold, my friends! The real Lord of the Rings!

 Ok, may be Tolkien fans are not agree with this asseveration, but us baseball fans, we do know that this is totally true.

 Berra  could not had had an imposing presence, but it is out of discussion that he was the real deal, as his 18 selections to All-Star Games and 3 AL MVP certify. Now include that he was a vital piece in 14 American League Champion and 10 World Series Champion teams (all as a Yankee) and you can have a bigger picture of one of the best catchers in MLB history.

 After his retirement, he managed New York Yankees and New York Mets for 7 seasons, winning one pennant with each team (Yankees: 1964, Mets: 1973), but failed to win the World Series. As Manager, he posted a record of 484 - 444 W-L.

 What not too many people know is that Yogi Berra was not just a hero inside the park, but out of it, too: He participated in operations of the Normandy Invasion on D-Day, and was awarded with a Purple Heart. 

 But he had another facet: he is regarded as the "baseball philosopher". Thank to him, we have "Yogi-isms", described as "impromptu pithy comments, malapropisms and seemingly unintentional witticisms, that very often took the form of either an apparent tautology or a contradiction, but often with an underlying and powerful message*" (get a dictionary!).  

 My favorite Yogi-ism is probably the most famous of Yogi's aphorisms (Yes, today is my New Words Day). This one seems to be too obvious, but I see it as meaning that no matter how bad things can be, you should never give up:

"It ain't over till it's over."

 * Thank you, Wikipedia.com.

BEST FIVE SEASONS

Year Age Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS Pos
1950 25 NYY AL 151 597 116 192 30 6 28 124 4 55 12 .322 .383 .533 .915 *2
1952 27 NYY AL 142 534 97 146 17 1 30 98 2 66 24 .273 .358 .478 .835 *2
1954 29 NYY AL 151 584 88 179 28 6 22 125 0 56 29 .307 .367 .488 .855 *2/5
1955 30 NYY AL 147 541 84 147 20 3 27 108 1 60 20 .272 .349 .470 .819 *2
1956 31 NYY AL 140 521 93 155 29 2 30 105 3 65 29 .298 .378 .534 .911 *2/7
Note: If you are using a cell phone to look at this table, put it horizontally for a better experience

 What do you think? is he the best catcher of MLB history? If not, who is? Share your thoughts!

Comments

  1. HENRYSBASEBALLMarch 21, 2021 at 4:35 AM

    ,https://MagPro.org/ButchHobson/
    https://vimeo.com/324120523
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbjcwCVdS28... AROUND THE NATION FOR NEW BASEBALL TALENT. LIST OF ALL THE PRO BASEBALL TRYOUTS AROUND THE NATION, LOCATIONS, TIME TO BE THERE AND WHO OR WHAT CLUB IS HOLDING TRYOUTS..https://vimeo.com/208926363

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