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'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)

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. 

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.

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!