Baseball great Yogi Berra dies at 90 Partly d
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Posted On: 09/23/2015 7:32:42 AM
Baseball great Yogi Berra dies at 90
Partly due to the Yankees' success during that era, Berra, who was also a 15-time All-Star, established several Fall Classic records, including most games played, most at-bats and most hits. In 1957, he became the first World Series pinch-hitter to hit a home run.
Proving, as he said, "It ain't over 'til it's over," Berra maintained a presence in the major leagues as a coach and manager -- he is one of only six managers to lead an American League and National League team to the World Series -- and became a symbol of New York baseball, past and present.
This undated photo shows New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra. Berra, who won 10 World Series titles as a player, all with the Bronx Bombers, died on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. (File/AP)
He was born Lawrence "Larry" Berra to Italian immigrant parents in St. Louis, Mo., on May 12, 1925 and acquired the nickname "Yogi" when a childhood friend observed that he resembled a Hindu yogi in a movie they saw.
Berra only attended school until eighth grade, after which he worked to help support his family and played American Legion ball. Though he signed with the Yankees in 1943, Berra first served in the Navy during World War II and fought during the D-Day invasion of Normandy before putting on the pinstripes in the fall of 1946.
As a hitter, Berra would prove to have excellent coverage of the strike zone and incredible control of the bat. In five of his 19 seasons, he had more home runs than strikeouts and in 1950, he struck out just 12 times in 597 at-bats. He once explained, "If I can see it, I can hit it."
Berra was equally celebrated for his skill as a fielder and baseball stat guru Bill James determined, using his win shares formula, that Berra was the greatest catcher of all time. He once went 148 games without making an error and famously caught two no-hitters, both by Allie Reynolds in 1951, and one perfect game, by Don Larsen in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Yankee’s national popularity was such that an animated character – Yogi Bear – was named after him in 1958.
Partly due to the Yankees' success during that era, Berra, who was also a 15-time All-Star, established several Fall Classic records, including most games played, most at-bats and most hits. In 1957, he became the first World Series pinch-hitter to hit a home run.
Proving, as he said, "It ain't over 'til it's over," Berra maintained a presence in the major leagues as a coach and manager -- he is one of only six managers to lead an American League and National League team to the World Series -- and became a symbol of New York baseball, past and present.
This undated photo shows New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra. Berra, who won 10 World Series titles as a player, all with the Bronx Bombers, died on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. (File/AP)
He was born Lawrence "Larry" Berra to Italian immigrant parents in St. Louis, Mo., on May 12, 1925 and acquired the nickname "Yogi" when a childhood friend observed that he resembled a Hindu yogi in a movie they saw.
Berra only attended school until eighth grade, after which he worked to help support his family and played American Legion ball. Though he signed with the Yankees in 1943, Berra first served in the Navy during World War II and fought during the D-Day invasion of Normandy before putting on the pinstripes in the fall of 1946.
As a hitter, Berra would prove to have excellent coverage of the strike zone and incredible control of the bat. In five of his 19 seasons, he had more home runs than strikeouts and in 1950, he struck out just 12 times in 597 at-bats. He once explained, "If I can see it, I can hit it."
Berra was equally celebrated for his skill as a fielder and baseball stat guru Bill James determined, using his win shares formula, that Berra was the greatest catcher of all time. He once went 148 games without making an error and famously caught two no-hitters, both by Allie Reynolds in 1951, and one perfect game, by Don Larsen in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Yankee’s national popularity was such that an animated character – Yogi Bear – was named after him in 1958.
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