WHY I LOVE YOGI BERRA

So yesterday while I was writing my article, WHY BERNIE WILLIAMS BELONGS IN THE HOF, (which you can read HERE), I got to thinking about some of the Yankee greats and one that kept coming to mind happens to be one of my all time favorites, Yogi Berra. I mean, who doesn't love Yogi Berra! Whether you are a Yankee fan or not, everyone loves Yogi, right?

I think we are all very fortunate to be around to see Yogi Berra alive and well. How awesome is it that Yogi is still with us to share his old stories about those early, great Yankee teams. Think about who this man has played with and against in his lifetime. It's a who's who of MLB greats of all time. He was an instrumental part of some of the greatest teams ever assembled. I'm sure many of you know his stats but it doesn't hurt to be reminded every once in a while just how incredible he was when he played. Check out these numbers:

In 19 seasons, all as a New York Yankee (note: Yogi retired from NYY's in 1963, then came back and played 4 games with the Mets in 1965. I am not including those 4 games), Yogi had a career batting average of .285 - 2,150 Hits - 358 HR's - 1,430 RBI. Just incredible numbers for a catcher. But that is just the tip of the ice burg when it comes to Yogi. He was a member of 10 World Series Champions! Berra was an 18 time All-Star and 3 time American League MVP and, he was the MVP runner up 4 other times. Which means, he was just a few votes short of winning 7 MVP's! And, despite playing on the same team with such greats as Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, Berra led the Yankees in RBI for seven consecutive seasons between 1949 and 1955. Just incredible! Let those statistics sink in for a few minutes. This man is one of the greatest baseball players to ever put on a uniform!

Now, as we also all know, there is a fun side to Yogi Berra. There was even a word created for the man that describe the hilarious sayings he has come up with over the years. They are called "Yogi-isms" and here are just a few of my favorites:

"It ain't over 'til it's over"

"Never answer an anonymous letter"

"You can observe a lot by watching"

"I didn't really say everything I said "

On why NY lost the 1960 series to Pittsburgh: " We made too many wrong mistakes"

"It's deja vu all over again"

And my personal favorite. When asked what time is was......"you mean now?"

He is just an amazing human being and how blessed we are to be able to call him a New York Yankee! We love you Yogi!

Here are some fun facts facts about Yogi...

• Yogi caught Don Larsen's 1956 World Series perfect game.
• In 1950, Yogi only struck out 12 times in 597 at bats and hit 28 HR's. In fact, 5 times in his career he had more home runs than strikeouts!
• At age 37, Yogi caught an entire 22 inning game against Detroit...7 hours!
• Yogi's real, full name is...Lawrence Peter Berra
• Yogi's son Dale played shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates. And his son Tim played for the Baltimore Colts in 1974.
• Yogi has a tremendous career as a manger as well. In fact, at the time of his retirement from coaching in 1989, Yogi was only one of six managers to ever mange a World Series team in both the AL and NL.

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23


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