YOGI BERRA
1925-2015
John Shea: Going beyond the Yogi-isms to remember the Yankees’ Hall of Famer.
Yogi Berra died Tuesday night, and I’m reminded of my good friend who backed up Berra in the Bronx.
Charlie Silvera didn’t play much — 482 at-bats in 10 years — and opponents used to kid him that he was Yogi’s caddy. As Charlie once told me at his Millbrae home, “I told them, ‘Yogi tipped me more than you make.’ ”
Silvera loved Yogi. Everyone loved Yogi. How could anyone not love the short man with the big bat, known for his World
Series titles and turning phrases in all types of wacky directions?
More than anything, more than being celebrated in the pop culture for his Yogi-isms — “Baseball is 90 percent mental, the other half is physical” — he was a great overall ballplayer, a wonderful tactician as a catcher, a backbone of the greatest dynasty in baseball history, the Yankees winning five straight World Series through 1953 and 10 during his unprecedented reign in New York. Berra was a three-time MVP and 18-time All-Star. A clutch hitter and bad-ball hitter, he swung at pitches that would make Pablo Sandoval cringe; Giants manager Bruce Bochy used to reference Berra when defending Sandoval’s out-of-the-zone swings, which were everything from maddening to delightful, depending on the outcome.
Berra hit .285 with 338 home runs in a career spanning the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s and was a workhorse behind the plate, catching Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series and jumping into his arms after the final pitch. It was a moment captured on film for all time, as was his wildly animated reaction to Jackie Robinson’s steal of home in the 1955 World Series. No, Yogi didn’t think Jackie was safe.
“We played a lot of doubleheaders, and Yogi would catch both games,” Silvera said Wednesday. “He had to go by my locker to get to his, and he’d say, ‘You’re catching the second game today.’ I bet him $100 I wouldn’t, and he owed me a lot of money. We’d have 20 doubleheaders, and he’d catch 19. He was a tough player.”
Berra played with legends and was a teammate of both Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle during their primes. Every season seemed a success. In 17 years, his teams won 14 pennants. Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner have three World Series titles to their names. Add seven more, and they’d know what it’s like to be Yogi.
“Just the sheer stats he accumulated over the course of his career were remarkable,” Posey said. “The power and obviously winning the way he did, it’s incredible.”
One of Berra’s stats that amazed Posey: 12 strikeouts in 656 plate appearances in 1950. “That’s weird,” Posey said. “I don’t care if you’re playing Little League, it’s hard to do.”
And the 10 titles? “I don’t think that’s going to be matched by anybody.”
Posey visited the Yogi Berra Museum in New Jersey in 2013 and called Berra “one of the neatest people I had the privilege to meet. The short time I got to spend with him, there was not a hint of arrogance. Just a special person.”
At this year’s All-Star Game in Cincinnati, Major League Baseball honored the four greatest living players, and Berra wasn’t included. A case easily could be made for his inclusion. Instead, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Sandy Koufax were joined by Johnny Bench, another great all-around catcher. The event was in Bench’s baseball hometown. It was a promotion. No worries. It didn’t lessen Berra’s status as a Hall of Fame player and Hall of Fame character. There’s only one Yogi. “He was a very humble guy,” Silvera said. “You were taught early by a few of the old-timers just to do your job. We were good buddies. We were married about the same time. We palled around, went to a lot of movies together. A lot of memories. Good man, good friend.”
Yogi Berra was “one of the neatest people I had the privilege to meet. ... Just a special person.” Buster Posey, Giants catcher