Yogi Berra - The Yogi Book

THE
YOGI BOOK

I Really Didnt Say Everything I Said!

BY Yogi Berra

WORKMAN PUBLISHING NEW YORK

DEDICATION

To my brothers, John (1), Mike (2), and Tony (3), and my sister, Josie (4), who convinced my parents, Pietro (5) and Paulina (6), to let me leave home and try to earn a living playing baseball.

To my sons, Larry, Tim, and Dale, and to the rest of the family for listening and remembering the sayings that I dont even know I say.

To my daughter-in-law Betsy, without whose efforts this book wouldnt have happened.

And finally, to my beautiful wife, Carmen, who tolerates me and for whom my love is unending.

Contents

From Ralph Terry

pitcher and teammate

When I was a young pitcher Id have a lead, a man or two on base, no big threat, and Casey Stengel would come to the mound and take me out of the game, after three or four innings. You need five innings in the game to get a win, but I would be gone before. One day Yogi said to me, Would you like to stay in the game longer? Sure I would, I said. When the old man comes out, Yogi said, dont open the conversation, dont say you feel fine. Dont say anything.

The next time I pitch I have a couple of men on base and Stengel comes out, I dont say anything. Boyer, Richardson come over, the umpire walks toward the mound, Im not saying anything. Then Stengel asks, How do you feel? I answer, Fine. Stengel says, Curve this guy, and he walks away. After that, I never say a word. Yogi knew. He knew Stengel didnt want to be talked into anything, that if he listened and left me in and the next guy hits a home run, he looks bad. Yogi knew him like a kid knows his parents. Thats the greatest tip that Yogi ever game me.

Ralph Terry after shutting out the San Francisco Giants, 10 in Game 7, to win the 1962 World Series for the Yankees.

From Bob Turley

pitcher and teammate

Yogi and I go way back. Hes from St. Louis and Im from East St. Louis. Thank heavens I had him on my team, because you couldnt strike him out. I played with him eight years on the Yankees. When I was pitching, Id get to the ninth inning and Id want to strike the last guy out so Yogi would have the ball and give it to me. I would write on the ball the team and the score, how many strike outs in the game, how many hits, and Id put the ball on my wall. Most of the other guys on the club would just give me the ball after the last out, but not Yogi. It got to the point where he would not give me the ball unless I gave him two brand-new balls. I asked him why wouldnt he just give it to me, and he said it was his and it was valuable. So I had to give him two new ones.

Yogi and Bob Turley, who pitched in four games of the 1958 World Series against the Milwaukee Braves. The Yankees won in seven games.

From Tony Kubek

Yankee teammate

Do any in this younger generation even remember Lawrence Peter Berra as a ballplayer? The man we all called Yogi was a ballplayers ballplayer; its the highest tribute his teammates and peer group could give.

Let me take you around the bases with Yogi. If you were on first with Yogi at bat and the first baseman was holding you close, be alive. Yogi saw that open hole between the first and second basemen and he would invariably pull the ball through it. Usually it led to runners at the corners, or, if he got it in the air, it was an HR into Yankee Stadiums right-field stands. You had to be alive, because if you werent, you might find a lump on your shinbone from a Yogi line drive.

When you reached second base, Yogi was a treat to watch hit. His eyes got bigger. He saw another RBI. Now most teams tried to outfox Yogi and pitch him away, especially in the Stadium, as he was pretty much a dead-pull hitter. That is, unless he decided to go to left field with no one on and two strikes on him. So, they pitched him way, way inside on the first pitch to make him pull the ball foulstrike one. Sometimes they did it twicestrike two. Then, theyd go way, way outside to get him to swing at a bad pitch. Unfortunately for them, Yogi, with those long arms and strong hands, had really outfoxed the opposing catchers pitch calling and location and set them up to get his outside pitch, sometimes six inches out of the strike zone and hittable only by him. Yogi was a great two-strike hitter. As one of his managers, Casey Stengel, the Ole Perfesser, used to say, You can look it up.

When you were on third base, getting to step on home plate to score a run was as certain as the sun coming up in the morning, with Yogi in the batters box. Seldom, in this situation, did this renowned bad ball hitter swing at a bad pitch. He thrived on hitting with runners in scoring position. His focus was single-minded; get the runner home.

Being at the plate with Yogi on second base was advantageous to a batter. If you were a power hitter like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Moose Skowron, or Ellie Howard, Yogi could read the catchers signals and subtly relay the pitch to them, which gave them a distinct edge. He was a savvy ballplayer.

Yogis baserunning instincts, his ability to get down in the dirt to block pitches, his uncanny knack of catching foul tips, going after foul balls and getting out of his crouch to field bunts in front of home plate, even into his mid-thirties, well... he was one of a kind. When he played in the outfield, he was still an asset. How many catchers have there been who got into and out of their crouch from behind home plate as many times as Yogi and, yet, retained their running speed, agility, and desire to stay back there to take the beating from all of the foul balls, collisions, and second guessing as he did?

So now hes remembered, principally, as an author, a philanthro-pist for the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, the host of a golf tournament, a regular at Yankee games, a mentor to the younger players, an advisor/consultant to the Boss, etc., etc.

Ive read some of Bartletts Familiar Quotations and Benjamin Franklins Poor Richards Almanac. On a scale of 10, I give each of them an 8. To Yogis tome I award 10 points, based on its deeper philosophical meaning, originality, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and clever use of witticisms. I never met the two dudes to whom I gave 8s, but I do know this; they werent as humble, nor were they as nice a guy as Yogi.

Mr. Berra, do I get a cut on the proceeds?

From Dave Anderson

sports columnist for The New York Times

Yogi Berra doesnt hit home runs or catch no-hitters anymore, but as an American folk hero, hes more influential than ever.

If you were to call 973-655-2377, you would hear his familiar voice: Hi, this is Yogi. Get your pencils ready. This message wont be over until its done. Then a voice says, Thanks, Yogi, and thank you for calling the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center on the campus of Montclair State University. For hours and admissions, press 1. For directions, press 2. For...

And for Yogi himself, just go to the unpretentious stucco building in Little Falls, N.J., where hell be talking to some of the 20,000 school kids that arrive in buses each year for a guided tour, or hell be welcoming famous sports personalities to seminars on sociological topics, or hell be just hanging out among a captivating collection of baseball memorabilia and sporting exhibits.