Lawrence Peter Berra-Living Legend

Remember, this is a man who was popular enough in his own time — the 1950’s — that Hanna/Barbera named a cartoon character after him (Yogi Bear).

a good man, who stood up to George who fired him after, I think about 12 games.
 Yogi is class.

The 1950’s are often referred to as baseball’s Golden Age, especially by Yankees fans, for reasons that should be obvious. But those same DiMaggio and Mantle-era teams that today are remembered for their greatness often were despised by fans located in what any New Yorker considers to be Flyover Country. This was especially true on the south side, where the great Go-Go Sox of the 50’s and early 60’s almost always fell a few games short of a pennant.

If you were passionate about your local team, it was easy to hold a sneering contempt for the arrogant personas of DiMag and Mantle. But, perhaps because of his ungainly appearance and the fact that he hustled, Yogi escaped most of this hatred. For example, in a crucial play at Comiskey in late ‘57, Luis Aparicio took off for third when a pitch bounced off Yogi’s shoe. No Yankee was covering the base but, incredibly, Yogi was able to retrieve the ball, dash up the line, dive for the bag, and tag out one of baseball’s fastest men. As Yogi brushed off dirt after that play, some Sox fans actually were inspired to applaud his hustle.

Of course, all the Yogi stories and quotations as told by a New York-based national media won him many friends, as did the work of Hanna/Barbera, as Al noted above. For me, one of the earliest stories is the best – you know, the one where comic book-reading Yogi saw his medical student roommate Bobby Brown studying Gray’s Anatomy. As each set aside their reading material, Yogi casually asked “So how did yours turn out?” You have to love a guy like that.

… suffered from being too likeable? Or the fact that he was always the #2 player on the team (by public perception)? Was he too accessible to the average fan?

Even in his MVP seasons, the Yankees had either DiMaggio, or Mantle, or both. When Yogi won his first MVP in 1951, DiMaggio was not all that good (hit around .263) and Mantle was a rookie who didn’t always play. However, 1951 was Joe DiMaggio’s farewell tour. Remember Griffey last year (when everyone THOUGHT it was his farewell tour)? Now imagine Griffey as a war hero who married the country’s biggest sex symbol. That was DiMaggio’s status in 1951. Yogi’s the #2 guy on that team. Mantle started earning MVP votes in 1952 and pretty much immediately settled into the space DiMaggio vacated in the hearts of Yankee fans. Like DiMaggio, Mickey was the young superstar with incredible talent. Yogi was the constant. Nowhere near as glamorous.

Yogi might have been too accessible to be the idol those other players were. If one guy hits 521 (and bats .406), 536 (switch hitting), 660 (and makes The Catch), 714 (and revolutionizes baseball) or 755 (and overtakes the “unbeatable record”) HRs and another guy says, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it,” which guy are you gonna idolize as a kid or a fan? Although, I suspect that Berra was well respected in most baseball clubhouses. Afterall, you don’t have Casey Stengel say, “I never play a game without my man” in reference to you without earning it. In that sense, Yogi was “a player’s player.”

When it comes to ballplayer respect, a lot of it stems from those “how’d he do that?” moments. Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio were incredible talents but somewhat distant personalities. You never really got an answer from them. Come to think of it, you never really got an answer from any of the players listed. That mammoth HR or great catch was just who they were. Except Yogi. Yogi seemed to be good because he hustled. He did the grunt work (he was a catcher). That made him seem less removed from everyday life. Yogi seemed more human.

For Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Mays, Williams, Aaron (who actually deserves MORE respect than he often gets) baseball success just seemed natural. It was in their DNA. They were born swating baseballs over fences and hitting .300. They seemed like gods. But you always saw Yogi work for it.

Berra is listed at 5’ 7" and very short compared to the others you listed. Willie Mays is listed at 5’ 10" and all the others are 6 feet tall or higher.

Media endorsements and legendary status help, even back in the 50s and 60s.
Ruth – Legend at the plate, especially with the supposedly called shot at Wrigley
Mays – over the shoulder catch
DiMaggio – Coffee Ads and married Marilyn Monroe
Aaron – Home Run King
Williams – .406 batting average and two time war hero

It is a lot easier to make a 6 foot man a hero vs. 5’ 7". Ask Tom Cruise, also 5’ 7", but you’d never now it in his films.

I didn’t understand how good Yogi was until long after I knew who Yogi was.

He is the Columbo of baseball greats. Tenacious, unassuming, goofy looking, and…it takes awhile to realize…really, really good at what he does (did).

And he is soooo tiny! it is hard to imagine he was such a dominant ballpalyer, seeing him now.

Thurmon Munson, Lou, Yogi, Reggie Jackson. And honorary mention to Scooter, and the Money Store!