THERE'S AN ONLINE PETITION to have Yogi Berra receive America’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It needs to garner 100,000 electronic signatures by June 8 merely to get the attention of the White House. A whole lot more than that would be terrific.
Berra, who just turned 90, deserves the medal for many reasons, and there’s precedent for outstanding athletes receiving the award, including Ernie Banks, Stan Musial and women’s basketball head coach Pat Summitt.
By the calculations of Bill James, whose novel and enlightening ways of measuring the performance of baseball players and teams has revolutionized the way the game is played and how managements put their teams together, Berra is the greatest catcher in baseball history. There’s no more demanding a position in America’s favorite pastime, physically or mentally (the catcher signals the type of pitch he wants the hurler to throw, which takes on-target knowledge of both the batter and the pitcher). Even on a team noted for such legendary sluggers as Mickey Mantle, Berra for seven years led the Yankees in runs batted in. He was the catcher in 1956, when Don Larsen threw the only perfect game in World Series history. Several times Berra was the American League’s Most Valuable Player. It’s no surprise he’s a Hall of Fame member.
Yogi Berra served his country in the Navy during WWII, participating in the D-Day invasion.
Berra has long been an advocate of diversity and tolerance in baseball and elsewhere. He’s also a great supporter of educational opportunities for young people. Back in 1959 he started a scholarship at Columbia University. His namesake museum focuses on education and character development.
Of course, Yogi Berra is most noted for his paradoxical quotes and witticisms—now called Yogi-isms—which are legion.
In 1973 Berra was managing the New York Mets. By the dog days of summer the team found itself in last place in its division. Fans were furious, and sportswriters demanded to know, what now? Berra famously replied, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” Indeed, the Mets miraculously got their act together and ended up winning the National League championship, besting the formidable and much favored Cincinnati Reds in the playoffs.
As a player Berra was noted for successfully hitting bad pitches. When asked about that, he replied, “If I can hit it, it’s a good pitch.”
Other sayings among his many: “When you come to the fork in the road, take it”; “Nobody eats there anymore; it’s too crowded”; “It’s déjà vu all over again”; “The future ain’t what it used to be”; and “I didn't really say everything I said.”
Yogi Berra was a big man in baseball and has been an even bigger one in life.
