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Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra passed away last night at his home in Montclair, New Jersey. He was 90.
When Berra turned 90 back in May I wrote a piece for the occasion. I am glad I had a chance to celebrate Yogi while he was still with us.
Before his Hall of Fame career began, he served in the Navy in WWII and would find himself on a landing craft as a gunner’s mate during the D-Day invasion and would be honored by the French government for his valor.
Upon returning stateside, he embarked on a big league career that would see him become the greatest catcher in American League history. He made 18 consecutive All-Star Game appearances, won three AL MVPs and earned 10 World Series rings. No player in MLB history has won more World Series rings. In 19 seasons, Berra hit .285 with 358 home runs and 1430 RBIs. Perhaps most amazing of all in 8,359 plate appearances, he struck out only 414 times. In 1950, Berra only struck out 12 times in 656 plate appearances.
Then there were his pearls of wisdom:
“It’s so crowded nobody goes there anymore.”
“It gets late early.”
“The future ain’t what it used to be.”
A younger generation of Americans got a taste of Yogi in this Aflac commercial a few years back which you can watch above.
Yogi Berra was an ornament to baseball and to America. We will probably never see the likes of him again.
