I will miss Yogi Berra
Although not now a big baseball fan, as a child I watched many a game with my dad. Watching the game was only half the fun. The other entertainment was watching dad jib and jive as he vicariously caught each pop-up foul or eluded the catcher while sliding into home plate.
No one else in the family joined me, but I was a Yankee fan. Growing up as a Navy brat, we moved many times and sometimes were overseas. The Yankees were a constant to me; plus they had memorable players like Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris.But Berra was a true American original. He was drafted by the Yankees in 1943 but enlisted in the Navy in World War II and was wounded in the D-Day landing. He came back to the Yankees and played in 14 World Series, was named the American League's Most Valuable Player three times, and coached the Yankees and the Mets after he retired as a player.
He is most remembered for his Yogisms although he said he did not say everything that was credited to him.
It seemed a simpler time when it was the Yankees against the Dodgers. Truly Good vs. Evil to me. Now I understand that there were Dodgers' fans who felt the opposite. Nothing seems simple these days!
Berra, in spite of an inspiring career, remained a modest man who loved his family and his friends. His words were simple but somehow inspiring:
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