Catcher and philosopher: Yogi Berra gets his due
Yogi Berra, whose career included playing for and managing the New York Yankees, is the subject of the documentary, 鈥淚t Ain鈥檛 Over.鈥�
Getty/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
You might think it impossible that someone as celebrated as New York Yankees superstar Yogi Berra, whose career stretched from the 1940s to the 1980s, could ever be undervalued as a player and manager. But that鈥檚 precisely the assessment that Sean Mullin, the director of the affectionate documentary 鈥淚t Ain鈥檛 Over,鈥� aims to correct. 聽
The film begins with a clip from a ceremony at the 2015 All-Star Game where fans had voted in the four 鈥済reatest living players鈥� 鈥� Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, and Sandy Koufax. As Berra鈥檚 doting granddaughter and the film鈥檚 co-producer, Lindsay Berra, tells it, she was in the stadium watching the event with her still very-much-alive grandfather. They were unamused.聽
As recounted in the film by interviewees such as sportscasters Bob Costas and the late Vin Scully, and Yankees shortstop great Derek Jeter, Yogi鈥檚 goofy, companionable demeanor as player and, later, commercial pitchman, may have worked against people taking him seriously, at least outside the baseball world. In fact, his Hall of Fame statistics 鈥� including 10 World Series rings, three Most Valuable Player awards, a lifetime batting average of .285, and 358 home runs 鈥� mark him as perhaps the greatest major league catcher of all time.
Why We Wrote This
When one of baseball鈥檚 greats seems to be overlooked, what鈥檚 the best way to correct that? The director of 鈥淚t Ain鈥檛 Over鈥� offers a documentary that looks fondly at famous Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.
He grew up in an Italian neighborhood in St. Louis as Lawrence Peter Berra and got his nickname as a teenager from a friend who pointed out that, seated on the ground, legs and arms crossed, his posture resembled a yogi.
Berra鈥檚 short, stocky build 鈥� one commentator fondly observed that he looked like a fire hydrant 鈥� didn鈥檛 remind people of a professional baseball player, let alone a mighty New York Yankee taking the field with the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. But looks can be misleading. In Berra鈥檚 case, they were downright deceiving.
He had his pride. Unceremoniously fired as manager in 1985 after just 16 games by owner George Steinbrenner, Berra refused to step inside Yankee stadium for 14 years until the boss personally apologized to him.聽
But mostly Berra was modest. He qualified for the Purple Heart in World War II after storming Normandy Beach, but for fear of upsetting his mother, he didn鈥檛 fill out the injury forms.聽
He was a master baseball strategist who knew exactly how each batter should be pitched to. In 1956 he caught the only perfect game in World Series history 鈥� no runs, no walks, no hits, no errors. Don Larsen, an otherwise journeyman hurler, was on the mound against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The image of Berra jumping into his arms after the final out is iconic. Amazingly, in 1999, on Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium, with Larsen joining Yogi in the stands, Yankee pitcher David Cone threw a perfect game.聽
Another iconic moment, which also receives quality time in the documentary, is when Brooklyn鈥檚 Jackie Robinson stole home in the first game of the 1955 World Series. To the end of his days, Berra, who died in 2015, insisted he had tagged out his good friend. The film plays and replays in slow motion the footage of Robinson sliding into home plate. Verdict: We鈥檒l never really know.
Even people who don鈥檛 know much about Berra or baseball are familiar with his famous Yogi-isms 鈥� tossed-off comments that at first seem nonsensical but, upon closer examination, have the ring of truth. Aside from 鈥淚t ain鈥檛 over till it鈥檚 over,鈥� there鈥檚 also 鈥淲hen you come to a fork in the road, take it,鈥� and 鈥淣o one goes there anymore, it鈥檚 too crowded,鈥� or, my favorite, 鈥淵ou can observe a lot by watching.鈥� Maybe Yogi was a yogi after all?
I close here with my own Berra anecdote, and it鈥檚 not pretty. As a little boy, I inherited a mint condition 1955 Yogi baseball card. I thought he looked better with a mustache, and so I drew one on him. That card, mustacheless, is now valued at several thousand dollars. Defaced, it鈥檚 worth a stick of bubble gum. Nevertheless, I still have the card.聽
It ain鈥檛 over.聽
Peter Rainer is the Monitor鈥檚 film critic. 鈥淚t Ain鈥檛 Over鈥� rolls out in theaters starting May 12. The film is rated PG for聽smoking, some drug references, language, and brief war images.聽
Editor鈥檚 note: An earlier version of this article misstated who won the 1984 pennant. It was the Tigers.