Yogi Berra's baseball exploits as a New York Yankees catching great spoke for themselves. He spoke for himself in a charmingly fractured way that introduced "Yogi-isms" such as "It's déjà vu all over again" into the American lexicon.
The Hall of Famer died at the of 90 on Tuesday evening, the Yogi Berra Museum announced. He undoubtedly would be reminding people of what he once said: "You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours."
Although listed at 5-7, 185 in his playing days, Berra stood tall among the game's elite. In 1999 he was one of 100 players selected to Major League Baseball's All-Century team.
From 1985 to 1989, Berra served as bench coach for the Astros, including helping them reach the NLCS in 1986.
The Astros released the following statement from team president Reid Ryan Wednesday morning:
"We join the rest of the baseball world in mourning the passing of Yogi Berra, truly one of the game's all-time greats. Many of us were fortunate enough to get to know Yogi on a personal level during his four seasons as the Astros bench coach. During his time with the Astros organization, he had a tremendous impact on many of our players, including our first Hall of Famer, Craig Biggio. We send our deepest condolences to Yogi's family and friends and to his many fans and admirers."
Berra was a free swinger who loved to chase pitches way out of the strike zone. "If I can hit it, it's a good pitch," he said of a career that spanned 18 seasons with the Yankees. Thirteen of those seasons ended in the World Series, and Berra was a part of 10 Yankees championship teams.
He batted .285 with 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in a career that finished with a short stint with the New York Mets in 1965.
Behind the plate, he was a classic catcher, adept at handling pitchers, comfortable in the squat position and skilled in using his quickness to smother their wild offerings.
He also managed the Yankees and Mets and led both to the World Series, never winning.
But long after his playing/managing days, Berra maintained a public profile as one of baseball's all-time classic personalities.
Joe Garagiola, a childhood friend of Berra's in an Italian neighborhood in St. Louis known as "The Hill," also became a catcher in the major leagues but gained his fame as a broadcaster and baseball humorist.
He once told the story of how Berra gave his wife, Carmen, an anniversary card signed, "Yogi Berra." She asked him if he figured he had to sign his last name so that she wouldn't confuse him with somebody else named "Yogi."
Berra became known for saying lots of memorable things — although whether he actually said some or they were created by the media has been a matter of conjecture. One of the many books he authored said it all: The Yogi Book: I Really Didn't Say Everything I Said!
Some other Yogi-isms:
"When you come to a fork in the road ... take it."
"You can observe a lot by watching."
"It gets late early out here."
After being fired as manager of the Mets in 1975, Berra became a coach with the Yankees. He was named their manager in 1984, but was fired by owner George Steinbrenner early in the 1985 season.
That caused a split between Steinbrenner and Berra, who said he never would return to Yankee Stadium. The rift ended in 2000 after Steinbrenner went to Berra's Montclair, N.J., home to visit. When Steinbrenner died in 2010, Berra remembered him as a "gracious and great man."
Berra's personality made him much sought after as an advertising pitchman. He did ads for Yoo-Hoo chocolate drinks, Puss 'n Boots cat food and many more products. In 2010, Berra was featured in a national ad campaign by iXP Corporation, which provides public safety and security strategies for municipalities, hospitals, colleges and more.
One iXP ad focused on budget issues faced in public safety with a line from Berra: "A nickel isn't worth a dime anymore." Another Berra line in that campaign: "If it's an emergency, it's usually urgent."
