Yogi Berra: Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1972

Born: May 12, 1925

1942: Cardinals choose Joe Garagiola over Berra

1943: Signed by New York Yankees

1944-45: World War II service

1944: Fought at Normandy

1945-6: Minor Leagues

Debut: September 22, 1946 (Yankees)

1947: Hit first pinch hit home run in World Series history

1947: Yankees win World Series

1949-53: Yankees win World Series

1951: Caught two Allie Reynolds’ no-hitters

1951: AL MVP

1954: AL MVP

1955: AL MVP

1955: Yankees win Pennant

1956: Caught Don Larsen’s perfect game

1956: Yankees win World Series

1957: Yankees win Pennant

1958: Yankees win World Series

1960: Yankees win Pennant

1961-62: Yankees win World Series

1962: Caught 22 innings against Detroit

1963: Retired

1963: Yankees win Pennant

1964: Managed Yankees (99-63)

1964: Yankees win Pennant

1965: Signed by New York Mets

1965: Returned for four games with Mets

1965-71: Mets coach

1969: Mets win World Series

1972-75: Managed Mets (292-296)

1972: Elected to Hall of Fame

1972: Yankees retired his #8 along with Bill Dickey’s #8

1973: Mets win Pennant

1976-83: Yankees coach

1976: Yankees win Pennant

1977-8: Yankees win World Series

1981: Yankees win Pennant

1984-85: Managed Yankees (93-85)

1985: Fired by George Steinbrenner; Berra refused to speak to Steinbrenner or return to Yankee Stadium for over a decade

1986-89: Astros coach

1986: Astros win NL West

1998: Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center opens

1988: Received plaque at Monument Park

1999: Buried the hatchet with Steinbrenner; Yankees hold Yogi Berra Day

1999: Elected to All Century Team

2000: Yogi returned to the Yankee family to mentor Jorge Posada

Accomplishments:

13x World Champion (10 as a player)

18x All Star

3x AL MVP

Caught 3 No-hitters including Don Larsen’s Perfect Game

.285 average

1175 Runs

2150 Hits

321 doubles

358 Home Runs

1430 RBI

704 walks-414 strikeouts

.830 OPS

116 runs (1950)

30 doubles (1952)

10 Triples (1948)

20+ HR: 11x

30+ HR: 2x

100+ RBI: 5x

Hit .300: 3x

.500 slugging: 3x

.900 OPS: 2x

318 TB (1950)

Postseason: .274, 12 HR, 39 RBI, .811 OPS (14 World Series)

Top 10 New York Yankees Moments

Ruth christens Yankee Stadium (April 18, 1923): Babe Ruth opened Yankee Stadium with the ballpark’s first home run. Yanks win 4-1.


Ruth’s called shot (October 1, 1932 World Series Game 3): The Cubs were riding Ruth when he allegedly called his shot in the fifth inning. Video footage of the event definitely shows Ruth exchanging words with the Cub bench. However, there is no definitive evidence of Ruth calling the home run.

Lou Gehrig’s speech (July 4, 1939): The Yankees declared July 4, 1939 “Lou Gehrig Day” at Yankee Stadium. The doomed player addressed a crowd of 62,000 fans and proclaimed his belief that he was “the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”

Joe DiMaggio’s 56 Game Hitting Streak (1941): It began on May 15 and did not end until July 17. DiMaggio got a hit in every single game for two months. That’s insane.

Billy Martin’s catch (October 7, 1952 World Series Game 7): In Game 7 of the 1952 World Series, Billy Martin made an amazing catch which saved the game and the series for the Yankees. Jackie Robinson hit a two-out seventh inning popup which the wind took. Martin desperately raced to make the catch with the bases loaded. The Dodgers failed to score and the Yanks won the game 4-2.

Don Larsen is perfect (October 8, 1956 Game 5): Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history after getting rocked in Game 2. It is the greatest game pitched in postseason history.

Roger Maris hits 61 (1961): Even though it seemed the world was against him, and he lost his hair, Roger Maris did the unthinkable and beat Babe Ruth’s home run record. Some people never forgave Maris for dethroning the Babe. Most people warmed to Maris however and his status has since been elevated because of the allegation of steroid use in the late 90s and early 00s.

Chris Chambliss walk-off (October 14, 1976 Game 5 ALCS): Chambliss sent the Yankees to their first World Series since 1964 with a walk off homer off Kansas City’s Mark Littell.

Reggie! Reggie! Reggie! (October 18, 1977 World Series Game 6): Reggie hits three homers on three pitches to sink LA’s championship hopes. What people don’t remember is Reggie hit a homer in his last at bat in Game 5. So, he hit four straight homers on four straight pitches.

Mr. November (October 31-November 1, 2001 World Series Game 4): Derek Jeter became Mr. November with a 10th inning walk off homer to tie the World Series at two games each.