NEW YORK – Yogi Berra’s death resonated across the baseball world Wednesday including the Braves clubhouse, as the legendary former Yankee was mourned and remembered by those who knew him well and others who simply revered him.
Berra, a Hall of Fame catcher, manager, master of the malaprop and bona fide New York icon, died Tuesday night at the age of 90.
“It’s a sad day in our household, for sure,” said Braves outfielder Nick Swisher, who became close with Berra when Swisher played for the Yankees during the 2009-2012 seasons. “We got a phone call this morning really early letting us know the news. We were so close to him. He was so close to so many people. In the time I spent here in New York, I spent a lot of that time with Yogi. And the times afterward – I got a chance to see him this past offseason.
“Now I can’t just pick up the phone and call him anymore, and that just makes me really sad. He did so many things for so many different people. Regardless of how good of a player he was, people need to know how good of a man he was, how good of a husband he was – now I know at least he’s back with his woman, he’s back with Carmen. Because I know he loved that woman so much. When she passed away, part of him went with her.
“He was one of the greatest men that I ever knew, and he’ll be sorely missed.”
One of the greatest catchers of all time, Berra was both an outstanding hitter and defensive player. He made 15 consecutive All-Star teams and was a cornerstone of the dynastic Yankees teams of the 1950s and early ‘60s. He played in 14 World Series, won 10 rings, and had a career .285 batting average of .285 with 358 home runs and only 414 strikeouts in 7,555 at-bats over 19 seasons.
“We lost a baseball icon,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who cherished meeting him once when Berra was in Braves manager Bobby Cox’s office before a spring training game seven or eight years ago. “A great baseball man, and a good person…. I think he’s going to be one of those guys, his name and his legacy is going to live on for a long, long time. My thoughts go out to him and his family and all the people that he’s touched along the way.”
Gonzalez added, “It’s crazy, five times he finished with more home runs than strikeouts (in a season). Somebody told me today that Bryce Harper has already passed his career strikeouts, and Yogi had (19) seasons in the big leagues. All those World Series, all those championships – those numbers that you look at, you’ll never see them again.”
Braves veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski didn’t know Berra, but he know all about him and took advantage of a few opportunities to exchange greetings with him at old-timers games and other events.
“Especially being a catcher, looking up and seeing all the things he did, all the records and everything that he did for so long, it was pretty cool just be able to say, yeah, I shook his hand a few times,” Pierzynksi said. “He’s listed at 5-7. I thought he was a little taller when I saw him; maybe he grew as he got older. He had a presence. Whenever you saw him and he walked into anywhere you were, he just had a presence. And that’s what the really, really great ones do.
“It’s a sad day for baseball, and he’ll be missed.”
Swisher said, “I mean, he played and coached in 21 World Series. He played in 74 World Series games. That’s unbelievable. One of three players to have three MVPs. All-Star every year. But I think more than that, what he brought to the game, he just transcended the game…. For me to have the honor of getting to know him and Carmen and his family, they know how much I love them and he’ll be missed a lot.”
Swisher recalled what an impact Berra had on him after being traded to the Yankees in November 2008, just before Swisher’s 28th birthday.
“He was so amazing to me,” Swisher said. “I had just came over to New York after losing my grandfather, and after the time we spent together I said, Yogi, hey man, how ‘bout you just be my adopted grandfather? And he said, ‘You know what, Nicky? I’d love that.’ I just think from then, there was just a crazy bond that him and I had. I’m pretty sad today….
“We talked a lot. We had just a bond that I’m thinking to myself, I’m from this small town in West Virginia, just a nobody, and somehow I ended up being tight with a man like Yogi Berra, with a living legend. I tried to soak that up. He could talk to me in a way that would just simplify everything. He was a very simple man. He loved life, always had a smile on his face, so I think just from being around that man – he was my type of guy, man. He loved everything. He loved his wife, he loved his family, he loved baseball. I mean, I love those three things, too….
“For him to be gone, I know a lot of people are going to miss him. Baseball’s going to be a little different now without him around, and I definitely know New York is going to miss him a lot.”
