On September 22 2015, baseball lost one of its greatest players, manager and person. Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra at the age of 90 passed away in his home in West Caldwell, NJ.
Yogi lived a very eventful life. He was born May 12th, 1925 in St. Louis MO. Berra dropped out of school in eighth grade, which led to him playing baseball and learning basic baseball techniques.
By the time he was 17 in 1942, he was trying out for a major league ball club. His home town St. Louis Cardinals. But the president of the club did not sign him hoping that he would sign with the Dodgers who the president of the Cardinals would soon take a position for.
This made Yogi a free agent and the New York Yankees quickly picked him up because of his amazing talent. Berra Spent 18 years of his impressive 19 year career with the yankees.
In his career he is the only player in Major League Baseball history to appear in 14 World Series. While also winning the most World Series ever by a player, 10.
Before Yogi started his incredible career he served in World war II in the U.S. Navy from 1944-1945. Yogi Berra was a part of the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944.
When Yogi Berra got back from war in 194
6 he started his phenomenal career of being and 18 time all-star with 3 MVP awards while being nominated 15 times in his career. Yogi Berra finished his career with a batting average of .285.
When I asked Lifelong Yankees fan John Lisankie how he felt when he heard about Yogi Berra passing away he said, “it was really, really sad and it is always a tough thing when a monumental hero passes away.”
The Yankees and other sporting teams around the tri-state area had a moment of silence in the weeks following the death of a hero.
Yogi Berra was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 as a first ballot Hall of Famer. It is clear that the world had lost an amazing player, human and hero.
By Jeffrey Millet