Yogi Berra, then 18, was signed by the New York Yankees in 1943, but his professional career was delayed by service in the Navy. After an impressive minor-league season in 1946, he was brought up to the big team for the last seven games of the year and batted .364 with two home runs. In his favor with some observers was that he bore a resemblance to Charlie (King Kong) Keller, the Yanks' leading home run hitter and run producer that year. After a disappointing third-place finish, the Bronx club needed more slugging.
An Uncertain Start
The Yankees had been blessed from 1928 to 1943 with one of the all-time catching greats in Bill Dickey, a splendid receiver who, in his prime, consistently hit over .300 and often drove in over 100 runs a year. It was soon clear that Berra could provide them with some of Dickey's power at the plate, but that there was much lacking behind the plate. As a result, he caught only 51 games in the 1947 world championship season and played another 25 or so in the outfield, hitting a respectable .280 with 11 homers.
Yankee manager Bucky Harris gave Yogi another shot at catching in 1948, but in a mid-season shuffle, he was again moved to the outfield and replaced by the light-hitting Gus Niarhos. Berra's .305 batting average, 14 home runs, and 98 runs batted in convinced the Yankees that he was needed in the regular lineup, but they remained hesitant about his fielding.
The career-making solution came with the advent of a new manager, Casey Stengel, who brought in Dickey as one of his coaches. Although he had other responsibilities, Dickey was also charged with improving Berra's catching skills. The supplemental training began in the 1949 Spring training, and it must be accounted as one of the mentoring successes of all time.
Perpetual All Star Catcher
Berra caught 109 games in 1949 and his total would have been higher but for a broken finger late in the season. He had the first of 10 consecutive years with 20 or more home runs and drove in more than 100 runs in five of those seasons. Equally important, he caught more than 140 games in five of those seasons and never fewer than 121 through 1957.
Berra constantly developed as a handler of pitchers and was much respected by the Yankee staff. He became adept at pouncing on balls hit in front of the plate and improved greatly in throwing out runners attempting to steal. In the first game of the 1953 World Series, he threw out two consecutive runners at third base on bunts to squelch a Brooklyn Dodgers rally.
But it was his hitting, particularly in important close games, that made Yogi a Hall of Famer. A notorious bad ball hitter, he was especially dangerous in the late innings and when the pennant or World Series was on the line. With 358 regular season home runs and 12 more in the Series, he was an All Star 18 times and American League Most Valuable Player three times. Berra's two home runs in the seventh game of the 1956 World Series off Don Newcombe remain one of the great clutch hitting performances in baseball's annals. In all, he was considered a key factor in the Yankees' winning 14 pennants and 10 world championships.
Significantly, his third MVP award, in 1955, was obviously based on his catching skills, because he hit only .272 that year. It was the ultimate tribute to Dickey's teaching and Yogi's "learning."
Reference: Baseball-Reference.com
