Yogi's Mets years remembered fondly

"Yogi Berra was a baseball legend who played a key part in our history. He was kind, compassionate and always found a way to make people laugh. With us he was a player, coach and managed the 1973 'Ya Gotta Believe' team to the National League pennant. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

The Mets held a moment of silence for Berra and played a video tribute before their game against the Braves on Wednesday night.

"One of the great legacies of the game, one of the most tremendous people," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "In my time with Houston I got to know Yogi. He had great relationships with Matt Galante and [Craig] Biggio. He would come in the clubhouse a lot. As I've been reading about today, everything they say is true. Wonderful man. Tremendous player. The game is not as good as it once was today."

"I thought, 'Wow this is Yogi Berra,'" said Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson, who has also played for the Yankees. "With all the championships and the accolades he has, he came up to me and introduced himself to me. He made me know he was approachable and that I could talk to him all the time. He also joked around with you, let you know you need to be loose and relaxed even though you're in the Major Leagues.

"... The number of people I saw commenting on social media today that were not athletes was amazing to me, and speaks to how he was known as a figure."

A year after retiring as a player and serving as Yankees manager for the first time in 1964, taking them to the World Series, Berra joined the Mets as a player/coach. The player part did not last long; Berra, who had appeared in 2,116 games for the Yanks, the second most in history at that time, played in just four for the Mets. He hung up his spikes for good just shy of his 40th birthday.

But Berra stayed in Queens as a coach under such legendary managers as Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges, before taking over as manager himself in 1972 -- the same summer he was elected to the Hall of Fame. A year later, Berra guided the Mets to the National League pennant in the aforementioned "Ya Gotta Believe" season, never changing the personality quirks that furthered his legend. Berra finished his Mets managerial career with a 292-296 record over four seasons.

"They threw away the mold in regards to Yogi," Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, a member of the Mets during all four of Berra's managerial years there, said in a statement. "He was one of a kind. He loved the game. As a manager, he never tried to complicate things. He let his players play. He respected what you did on the field. He was an utter delight to be around."

Other former Mets had similar compliments to offer. Jerry Koosman called Berra "a true gentleman" who was "very reassuring" and "always stayed positive." Rusty Staub, who took part in a 2008 ceremony alongside Berra after the final game at Shea Stadium, described him as someone who "did so much good for so many people in the world."

"Every time I think of Yogi, I have a smile on my face," Staub said in a statement. "That's the effect he had on people."

Baseball mourns passing of Yogi Berra
SPENCER FORDIN, MLB.COM
The baseball community reacted with shock and sadness to the loss of a giant Wednesday morning, when word emerged that Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra had passed away. Berra, a 10-time World Series champion as a player, celebrated his 90th birthday in May and left an enormous legacy.

Berra was named the American League's Most Valuable Player Award winner three times and was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, his second year of eligibility. His death, coincidentally, came late in the evening on Tuesday -- 69 years to the day after his big league debut on Sept. 22, 1946.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. issued the following statement:

"Yogi Berra's character, talent, courage, extraordinary experiences and inimitable way with words made him a universally beloved figure in Baseball and beyond.

"Born to Italian immigrant parents in St. Louis, Lawrence Peter Berra grew up to serve his country on D-Day as a member of the U.S. Navy. Upon his return from his service, he often played in the substantial shadows of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, and yet he quietly became no less than one of the most accomplished players in baseball history himself. The slugging catcher was an anchor of 10 World Championship Yankee teams, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player and a 15-time All-Star. The Hall of Famer played on more World Championship and pennant-winning clubs than any player in the history of our National Pastime.

"Renowned as a great teammate, Yogi stood for values like inclusion and respect during the vital era when our game began to become complete and open to all. With his trademark humility and good humor, Yogi represented only goodwill to baseball fans. His proud American story will endure at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey.

"Yogi Berra was a beacon of Americana, and today Major League Baseball and all of its Clubs stand together in mourning his passing and celebrating his memory. On behalf of the game he served with excellence and dignity, I extend my deepest condolences to Yogi's children and grandchildren, his many friends throughout our game and his countless admirers."

Berra played for the Yankees from 1946-63 and later came back to manage his beloved franchise, and his former team issued a touching note of condolence on Wednesday morning.

"Yogi Berra's legacy transcends baseball," Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. "Though slight in stature, he was a giant in the most significant of ways through his service to his country, compassion for others and genuine enthusiasm for the game he loved. He has always been a role model and hero that America could look up to.

"While his baseball wit and wisdom brought out the best in generations of Yankees, his imprint in society stretches far beyond the walls of Yankee Stadium. He simply had a way of reaching and relating to people that was unmatched. That's what made him such a national treasure.

"On behalf of my family and the entire Yankees organization, we extend our deepest condolences to Yogi's family, friends and loved ones."

President Obama took to Twitter to reflect on Berra: "Yogi Berra was an American original - a Hall of Famer, jovial prophet, & a humble veteran. We'll miss you, Yogi, but your legacy ain't over."

Yogi Berra was an American original - a Hall of Famer, jovial prophet, & a humble veteran. We'll miss you, Yogi, but your legacy ain't over.

— President Obama (@POTUS) September 23, 2015

Berra, one of the most beloved Yankees of all time, was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1972 and honored with a plaque at Yankee Stadium's Monument Park in '88. Several members of the Yankees family took time to share their thoughts on his life and his passing as Wednesday progressed.

"We lost Yogi, but we will always have what he left for us," said former Yankees manager and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Torre in an official statement. "The memories of a lifetime filled with greatness, humility, integrity and a whole bunch of smiles. He was a lovable friend."

Longtime Yankees captain Derek Jeter paid tribute to Berra on The Players' Tribune.

"To those who didn't know Yogi personally, he was one of the greatest baseball players and Yankees of all time. To those lucky ones who did, he was an even better person. To me he was a dear friend and mentor. He will always be remembered for his success on the field, but I believe his finest quality was how he treated everyone with sincerity and kindness. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."

Former Yankees star and current Dodgers manager Don Mattingly also shared his thoughts on what Berra meant to him and to countless other people Berra had encountered throughout a lifetime in the game.

"Yogi was such a great inspiration for so many people and treated everyone with respect and kindness," said Mattingly. "He epitomized what it really meant to be a New York Yankee. His legendary achievements on the field was only outdone by his humility off the field. It's been an honor to call you a friend, we will all miss you Yogi."

#Dodgers Tweets: Don Mattingly on the passing of Yogi Berra. pic.twitter.com/xSTCXK7gnQ #MLB http://t.co/Ix2D9EdN7r

— LA Dodgers (@dodgerszone) September 23, 2015

Berra, who caught Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, became famous for the colorful ways he expressed himself and was beloved by multiple generations of the baseball family.

"The Major League Baseball-playing fraternity has lost one of its most cherished members," said Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark. "A champion on and off the field, Yogi was one of the most beloved individuals to have ever worn the uniform. Although he will be terribly missed by so many, his contributions to the game have established a legacy that will live on forever in the hearts and minds of the entire baseball community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Yogi's family, friends, former teammates and his legion of fans."

The Mets -- for whom Berra played his final four games in 1965, coached during their Amazin' '69 season and managed to a National League pennant in '73 -- issued the following statement:

"Yogi Berra was a baseball legend who played a key part in our history. He was kind, compassionate and always found a way to make people laugh. With us he was a player, coach and managed the 1973 'Ya Gotta Believe' team to the National League pennant. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Several players from the team Berra managed to the pennant in 1973 shared their thoughts, including Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Rusty Staub and Ed Kranepool.

"They threw away the mold in regards to Yogi," said Seaver, a fellow Hall of Fame inductee. "He was one of a kind. He loved the game. As a manager, he never tried to complicate things. He let his players play. He respected what you did on the field. He was an utter delight to be around."

"He was a true gentleman," said Koosman, who won 14 games during the 1973 campaign. "As a manager, he was very, very reassuring. When things were bad, he always stayed positive."

"He did so much good for so many people in this world," said Staub, a six-time All-Star. "Every time I think of Yogi, I have a smile on my face. That's the effect he had on people."

"Yogi was a fun-loving guy who never had an enemy in the world," added Kranepool. "I dressed next to him for 10 years when I was with the Mets. He was on one side and Joe Torre was on the other. He was a special man."

Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, who played under Berra with the Yankees, also remembered his friend on Wednesday.

"No! Say it ain't so," he wrote on Twitter. "He was a good man, my former manager and friend! RIP Yogi."

No! Say it ain't so. He was a good man, my former manager and friend! RIP Yogi. https://t.co/X5SauCYQty

— Dave Winfield (@DaveWinfieldHOF) September 23, 2015

Winfield wasn't the only Hall of Famer to react to the gigantic loss Wednesday. Johnny Bench, thought by many to be Berra's chief competition as the greatest catcher of all-time, also issued a statement.

Justice: Yogi remembered for kindness, wisdom

"Say it ain't so!" said Bench on Twitter. "I loved ya Yogi. RIP. Say hello to my Dad. Have a catch!"

@MLB say it ain't so! I loved ya Yogi. RIP. Say hello to my Dad. Have a catch!

— Johnny Bench (@Johnny_Bench5) September 23, 2015

The messages came in from all over baseball, starting in Berra's hometown of St. Louis and radiating out over the entire community. The Cardinals issued a message on Twitter, stating that their thoughts and prayers are with Berra's family and friends, and many baseball greats reacted to the news.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia shared his thoughts on what Berra meant to the game.

"He was really diverse. It wasn't just baseball that drove him," said Scioscia of Berra's legacy. "He was a great humanitarian. He went to fight for the [military]. A very humble man for accomplishing probably more than anybody who ever played the game, when you think about the World Series appearances, World Series titles, managing a team to the World Series. And when you got a chance to talk to him, it was like you were talking to your next-door neighbor. He was so down to Earth. Just a great man."

"My thoughts & prayers are with the Berra family today," wrote home run king Barry Bonds in a tweet. "A baseball legend, American hero and great man #YogiBerra #RIP"

My thoughts & prayers are with the Berra family today. A baseball legend, American hero and great man #YogiBerra #RIP

— Barry L Bonds (@BarryBonds) September 23, 2015

"Sorry to hear of the passing of one of baseball's greatest!" wrote Chipper Jones, the former Atlanta Braves great, on Twitter. "Words can't describe what he meant to the game and city of New York."

The Astros released a quote on their Twitter account from Craig Biggio, the recent Hall of Fame inductee who was coached by Berra when Biggio was a catcher early in his career with Houston.

"He lived his life the right way," wrote Biggio. "He helped me more as a person than as a baseball player."

"He lived his life the right way. He helped me more as a person than as a baseball player." - #Astros HOFer Craig Biggio on Yogi Berra

— Houston Astros (@astros) September 23, 2015

"A true legend in this game. #RIPYogiBerra," wrote Boston slugger David Ortiz at his Twitter handle.

A true legend in this game. #RIPYogiBerra pic.twitter.com/e0b7GCOWXr

— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) September 23, 2015

What other city could handle this?

NYC, in its most uneventful week, can be everything from challenging to brutal to worse. But it gets by. Sometimes it even prospers. And sometimes it's brought to its knees.

It was in that position that the great city found itself Wednesday morning when word of the death of Yogi Berra spread. The Empire State Building shed a tear. Gracie Mansion sobbed, the Hudson temporarily suspended its flow and the suspension cables on GWB momentarily sagged. And two ballparks, neither of which had served as Yogi's place of employment, donned black.

The city and its vast satellite communities will get through this, too, because almost any mention of Lawrence Peter Berra prompts smiles from most folks. It's been that way for decades. Yogi was the personification of a punchline. He made us chuckle. Reaction to his death at age 90 is, in some ways, akin to reaction to the assassination of John Lennon. After the horror of that night in December 1980 subsided, the radio stations wore out their Beatles albums. Listeners tapped their feet. The healing process began almost immediately.

It's already begun here for Yogi.

Today, the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center on the campus of Montclair State University in Little Falls, N.J., opens its doors a little wider. Folks undoubtedly will flood it for the next month or so. Yogi was so proud of it.

He greeted me at its entrance one day in 1990-something and noted some of his favorite displays. But his pride was most evident when he ushered me to a wood-paneled room with grandstand seating, a replica of the Yankee Stadium scoreboard, circa 1960 -- No. 20, Marv Throneberry, was identified as the Yankees' first baseman -- and several original World Series championship banners that had been hung from the frieze at the old place on River Avenue.

Yogi pointed to none of the nostalgia. Instead, he pointed to the paneling and said "I got all the wood in here for free." The Great Depression had sculpted some of his values.

* * * * *

Reared in an Italian household -- his mother called him Lawdie because Larry was too challenging for her linguistics -- Berra became quite the American. He responded to his draft notice without hesitation in 1943. He became a Navy man, Seaman 2nd Class Larry Berra. He eventually volunteered for duty as a rocketboat man because "'rocket' appealed to him in a Buck Rogers' kind of way," said Dave Kaplan, director of the Berra museum. "He thought it had an adventurous sound to it."

Following rocketboat training in Norfolk, Va., Berra was shipped out for World War II duty. "I thought we were going to Japan," he said years later. Instead, he was part of the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944. Though his landing craft never charged the shoreline, Berra and his colleagues fired weapons from sea to shore to soften German resistance. And they, in turn, attracted fire.

He recalled hearing his commanding officer yell, "Berra, keep your head down," but Yogi wanted to watch. "You can observe a lot by watching" he famously said years later.

The D-Day experience and others during an invasion of Italy bolstered his courage. Decades later, he was irritated by but unafraid of George Steinbrenner. "You're not a smart guy if you have Yogi as an enemy," Steinbrenner said after he had apologized to Berra, 14 years after he had fired him and a day after Berra had ended his boycott of the Boss and Yankee Stadium.

"I wanted Yogi back in the family," Steinbrenner said that day. "It was wrong for him not to be here for Old-Timers' Day and any other day he wants to come. New York deserves a means to see its great players. We're restocking our eventual Old-Timers' Day rosters every year now. And we've lost some great ones. But as long as we have Whitey [Ford] and Yogi, we have a link to the great teams that were here."

And now Yogi's gone. But the Pope is coming and the general assembly is meeting. The Mets are in first place, and the Yankees are close again. New York City will be back on its feet shortly. But for now, watch the Yogi videos, recall him as the master of malaprops, chuckle, and for God's sake, take mass transit.