Highlighted Year: Yogi Berra, 1961

Outfielder/Catcher, New York Yankees

 Age:  36 (May 12)

15^th season with Yankees

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’7”    Weight: 185 

Prior to 1961:

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri Lawrence Berra, who dropped out of high school, starred on his American Legion baseball team along with his neighbor Joe Garagiola. Christened with the nickname “Yogi” as a youth, Berra was short and stocky and had an awkward batting style. The Cardinals signed Garagiola to a contract with a bonus and when they made an offer to Berra that didn’t include a bonus, he turned them down. He also turned down the other St. Louis team, the Browns of the AL. The Yankees offered a $500 bonus along with a salary of $90 per month, so Berra signed with them in 1942. He played for the Norfolk Tars of the Class B Piedmont League in 1943, hitting .253 in 111 games, after which he enlisted in the Navy. Following the completion of his World War II military service, Berra reported to the Newark Bears of the Class AAA International League in 1946 where he hit .314 with 15 home runs and 59 RBIs in 77 games. A raw talent who was defensively limited as a catcher at this point, he received a late September call-up to the Yankees following the completion of Newark’s season. Appearing in seven games, Berra hit .364 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. He was used primarily as an outfielder during spring training in 1947, where he was a defensive liability. Splitting time between the outfield and catcher, he played in 83 games and hit .280 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs.  In the World Series against the Dodgers, Berra was benched after getting off to a 0-for-7 start at the plate in the first two games but came on to hit the first pinch home run in World Series history as he batted .158 overall. He followed up with a .305 average with 14 home runs and 98 RBIs in 1948 and was chosen to his first All-Star Game along the way, while appearing in 125 games (71 at catcher) for the third place Yanks. With the arrival of Casey Stengel as manager in 1949, ex-Yankee great Bill Dickey was given the task of tutoring Berra on his technique behind the plate. Berra hit .277 that season with 20 home runs and 91 RBIs and was again selected as an All-Star. Much improved as a catcher, Berra had a strong year in 1950, producing 28 home runs and 124 RBIs with a .322 batting average and .383 on-base percentage. He placed third in AL MVP voting in addition to garnering All-Star honors once again. Berra received league MVP recognition in 1951 after batting .294 with 27 home runs, 88 RBIs, and a .350 OBP as the Yankees made it three straight titles. Berra had another strong season in 1952, hitting 30 home runs with 98 RBIs, a .273 average, and a .358 OBP. The Yankees won their fourth straight pennant and World Series and Berra finished fourth in the league MVP balloting. The Yanks made it five straight in 1953 with Berra contributing 27 home runs, 108 RBIs, a .296 average, and .363 OBP, placing second in the league MVP vote. The ungainly-looking Berra was a notorious “bad-ball” hitter who rarely struck out and performed well in clutch situations. While the Yankees lost the AL pennant to the Indians in 1954, Berra won his second MVP award after batting .307 with 22 home runs and 125 RBIs, also performing well behind the plate. The highest-paid player on the Yankees in 1955 at $48,000, Berra was an amiable and colorful character noted for his malapropisms that came to be known as “Yogi-isms”, and he was also referred to as the “assistant manager” by manager Casey Stengel in recognition of his level of baseball knowledge. Berra made it three MVP awards in 1955, as the Yankees returned to the top of the American League and the star catcher hit .272 with 27 home runs, 108 RBIs, and a .349 OBP. Berra tied his career high with 30 home runs in 1956 and hit .298 with 105 RBIs and a .378 OBP while finishing second to teammate Mickey Mantle in AL MVP voting. In the World Series he caught Don Larsen’s Game 5 perfect game. He continued to be a perennial All-Star with a team that typically topped the American League until his retirement following the 1963 season. Starting in 1960 he was utilized more in the outfield as Elston Howard became the team’s primary catcher. That season he hit .276 with 15 home runs, 62 RBIs, and a .347 OBP while appearing in 61 games behind the plate and 36 in the outfield.

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 119 games

LF – 81, PH – 20, C – 15, RF – 8

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 437

At Bats – 395

Runs – 62

Hits – 107

Doubles – 11

Triples – 0

Home Runs – 22 [16, tied with Jim Landis]

RBI – 61

Bases on Balls – 35

Int. BB – 4 [17, tied with eight others]

Strikeouts – 28

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 0

Average - .271

OBP - .330

Slugging Pct. - .466 [Non-qualifying]

Total Bases – 184

GDP – 7

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 5 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 6, HR - 11, RBI - 34, AVG - .279, OBP - .320, SLG –  .460

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Most hits, game – 3 on five occasions

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

HR at home – 12

HR on road – 10

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 3 AB) at Chi. White Sox 6/2, (in 4 AB) vs. LA Angels 6/11

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 3 on five occasions

Pinch-hitting – 5 for 19 (.263) with 2 R, 1 HR & 5 RBI

Fielding (OF)

Chances – 170

Put Outs – 161

Assists – 7

Errors – 2

DP – 2

Pct. - .988

Postseason Batting: 4 G (World Series vs. Cincinnati)

PA – 16, AB – 11, R – 2, H – 3, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 3, BB – 5, IBB – 2, SO – 1, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .273, OBP - .500, SLG - .545, TB – 6, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

23rd in AL MVP voting (2 points - 1% share)

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The Yankees, under new manager Ralph Houk, went 109-53 to win the AL pennant by 8 games over the Detroit Tigers, while leading the league in home runs (240), RBIs (781), slugging (.442), and total bases (2455). The Yankees surged to the pennant in a season dominated by the home run race between slugging outfielders Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Won World Series over the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 1. The Series was highlighted by New Yotk LHP Whitey Ford’s record string of 33 consecutive shutout innings pitched.

Aftermath of 1961:

Berra played two more seasons in 1962 and 1963, with dwindling production. For his career with the Yankees overall, Berra hit .285 with 2148 hits that included 321 doubles, 49 triples, and 358 home runs. He drove in 1430 runs and scored 1174, while only striking out 411 times. Thanks to the team’s success, Berra appeared in a record 75 World Series games and produced 71 hits in 259 at bats (also records) for a .274 average with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs. He excelled as a fielder after his rough start behind the plate and in one stretch of 148 games handled 950 chances without an error. Berra was an 18-time All-Star and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. After his initial retirement in 1963 he became manager of the Yankees in 1964 and was fired following their World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He was hired by the Mets as a player/coach in 1965 and played in just four games, hitting .222 in what proved to be his final year as a player. He remained a coach with the Mets until being elevated to manager in 1972 after the death of Gil Hodges during spring training. The Mets won the NL pennant in 1973 and Berra stayed on as manager until being relieved during the ’75 season, the club having produced an overall record of 292-296 under his guidance. He returned to the Yankees as a coach for several years until being elevated once again to manager in 1984. His tenure came to a bitter end 16 games into the 1985 season. Overall, in two stints with the Yankees Berra’s managerial record was 192-148. He returned to coaching with the Houston Astros through 1989 until finally retiring from baseball for good. An iconic and popular figure, Berra lived until 2015 when he died at age 90 after which he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama. The Yankees retired his #8 and further honored him with a plaque in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park. His son Dale was a shortstop and third baseman in the major leagues from 1977 to ‘87, primarily with Pittsburgh.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.