1986 Sportflics Decade Greats: Yogi Berra

Great to see the color photos of Berra in action. This card looks much better in person.

The player: If you ask any Yankee fan who watched the team in the 1950s and early 1960s, even those who idolized Mickey Mantle, and they'll tell you that with the game on the line, the man they wanted up at the plate was Yogi Berra. Berra, who owns numerous World Series hitting records, was widely considered the best clutch hitter in baseball. He hit for average and power in an era when most catchers contributed little with the bat. He had amazing plate coverage, probably the best-known "bad ball" hitter until Vladimir Guerrero. In only two of his nineteen seasons did he strike out more than he walked; in six seasons he walked two or three times his number of strikeouts! He even had more home runs than strikeouts five times. Berra's defense and pitch-handling abilities were somewhat underrated. He famously caught Don Larsen's perfect game, and doesn't get enough credit for the excellent pitching staffs during the height of the Yankee dynasty.

The man: Berra was an 18-year-old minor leaguer when he enlisted in the Navy in 1943. He served on a rocket boat for ten days during the Normandy landings, where his boat took fire but was not hit. Later in the war he was wounded in the left hand. He received a Purple Heart among several other decorations. During his playing days, Berra appeared in numerous advertisements and commercials, and opened a bowling alley in New Jersey with teammate and close friend Phil Rizzuto. Like Rizzuto, Berra's seemingly goofy personality overshadowed his playing skills in the public eye and somewhat obscured just what a fantastic ballplayer he was. After his career, Berra managed both the Yankees and Mets to pennants. He died at the age of 90 in 2015.

My collection: I own two of Berra's playing-days Topps cards, 1958 and 1959. His last card as an active player was 1965 Topps #470.