Four Hall of Fame Catchers Interviewed by Tim Russert in 2003
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- Tim Russert interviews Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Gary Carter and Carlton Fisk at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, on the campus of Montclair State University in Little Falls, New Jersey.
Seeing Tim brings a tear to my eye… we use to have newsmen and women that tried to unite us as a people not tear us apart tim. He was one of the best… he’s very missed
couldn't agree more, Blu
You said it pal!
Tim Russert was a democrat operative--he'd been an aide to senator Pat Moynihan--and yet, I wonder if he would have gone along or defied the party's turn to the White Genocide Project.
He was the best!
He wouldn’t have tolerated the MAGA cult!
Loved Tim Russet for his passion and respect of organized sport... Also a quality political journalist. Sorely missed.
A fan since 1949...these men represent the wonderful game and the American spirit. Bless and Thank them all...
AMEN!!!
A fan since '52 here - I agree 100% !!
Gary Carter was so great. He played the game like it should be played.
I loved watchng him play for the Expos and seing his youthful enthusiasm for the game and his home runs!
Anyone else catch the Yogi-ism at 8:56? “I think pitchers are the dumbest guys on the mound!”
A great moment with Russert in company with these outstanding players...Pudge Fisk-Deon Sanders story finally described in vivid detail.
Wow, what a great job Tim Russert did and these guys bringing up the reality of how the game should be played! I miss the honor of going deep inside after a guy crushes a home run. I grew up when baseball was great.
Absolutely the best. RIP Tim, Yogi, and Gary. This must have been taped after the 2003 season since Tim eluded to the Boone home run on game 7 of the ALCS.
37:30 It’s so strange to me to see that Carlton Fisk, a life long Red Sox, had more respect for Yankee Stadium than Dion did as a Yankee...
Fisk got dumped by the Red Sox in 1980 and played for the White Sox for 14 seasons. Fisk HATED the Red Sox for offering him a cheap contract.
Love all four of these guys. Yogi, was always my favorite catcher growing up...but the other three were playing at that time. I watched the other three guys as I grew up...and they are now on the same level in my mind...as Yogi was. Johnny Bench...was the greatest catcher I ever saw. An Astros fan here...and my dad made sure, when the Astros played the Reds at the Astrodome...we were there. Johnny Bench was my hero. Then Yogi became a coach for the Astros...and I remember seeing him in the dugout. It thrilled me. Today...I have a Berra Astros replica uniform. It is one of my favorite to wear. These guys were bigger than life to me. Also remember watching the Red Sox/Reds World Series on TV with my dad in 1975, when Carlton Fisk hit that home run. I was 9 years old...and it was like a fairy tale. I wanted to be Carlton Fisk at that moment. Catchers...are the heart of a team. And these four guys...were the Generals on the field.
Thanks, Babe, for sharing your memories of some great players and some great moments in baseball.
When you watch Fisk and Bench, you have to wonder about the controversy of Thurmon Munson and Johnny Bench in the 1976 World Series, both Johnny Bench and Thurman Munson had great performances that year, with Sparky Anderson commenting that comparing Munson to Johnny Bench was not being fair to Munson.
One of the best baseball interviews of all Time. The iron men of the game. Fisk & Yogi are my favorites. Loved the story of Fisk confronting Sanders about playing the game right.
Followed baseball all my life, yet learned so much I didn't know.
I always had major respect for Carlton Fisk confronting Deion Sanders for that BS Deion did.
Rest in Peace to Gary Carter. I hated that man as a kid. I was a Sox fan and 1986 broke my heart for real.
God bess Carter. On the other side of the fence, I grew up in Montreal and we all wanted to crouch like him behind the plate or lift our sleeves at bat like him. He was our hero. A killer smile on Chrysler ads and such a beautiful wife. I clearly remember the night he was traded to the Mets, crying like a baby. I still hate their jersey to this day ;). With the Expos gone, I've slowly become a Red Sox fan but forgive Gary for killing us in '86....
What a wonderful gathering of these 4 greatests catchers. Thanks for posting it.
One of the best baseball interviews ever. Tremendous stories!
and Tim Russert was a news man
Tim Russert was an awesome man in every regard, miss him a lot...
My half brother Jim was his main camera man on Sundays Meet the Press. He really loved working for Tim.
Funny, I read the thumbnail...I click because I want to see Russurt. Hey Tim? What's the best Football team in NY?
Now we have Chuck Todd. Life is NOT fair.
He was a huge Bills fan…wish they could’ve brought one home for him in the 90s…Sabres too, if I remember correctly.
I agree , I always watched him on Sunday , you knew you’d always get a fair unbiased interview… I never knew his politics
Fiske had to catch two of the most interesting characters in pro baseball (besides Dizzy Dean and Yogi)- Bill "Spaceman" Lee and Luis Tiant. I'm not sure how he dealt with those personalities, much less controlled them! Ooops, I forgot about Mark "The Bird" Fidrych!
Wow, this is so precious! Missing, RIP, Thurman Munson.
Not only great players,These are Role Models..big difference. 👍🏻
👎
And amazing raising 2 young sons at his age...catch that clip
How can a kids have role model when they wont pull his pants up over his thinkn cap?
I'm a Reds fan, but I wish someone had mentioned something about Thurman Munson.
I’m a Yankees fan, and I agree with you 100%. Johnny Bench is the best catcher I ever saw hands down. The others on this panel are certainly no slouches. However as great as Bench was, I wouldn’t trade Thurman for him.
One of the great catchers...Thurman/Yanks
I was at my Uncle's house and heard the adults talking in shock the day he died. I'm an Ohioan and was 10 and had just begun collecting cards, and I remember my Munson card from a season he never got to play. Standing, mask off, big guy with a big mustache, standing on home plate.Sure HOFer
This has to be the best baseball interview I have ever seen. Those 4 Hall of Fame Catchers have encyclopedic knowledge of baseball history. This interview should be in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Great inverview.
Absolutely! This is a classic piece of broadcasting and an exceptional moment of sports history. Tim Russert at his best, and that's saying something.
And your comment included
Weird knowing 60% of that panel are no longer with us. 5 great men and 4 of the best catchers that will ever live. What a unique and special 45 minutes.
Terrific comment, Dane
Yeah, but that was 19 years ago. Yogi was already about 77. The Kid and Tim Russert were different stories (the big C and a heart attack).
Speaking of the "war". Yogi was at Normandy. He actually did get wounded, but never submitted the Purple Heart paperwork because he didn't want his mother to worry upon her getting the notification telegram.
As a catcher myself I’m happy as hell to see tim(RIP) interview 4 of the best ever….I’ve seen them all play and they all had different styles but they all worked…they took command….🔥⚾⚾⚾⚾
As a Republican. I miss Tim. A Great Jounalist. And a true American. Very fair and saw both sides of the aisle. Wasn't afraid to call out his party.
Johnny Bench is my favorite ballplayer of all time. Yogi was the same for my Dad. It was great to see those two together like this. I loved hearing Fisk’s story about that one clown’s antics at Yankee Stadium. All four of these men exhibited a true love of the game. I admired them all.
Bench is a cheap show.
How's that?@@hughdismuke4703
Any interview including Berra is a treat. In his prime in today's salaries? Forget about it !
RIP Yogi and Gary two truly a gentlemen.
and Tim Russert
I had totally forgot that Gary Cafter passed away :(
Such absolute genius of baseball on one stage. Goodness.
what a nice pleasure to watch!!! Really great interview!!! Those 4 were untouchable !!!
i wish baseball and news crews would do more of this with pro players with all sports players
Love this interview. Tim was a good interviewer and those four great players were fun to listen to.
This was in 2003? Its amazing it's in such an intimate venue. I would think it would have been in an auditorium, getting 4 Hall of Famers (especially of This magnitude) together is very rare. Great moments in time. 🧡
Tim Russert was the last great newsman. He had a fairness and toughness that is long gone in network news.
Loved this. Takes me back to when baseball was honorable and played by real men.
Still a few left, but admittedly not as many as there used to be.
I feel sorry for kids. I grew up listening to baseball on the radio mostly. I lived in East Texas and only got to see a few Astros games at the Astrodome but maybe a half frozen as a kid. But todays kids get to mostly watch a bunch of spoiled overgrown children. A few still have it. I moved to
Maryland later and got to watch Cal Ripken Jr play in a great ball park. Then a real asshole bought the team and ruined them. That was when I really stopped following baseball on a daily basis.
Love all four but Yogi has to be my all time favorite even though I'm a St. Louis Cardinal fan and love Yadier Molina devotedly. In time I believe Yadi will also be in the Hall of Fame. As this post is written it's 2022 in August and Yadi is playing in his announced final year of baseball. Thanks for this video. OH and as an admirer of catchers, the amount they are paid could never be enough compared to the beating they take back there.
Yadi should make the HOF. One of the best...a beast behind the Plate
There is nothing better, than watching a true baseball fan interview some of the best in the game. Heroes one and all....
I suppose everyone has a favorite "yogiism", mine is the teacher who gave him an F on something and said "Berra, you don't know anything" and he reportedly replied "don't know anything?? I don't even SUSPECT anything"
Great show from a great news person. RIP Tim Russett
After Tim Russert died on Friday June 13th, 2008 Meet The Press on Sundays hasn’t been the same without him.
Yogi was playing left field when Bill Mazeroski hit his homerun in the 9th inning of the 7th game of the 1960 World Series. Mickey was in Centerfield that day too
Wonderful interview by Tim of the Titans of Baseball They were the best of the game and leaders of every game
That was really interesting to just see them interact-big personalities with a little bit of competitive ego. As great as Carter was, you could tell that he wasn’t always a player favorite. You could kind of feel that JB considers himself the goat (resents the lung surgery changing the course) where as yogi feels very secure with his rings as his legacy. The commander was still as brash/fiery as ever.
Ten rings. Ten.
@@shadoworksphilosophy120 Love it, though I gained respect for Bench in this. Another great Yankee catcher I put in the discussion of GOAT catchers is Bill Dickey. And of course Josh Gibson.
@@shadoworksphilosophy120 one more than Joe DiMaggio, his teammate.
Yes, but Berra's 14 World Series Championship rings makes you evaluate his career when compared to Bill Russell, and Michael Jordan. Berra was the ultimate winner.
@@HigherPowerWorldWide I would put Russell in the same category as Berra and DiMaggio. Also, maybe Gretzky too.
Yogi was playing left field when Mazeroski hit 1960 home run to win the World Series.
Thanks for your remembrance, C DUB. When Berra went back to the wall, and when he saw that he wouldn't be able to catch Maz's drive, he turned to be in position to play the ball off the wall. But, we both know what happened to it. I was in college at the time; and, a schoolmate of mine, a freshman from Pittsburgh, bet heavily at the beginning of the Series that the Pirates would win it. Because the Yankees' three wins were by such lop-sided scores, this poor guy was on a emotional roller coaster as the series wore on. Did I say "poor" guy? Mazeroski (and catcher Hal Smith, who also hit a late-inning key home run) made him a lot of $$$.
@@pianopappy thanks I’ll correct that .
@@cdub531 And I rewrote my comment.
He sure was. A friend of mine got a Mazerowski autographed baseball for me when he saw him at a card show.
I was serving in the Canadian army as part of the UN Force in Egypt in 1960. I could only receive that Game via short wave radio in one particular spot, at night, in the middle of a sand field. When the home run was hit by Mazeroski I jumped up and did a war dance. Great memory & a great interview.
I was a catcher growing up with Bench and Pudge as my heros . This was such a treat for me to watch!!
speaking as a Montrealer...i can tell you Gary Carter was such a class act!!!
A member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, right Andy? I remember "the Kid" better in the 1980's when I was a resident of the Garden State and he was with the Mets. I can still see in my mind's-eye the TV-replay closeups where we could see his eyes open wide to almost twice their size, when he saw a fat pitch on its way that he was going to clobber. Thanks for your comment.
@@pianopappy the Expos would send Gary across country in the dead of winter....Saskatchewan, Manitoba...etc....to run baseball clinics and pump up interest in the team...Gary did it with a smile...he visited sick kids in hospital....any way he could help the team....he was a southern Cal boy...yes in the Hall of Fame....a rare guy indeed....ironic to me such a great guy got brain cancer....RIP Kid!...he is in God's Hall of Fame NOW!!!!!!!
@@Andy-ty2ni Great story about a great guy, Andy! Yes, I wonder why someone like him would get hit with such an aggressive and inoperable cancer. Thanks for the information about how he gave of himself in the off-seasons. I wasn't aware of it.
@@pianopappy , the NY sportswriters had a poll going about which of the '86 Mets would be the first to die because several of them were repeatedly engaging in high-risk behaviours. They all lost their bets because Gary went first and no one saw that coming. One of, if not the cleanest guy on that team and he goes first at 57? Things don't always make sense, do they?
You can’t watch this without smiling. Legends of catching. RIP Tim, Yogi, and Gary.
Great catchers all of them. Baseball's different today reason not having players like this on the field anymore with respect for the game.
If you just accept Bill James and the writers' opinion that Bench is the best, who else would you have on your 25-man roster as his back-up? These three: Carter, Yogi and Fisk certainly figure in the conversation. Others under consideration might be Josh Gibson for his power, Roy Camp with several MVPs, Thurman Munson, Bill Dickey, Eddie Cochranne, Freehan, Lance Parrish... Ivan Rodriguez' arm, Salvador Perez' leadership, Yadier Molina's clutch, Piazza's batting average... It's a tough call for #2. I would probably go with Yogi for his left hitting power, funny clubhouse demeanor, and 10 WS. Gotta keep it a little lighter with the pitching staff seeing how intense Johnny really is.
My dad saw all these greats, he also saw Josh Gibson and called Josh the GOAT by far!
absolutely. the goat catcher by far.
My dad saw Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio on the same day. He thought Gehrig was the GOAT, with DiMaggio a close second.
I felt like Kevin Costner's character in Bull Durham was based on the real-life "Puge".
Interesting, Carlton Fisk kind of went to bat for bulking players back in 2003 but now he blasts them as steroid users. Bench always came off as a cocky, idiotic guy. Gary was always a class act (RIP) and Yogi? There is a reason he was more reserved in this interview. He had a lot of respect.
Gotta love Carlton Fisk!!
I can watch this every year and grin all the way through the show! Great guys and great interviewer in Tim.
Gone too soon! This is May 2022 and I'll be back again, Lord Willing.
Tim would of been beside himself with the 2020 Buffalo Bills. He loved his Bills something fierce.
As I recall, during football season, he usually cheered the Bills on, just before he signed off from "Meet the Press".
So amazing seeing 4 hall of famer catcher together. Gary Carter was my idol as a kid growing up in Quebec state in the 70's. He was so passionate playing baseball. What an inspiration for me.
He was an idol in Quebec!
Dad took me to a night game in 1949 at Comiskey Park. Yankees were in town. I saw Joe D and Tommy Henrich and a fellow with the funniest name ... Yogi Berra.
Awesome memory. My first major league game was at Comiskey versus the Yankees in 1969. I was 7 at the time.
Aging Baby Boomer here and lifelong Bronx Bomber fan. Watching and listening to these truly great ballplayers and the also great Tim Russert brought tears to my eyes. All 4 of these men represented an era of baseball play that is sorely missed and needed today. And how very lucky I feel to have been a fan since 1960. In closing, not one Deion Sanders on that stage. 🇺🇸⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️🇺🇸
Ditto here. Fan since '64. I grew up in the Bronx and Elston Howard was my man behind the plate back then.
@@bman342a .... # 32, Elston Howard was a great Yankee and an even better man. A true gentleman. Ahhhhhh, the good ol' days.
Missed the "Boomer" cut-off by six years, but still a lifelong Yankees fan. I grew up watching the late, great Thurman Munson as he captained The Bronx Zoo. I always wonder if the Yankees would have had another dynasty had Thurman not been killed in that plane crash.
For years, Yogi hit .400 after the 7th inning.
Great interview! I really got a kick out of Bench…not just an all-time great catcher, but just a super funny guy…
a real comic…
Pudge talking about the Neon Deion incident kept referencing the Red Sox/Yankee rivalry but when that actually happened he was no longer playing for Boston, he was with the White Sox at that time.
Being a White Sox fan, I sure noticed that myself.
But, Deion WAS a Yankee, and Fisk respected that rivalry, even though he was with the White Sox at the time.
Whatever Pudge said to Deion’s slavery dig, imagine what Jackie Robinson would have said.
OK everybody you should watch the 'after Jackie' movie released in mid 2022 the full movie is available on the Internet with some very nagging long 2 1/2 minute advertising time -- focuses on the next generation after Jackie Robinson Willie Mays and Hank Aaron Roberto Clemente and highlights especially with Curt flood did, but no mention of that by Carlton Fisk in the interview about the reason Everybody's getting paid what they're worth nowadays. I don't know what that means relative to that incident between Fisk and neon Dion about the numbers in the dirt & the slavery comment by neon Dion timewise in history. Sometimes people do things like recite mantras and important words to focus themselves just like they have certain gestures and movements they make in the batters box before they get ready to hit.
And Buck Owens, Josh Gibson and many others.......
Tim Russert was a pro. He was fair to both sides of the aisle.
He loved sports and especially his Bills.
Good man, Tim Russert. Gone way too soon.
Great watch. Like Pudge said, it is tough to take when you know you can't play the game anymore. Old man now, I still miss it and dream of squaring up a baseball with a Louisville Slugger.
I had such respect for him was the day he got into it with Deion Sanders. There is a respect for the game & the correct way to play it like Pete Rose you play hard all the time.
@@patrickgray5633 You bet! Sanders had no business being in MLB, let alone a Yankee.
@@oldtimer794 With all the respect that Paul O'Neill deserves, I once saw him do the same thing. In the Kingdome, he hit a high pop to shallow right, slammed his bat into the ground and didn't run it out. The fielder dropped the ball, but threw out O'Neill at first. The fans were merciless for the rest of the game. Pauly was a great player and a champion, but he was a hothead, and sometimes had trouble controlling his temper. I am in no way comparing him to Deon Sanders. Pudge was the only catcher here that I saw play, when he was with the WhiteSox at the Kingdome, beating up on the M's.
Tim Russert knew Baseball, 1-derful interview, and those four guys were great !!!
Very Awesome show Loved every minute of it
I always felt bench would of made a good manager
All great catchers to me Johnny Bench was the greatest catcher of all time.
Be careful..in this "Woke" generation its Josh Gibson..they goingvto add his stats to MLB stats and he will have close to 850 HR's
@@brianjschumer I don’t deny that but nobody saw him play.
@@brianjschumer I can understand recognizing Negro League statistics and players, but how are the statistics validated?
JB, the General... the way baseball should be. Be where you’re supposed to be at the time you’re supposed be there. My vote for GOAT.
@@brianjschumer my father saw Gibson play winter ball in PR and told me there was never a better Catcher, and he saw Bench.
Yogi in the 50s was my most feared Yankee (I was a Detroit Tigers fan)
Recovering from surgery and have found some great old interviews. Great time watching these legendary players sharing so many stories.
Thanks for your comment, Matt; and, get well soon! In the meantime, you might enjoy some of the other interviews I posted.
Jackie Gleason: th-cam.com/video/kGW9DuXDE28/w-d-xo.html
Phil Silvers: th-cam.com/video/eg5_zgHtXVc/w-d-xo.html
Peanuts" creator, Charles Schulz: th-cam.com/video/T3eJ6WUVMFc/w-d-xo.html
Jack Paar: th-cam.com/video/2qwK08oWbrs/w-d-xo.html
Jackie Robinson: th-cam.com/video/YCr0RAzf8ds/w-d-xo.html
Vince Scully: th-cam.com/video/Lo29DoqcoGo/w-d-xo.html
@@pianopappy I'll be looking into for sure.
Fisk called Sanders out for the classless punk he was as a member of the Yankees.
And that egotistical, bad “attitude” unfortunately since then has to a much greater extent become the norm in the big leagues.
Great insight into the game of baseball from a catcher's perspective!
THIS IS GREAT! Johnnie Bench is so funny
Too bad Roy Campanella, Josh Gibson, Jim Hegan, Sherman Lollar, weren’t alive to contribute! Berra is a quiet Yogi 🧘♀️ and he was the savviest of them all.
Yes. And not to mention, Bill Dickey and Micky Cochrane. (You can tell I'm an old-timer by my TH-cam handle; although, I'm not old enough to have seen those two guys play.) BTW, John, there's a story in today's sports section (3/12/21) reporting the death of catcher Norm Sherry, who was not a Hall of Famer, but who had a great impact on the career of Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. The article states, "In 1961, Koufax was struggling with his control, something that had plagued the left-hander up to that point. Sherry suggested Koufax take some speed off his fastball to gain control". The article also says that he helped HOF'er Don Sutton. Thanks for your comment.
@@pianopappy So, who is it? Johnny Roseboro? EDIT: Oh, I see, it said "Sherry". Norm Sherry, I presume.
@@Tuning_Spork Absolutely! Thanks for the "catch", Holdenon (pun intended). I'll fix it.
Thurman Munson as well. Would love to have seen him and Fisk in the same room
PianoPappy … I saw the Sherry Brothers, Norm and Larry, when they played for the Spokane Indians in the Pacific Coast League. Spokane was a stepping stone to future LA Dodgers and other teams for many including Frank Howard, Maury Wills, Willie Davis, Tommy Davis, Joe Moeller, Jim Baxes, and others I’ve forgotten. Managers included Preston Gomez and the inimitable Bobby Bragan who converted Maury Wills into a switch hitter and, by Wills’ acknowledgement, saved his career and got him into the Big Leagues. Enjoy your days … time is fleeting!
This interview proves that baseball is a game of life. The players speak very frankly about themselves, each other and the game. Being from Detroit, I liked hearing Frank Tanana. Great Interview.
Johnny Bench and Yogi should’ve had a show. Watching Berra here, you can feel that old yankee magic.
Johnny Bench DID have his own show. I wonder if he had Yogi on as a guest?
The Baseball Bunch. : )
Tim Russert was always been a big baseball fan
A golden moment in time.
This is pure gold, thanks for posting.
One of the great interviews of all time.
This is great! CNBC has changed. For the worst
What a ensemble !
And, still if someone opened the door and said, Mickey Mantle's out here. It would empty last studio in minutes.
Fascinating how the Red Sox won the World Series the next year!
I enjoyed this when it first aired; it's nice to finally see it on TH-cam.
These guys are the best
Tim did great interviews. This one, and another he did with Yogi, Whitey F, and Rizzuto was another good one. RIP
Nobody is willing to comment @ 37:00 when Deion brings 'racism' into the game?
Harbinger of our modern doom?
It's about baseball! Not racism!!
It has gotten to the point where an honest conversation is no longer possible without someone being accused of some sort of “ism”! This has to stop.
I'm a bit late watching this but.....BEST45 minutes I have had in quite a while. TYVM
Whoever gave this great interview a thumbs down should be keelhauled.
And here's my shameful story. In 67 ( I was 13 and a Yankees fan) my father met a Mets VP and my brother and I got box seats and a tour of the dugout with Ed Kranepool as our host. So there we are in the Shea Stadium dugout before the game and Yogi was there about 10 ft away. I look at him absolutely gobsmacked...... Yogi looks at me for a few seconds with what I now know was a look saying "ok, kid, if you're going to get my autograph, now is the time to do it"........ and the few seconds went by and Yogi walked away. I kick myself today. What was going through my mind? To be honest?.... "wow, that's Yogi Berra"..... and also "wow, I'm taller than he is, I bet I could play as well as he can. After all, I was pretty good in Little League..... maybe?".
Wow.... the idiocy of youth. After the game I did get Tommy Davis' autograph.
whoever gave this great interview a thumbs down should be introduced to Carlton Fisk.
I was a catcher from little league through college. Wore Yogi’s number throughout
Too much Fisk and Bench and not enough Yogi in this video
Can God send us some replicas of these men?
Yogi Berra MVP Stats
1948 -- 29th
1949 -- 15th
1950 -- 3rd
1951 -- 1st MVP
1952 -- 4th
1953 -- 2nd
1954 -- 1st MVP
1955 -- 1st MVP
1956 -- 2nd MVP (Mantle wins Triple Crown)
1957 -- 14th
1958 -- 18th
1959 -- 12th
1960 -- 15th
1961 -- 23rd
Berra was in the running for 7 MVP Awards .... Stengel knew who was behind the Yankee domination.
He always said Yogi was his leader on the field.
Don’t know if it would have struck a bad chord, but I would have liked to hear Fisk talk about his rivalry with Thurman Munson.
I was at the game after Chicago released "Pudge" in Cleveland & he was sitting in the stands it was the saddest thing. The game before he set the record for most games caught & the Sox released him the next day & he had to hang around out of town until the team flew back to Chicago after the Cleveland Series Sad Sad
Thanks, Daniel for that sad remembrance. He deserved better.
He had to fly back by himself. Have that big celebration with Bo Jackson riding out on the Harley, and then fire him on the road. Then at the end of the season they wouldn't let him in the clubhouse.
As a lifelong (since 1958) fan of MLB, this was an awesome presentation.
what a wonderful segment. Thank you!
johnny bench...second to none...PERIOD..
Yogi Berra had a Superior mind. Every team needs a Yogi Berra ! The game would be more fun. Thanks.
Be Blessed
That was cool. Yogi as a player was just a bit before my time but I saw the other three play and of that group, Johnny Bench was the gold standard. I always admired catchers because it takes more guts to play that position than any other on the diamond.
I was the teams utility guy because I was fast, smart, and most importantly, could not hit breaking balls worth a hoot. That meant I had four jobs, defensive replacement, pinch runner, BP pitcher, and insulting the opposing pitchers mother. I played every position but I only caught one inning. Our starter was late getting to the park and our regular backup was out sick. The manager told me to suit up. I said "I've never played catcher before." He said "Neither has anyone else so don't f**k it up." The worst inning of my life. Fortunately only one guy got on but he stole second then third because I would stick out the glove, turn my head, and hope like hell the batter either hit the ball or the pitcher hit my mitt. I cursed out the catcher when he finally did show up and that was it as far as me and that position went.
I will say hearing Pudge talk about putting that showboat Deion in his place raises my esteem for him. I could not stand that guy when he played whether it was baseball or football. Can you imagine him pulling a stunt like drawing a dollar sign in the dirt with a pitcher like Gibson on the mound? Neon Deion would have earned a trip to the dentist if he acted like that back in the day against a guy like Gibson.
Seeing Yogi was great. So many Yogi-ism's. One of my favorites was "Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded." RIP Yogi. I never saw you play but you remain a legend. And this is coming from someone who hates the Yankees.
Thanks, "Itinerant'', for your remembrance of what it was like to wear "the tools of ignorance" for one inning. I noticed that you did not say you had any passed balls, which means you fulfilled the primary responsibility of a catcher; namely, to CATCH THE F**KIN'' BALL! Which reminds me of what manager Casey Stengel said after he drafted catcher Hobie Landrith to be the first player to join the New York Mets before their first season. Casey explained, "You have to have a catcher or you'll have a lot of passed balls". By the way, it's comments like yours that make me glad I recorded the program and that it survived long enough to share.
If you listen closely you can notice that Berra is a very serious person when talking about baseball - I wonder if his public persona was forced on him. I have seen him in other interviews and he doesn’t seem to embrace the lovable yogisims - he almost seems uncomfortable- it get lost on how great the man was at his craft.
You’re correct - very perceptive observation. He simply had a unique way of communicating which also happened to be funny sometimes. But, he was a very serious, intelligent baseball player. There was an expectation that you played the New York Yankee way and that you won. That’s why Yogi had a long career with several MVPs and World Series rings. He was also a serious manager and coach.
Ahhh...BASEBALL...When it WAS a game!!! As Roy Hobbs said, "God, I love baseball!"
That was Great...R.I.P....Yogi...an The Kid
Glad you enjoyed it, Tony - and thanks for your comment!
And Russert
What a treasure of a video!
Thank you!