Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 157

total of 64 dingers from the catching position in the year of the Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris Babe Ruth record chase. In 1963 he became a player-coach and when Ralph Houk moved upstairs to become Yankee General Manager the following year, he tabbed Berra to replace him as field boss. Yogi enjoyed immediate success as a manager leading the Yankees to the 1964 flag, but they fell to Bob Gibson and the Cardinals in a memorable seven game World Series. Shortly after the defeat Yogi was shockingly fired and replaced by St. Louis skipper Johnny Keane in one of the most bizarre managerial changes in baseball history.

Berra went on to rejoin old boss Casey Stengel with the National League’s Mets and was a member of Gil Hodges staff in the Mets miracle year of 1969. In 1972 the Mets named Yogi manager after Hodge’s sudden passing and Berra led them to a Pennant the following year, becoming the second manager to win flags in both

leagues, Joe McCarthy being the first, but lost the World Series to the Oakland A’s. Two years later He was let go by the Mets and returned to the Yankees in 1976 as a coach for former teammate Billy Martin. That year the Yanks made it to the World Series for the first time since his 1964 firing and they followed with consecutive World Championships in 1977-78. Yogi once again became Yankee skipper in 1984 but was let go shortly