Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 168

The team won its first of three consecutive AL titles, as well as the 1977 and 1978 World Series, and as had been the case throughout his playing days Berra's reputation as a lucky charm was reinforced. Casey Stengel once said of his catcher; "He'd fall in a sewer and come up with a gold watch." Berra was named Yankees manager before the 1984 season. Berra agreed to stay in the job for 1985 after receiving assurances that he would not be terminated, but impatient George Steinbrenner reneged, firing Berra anyway after the 16th game of the season. Moreover, instead of firing him personally, Steinbrenner dispatched Clyde King to deliver the news for him. The incident caused a rift between Berra and Steinbrenner that was not mended for almost 15 years.

Berra joined the Houston Astros as bench coach in 1985, where he again made it to the NLCS in 1986. The Astros lost the series in

six games to the Mets. Berra remained a coach in Houston for three more years, retiring after the 1989 season. He finished his managerial career with a regular-season record of 484–444 and a playoff record of 9–10.

After George Steinbrenner ventured to Berra's home in New Jersey to apologize in person for having mishandled Berra's firing as

Yankee manager, Berra ended his 14 year estrangement from the