Yogi Berra Has a Great History as a New York Met

When the New York Mets signed Yogi Berra during the middle of November 1964, it was announced that the Mets would pay him $40,000 and the New York Yankees would pay him $25,000.

In those days, such as arrangement was unusual.

If he could get into playing shape during spring training, Berra would be a player-coach and pinch-hitter.

Berra claimed that he held no bitterness toward the Yankees:

"I had 18 fine years over there. They took me off the sandlots in St. Louis when the Cardinals and Browns didn't want to sign me."

When asked if he was surprised that the Yankees relieved him of his managerial duties, Berra indicated that his firing was unexpected.

"They said they wanted to make a change. I had no idea they weren't going to hire me as manager again."

Berra appeared in only four games with the Mets in 1965 before retiring for good. When Gil Hodges took over as manager in 1968, he wanted Berra to stay with the team.

"I've talked to Yogi and he has agreed to stay on as coach," Hodges told reporters. "I'm very happy that he has."

Berra had a reputation of being a good luck charm. Casey Stengel once said, "He'd fall in a sewer and come up with a gold watch."

During the Miracle of 1969, Berra was the first base coach, and when Gil Hodges passed away on April 2, 1972, Berra took over as manager.

In 1973, Berra provided the kind of leadership needed for a team decimated by injuries to stick together until enough of the walking wounded returned. It was Berra's refusal to panic and, of greater importance, to concede anything to any other team, that allowed the Mets to sneak in to win the pennant.

The Mets beat the highly-favored Cincinnati Reds in the playoffs and then came within one game of winning the World Series.

Yogi Berra will always be a Yankee, but despite the apparent incongruity, he will always be part Met.

He was there in 1969 and 1973.