Yogi Berra, Willie Mays to Receive Presidential Medals of Freedom

Baseball Hall of Famers Yogi Berra and Willie Mays will receive Presidential Medals of Freedom from President Barack Obama on Nov. 24.

Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports' Hardball Talk reported the White House's announcement Monday.

Berra's granddaughter, Lindsay, a reporter for MLB.com, reacted to the news that the New York Yankees legend will be honored posthumously:

The Medal of Freedom is the United States' highest civilian honor, awarded to those who've "made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Players as accomplished as Berra and Mays certainly qualify under such stipulations.

Famous for "The Catch" that helped the San Francisco Giants win the 1954 World Series, Mays, 84, was one of the game's best all-around players. The Say Hey Kid slugged 660 home runs in his career and won 12 straight Gold Gloves in center field from 1957 to 1968.

Berra, who died in September at age 90, was a 10-time World Series champion and three-time American League MVP. He was primarily a catcher until the latter years of his career and was also known for his Yogi-isms.

Both players served in the military. Mays was drafted in 1952 and missed most of the 1952 season and all of 1953 while with the U.S. Army. Berra joined the U.S. Navy and was involved in the D-Day invasion during World War II.