‘Yogi Berra Made Baseball Fun, Said Jeter In Tribute To The Baseball Legend


Some people just know how to put a smile on other people’s faces, and Yogi Berra was one of those people, according to Derek Jeter.

Berra passed away on September 22 of natural causes at the age of 90 and Jeter was one of several former New York Yankee players who attended his funeral in Montclair, N.J. on Tuesday.

“Berra was a great Yankee, a great man, a great husband and a great friend” said Jeter, as he wrote a tribute to the Hall of Fame catcher on his The Players’ Tribune website.

26 Jun 1998: Yogi Berra a former New York Yankee throws out the first pitch prior to the game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in Flushing,New York. The Yankees defeated the Mets 8-4Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport
26 Jun 1998: Yogi Berra a former New York Yankee throws out the first pitch prior to the game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in Flushing,New York. The Yankees defeated the Mets 8-4Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport

Jeter talks about being in a slump in his tribute to Yogi Berra and Berra telling him to “try swinging at strikes” in order to help him with his batting issues.

According to Jeter, the room exploded with laughter from his teammates.

According to the Sports Ilustrated website, Jeter, who retired after the 2014 season and owns five world series rings, teased Berra and told him that five of the 10 rings that Berra owns didn’t count since there were no American League playoffs back when Yogi played baseball.

Berra, however, had an answer for Jeter, even though he was lying face down on a training table with a heat pack on his back at the time.

“‘If you’re having trouble with math,’ Yogi responded without looking up, ‘you can come over to my house and count the rings yourself,'” Jeter wrote in his tribute.

“That was Yogi,” Jeter wrote. “He knew baseball as well as anyone and he watched all of our games, but he didn’t like to overanalyze things. He loved simplicity. I think that’s why he often spoke in short sentences that were full of meaning. With Yogi, less was truly more. My locker may be gone now, but I can still see Yogi next to me, smiling and ready to light up the room with a response.”

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 24: A U.S. Navy color guard displays the flag during a moment of silence for Yogi Berra before a MLB baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 24, 2015 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankee legend passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 90. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 24: A U.S. Navy color guard displays the flag during a moment of silence for Yogi Berra before a MLB baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 24, 2015 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankee legend passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 90. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Jeter refers to Berra as a “magician” and said he could make anyone feel comfortable. He also commented on his website that Berra always wanted to know how well he was playing on the field. He said Berra made everyone so comfortable that you forgot you were talking to a baseball legend.

“Yogi understood something simple about the sport: Baseball is meant to be fun,” Jeter wrote. “Any time he was around, he made it that way.”

Jeter said his heart felt heavy before he attended the funeral, and although he’ll miss his friend, the memories he has of Berra will lift his spirits.

Several sports figures attended Berra’s funeral and his remains were placed by an altar under a gold catcher’s mitt, according to Sports Net.

Former Yankees manager Joe Torre delivered the eulogy at Berra’s funeral, but Jeter wanted to remember the baseball legend in his own way on his website.

In his eulogy to Berra, Torre told his family and friends that he was always so good, so honest, so human and so real. He said everyone knew who Yogi was and you didn’t have to be a baseball to know.

“When I think of Yogi Berra, I see him sitting next to me at my locker or in the training room,” wrote Jeter. “When he came to the stadium, we would catch up, usually in the sacred hour of down time before the first pitch. Everyone remembers how good he was at talking. What I remember about Yogi is how good he was at listening.”

But baseball was only a part of who Yogi Berra was. He was also the soldier who served his country on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in 1944.

The military presented a presentation of the colors while two members of the U.S. Navy unrolled a flag while “taps” was played at his funeral. The American flag was given to Larry Berra, and Tim Berra carried his father’s remains out of the church.

Torre said that Yogi personified the American dream and he said that Yogi was a champion for every one of his 90 years, according to USA Today.

“Any time he was around, he made it that way,” said Jeter. “You can’t get through a 162-game baseball schedule without keeping things light. On our championship teams, that was one of the keys. Yogi’s mission was to put a smile on people’s faces, and he succeeded.”

[Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images]

Share this article: ‘Yogi Berra Made Baseball Fun, Said Jeter In Tribute To The Baseball Legend
More from Inquisitr