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 Yanks give Yogi his day Fitting audience on hand for Cone's gem
Posted: Sunday July 18, 1999 11:02 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Maybe Yogi Berra left a little magic on the glove he borrowed from Joe Girardi. Forty-three years ago, Berra caught Don Larsen's perfect game. On Sunday, he borrowed Girardi's glove to catch Larsen's ceremonial first toss. "We recreated our game before, and he did it for real in the game," Berra said after David Cone's perfect game against Montreal. "I'm glad we were all here for it." They were there to celebrate Yogi Berra Day, which not only honored the former Yankee player, coach and manager, but also publicly marked his reconciliation with owner George Steinbrenner after 14 seasons. Berra had been back at Yankee Stadium this year to throw out the first pitch at the home opener, take part in Joe DiMaggio Day and watch other games. This time, he was the focus. Berra was showered with gifts from the Yankees and applause from the fans. He was given a trip to Italy -- and a meeting with the Pope -- a 1998 World Series ring and a collection of rings from his 10 championships as a player. He also received a framed jersey, the original 1951 World Series banner and $100,000 for his baseball museum. Then Cone went out and matched what Larsen did to the Brooklyn Dodgers on Oct. 8, 1956, in Game 5 of the World Series. "I kind of broke down a little bit," Berra said. "I heard a lot of pros and cons about whether I should come back. I'm glad we made up." But the best part for Berra was seeing former teammates like Bobby Brown, Jerry Coleman, Whitey Ford, Larsen, Gil McDougald, Phil Rizzuto, Joe Pepitone and Bobby Richardson and former players like Mel Stottlemyre, Don Mattingly and Willie Randolph. "They didn't tell me who was coming. It was great," he said. After DiMaggio's death in March, Berra gained the unofficial title of the greatest living Yankee and was the biggest link to the team's dynasty in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. "Joe DiMaggio was always the mainstay at Old-Timers' Day and those events," said Richardson, who played with Berra and for him. "Yogi has taken over that role now." For 14 years, Berra had stayed away from the team he spent 17 years with a player, then managed twice and coached. The whole thing started when Steinbrenner dispatched general manager Clyde King to fire Berra after a 6-10 start in 1985. Until the home opener in April, the man who coined the phrase "it ain't over 'til it's over" had stayed away from Yankee Stadium for any official event. "I've been fired three times and twice was told by the owner," Berra said. "One time I wasn't. A manager is hired to be fired. I just wanted to hear it from the owner, not someone else." Berra and Steinbrenner reconciled in January and Berra is once again a prominent part of the Yankees. He visited the team in spring training and drops in on Yankees manager Joe Torre and the coaching staff just to talk baseball. "If he hadn't been away for so long it wouldn't be Yogi Berra Day," Torre said. "Every day would have been Yogi Berra Day. Yogi is a major part of what this team is about." During his time away from the Yankees, Berra coached for the Houston Astros, built his museum and occasionally showed up at Yankee Stadium early in the day - before he could be noticed -- to visit friends. "No matter what
uniform you would see him in, he was always in a Yankee in my view," said
Don Mattingly, who played for Berra in 1984-85. "I'm glad that he has
settled his issues because this is where he belongs."
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