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Great New Yogi Berra Documentary:

It Ain’t Over!

“I never said half the things I said!” -Yogi Berra

If you’re a baseball fan, you’ve got to find the time to watch the new documentary on the life of the great Yankee Hall of Famer, Yogi Berra, which I viewed last night. Aptly titled, It Ain’t Over, I found it to be an outstanding production that gives equal coverage to Yogi’s baseball career and his personal life, including his overlooked time in the Navy where he found himself under fire on Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day invasion. In addition, there’s plenty of old black-and-white footage from Yogi’s era— the Glory Days of baseball, the 1950s—that all baseball fans will enjoy.

I’m sure no one reading this needs to be convinced of Yogi’s greatness as a ballplayer. With no less than ten World Series rings—and the holder of many World Series records— three MVP awards, 18 All-Star game appearances, and wide recognition as a great clutch hitter, that’s something we can all agree upon. What separates this documentary from others about him is the showcasing of his rock-solid character and the accompanying old-school Italian principles that shaped his life, principles from which he never seemed to vary. In a way, they formed the basis of his guiding worldview and eventually became the source of the simple wisdom found hidden within his many “Yogi-isms.” Life presented many challenges to Yogi, but it seemed whenever he came to a fork in the road of life, he knew which way to go…and he took it (and if you’re a Yogi fan, you know what I mean).

 

The documentary has plenty of interviews with family members—including granddaughter Lindsay Berra, who in many ways is the star of the production—former teammates, admirers, broadcasters, and sportswriters. All share the opinion that Yogi was a much-underrated athlete with an engaging personality that made him almost impossible to dislike.  “Humble,” “unpretentious,” and ”well-grounded” are words that come easily when describing Yogi, and these characteristics are on full display throughout this 90-minute documentary. It’s the part of his persona the media tended to ignore during his years in the public eye, preferring to cast him as a caricature, a lovable clown. As we learn from the documentary, there was much more to Yogi Berra, not the least of which was his unwavering devotion to his family: wife Carmen, sons Larry, Tim, and Dale, and his many grandchildren.

Yogi embraced this media-imposed façade wholeheartedly, never resenting its oftentimes mean-spirited depictions and was always ready to respond with a warm smile, an easy chuckle, and plenty of disarming, self-deprecating humor. The documentary searches for the source of his appeal to millions of Americans across all races, creeds, ethnicities, and even generations. Possibly it was his down-to-earth personality combined with a less-than-imposing 5’8″, 185 lb. physique, a body type not often associated with elite athletes. Yogi was an authentic star to whom the average fan could relate. He was one of them.

As you might expect, the production provides plenty of “Yogi-isms” which add a nice light-hearted touch. Even though I’ve heard them many times before, I found myself laughing out loud at each and every one. But I also found myself getting choked up and teary-eyed when events of a more serious nature abruptly intruded themselves throughout his life.

For me, the most poignant passage in the documentary was when Billy Martin informed Yogi that his son Dale, himself an eleven-year major leaguer, was heavily involved with drugs. Yogi was deeply wounded to hear the news. Rather than turn a blind eye, Yogi chose to confront the problem. Yogi’s celebrity status did not exempt him or his family from life’s crises. I swallowed hard during the heart-wrenching scene between father and son, a scene to which any parent could relate.

As narrated by Dale, here’s how Yogi handled the situation (paraphrasing):

“My dad said to me, ‘Look at me, son. If you continue on this path, I will no longer be your father. Look at her (pointing to Dale’s mother, Carmen), that woman will no longer be your mother. Look at those two guys (pointing to brothers Tim and Larry). Those two guys will no longer be your brothers. So the choice is yours. You can decide which way you want to go with your life from this point.’ ”

Yogi made it very clear that Dale would be disowned from the Berra family if he continued on his life of dissipation and disloyalty to the Berra name. If there is a better example of “tough love,” I’ve never seen it. Dale immediately got the message. He happily related that Yogi’s blunt words changed his life. He was welcomed back into the Berra fold with open arms and has been off drugs and alcohol for 37 years. It was quite a scene.

Another passage that I found moving was the resolution of Yogi’s 14-year feud with George Steinbrenner, about which I’ve written extensively. Yogi’s pride was wounded when Steinbrenner fired him as manager of the Yankees in 1985 after a slow start to the season, not being “man enough” to deliver the message himself. In spite of repeated urgings from family, friends, and former teammates, Yogi would have nothing to do with the Yankees as long as “that guy” was still in charge. Fortunately, it ended with an apology from Steinbrenner, who said “It was the biggest mistake I made in all my years in baseball.” After 14 years of bitterness, Yogi accepted his apology, while simply adding, as only Yogi could: “That’s okay George, I forgive you. I’ve made plenty of mistakes too!”

“Yogi Berra Day” was then held at Yankee Stadium to celebrate the happy occasion of Yogi’s return to the fold. Fate was shining upon the baseball world that day. With Don Larsen, his 1956 World Series Perfect Game partner in attendance, they witnessed Dave Cone toss…a Perfect Game! One of only 23 in the history of baseball. It could not have been scripted any better!

We lost a good man when Yogi passed away in his sleep on September 22, 2015, aged 90, shortly after his beloved soul mate and wife of 65 years, Carmen. After watching this documentary, you realize there will never be another quite like him, and we were blessed to have him within our midst. Please do yourself a favor and watch this documentary. Trust me…you won’t regret it.

Gary Livacari 

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