ALL COMEDY IS CONSERVATIVE:

Of all the elite catchers in the game's history, Bill James wrote in 100 Years: The Yankee Retrospective, "Berra was the only one who played every day, batted cleanup, did the job defensively, and never had a bad season ... Roy Campanella was as good as Berra was in his best seasons, maybe better, and so was Johnny Bench and maybe Mickey Cochrane, too. Put all three together, and they had about as many great seasons combined as Yogi did by himself."

When Yogi's second manager, Casey Stengel was asked to identify the secret of his success, he said "I never play a game without my man," by which he meant Berra.

The Yankees' catcher amassed 358 home runs and 1,430 RBIs and struck out only 414 times, feasting on the kinds of pitches that other hitters disdained. "If you'd bounce the ball to the plate, throw it over his head or throw it at him, he'd hit it solidly," said Eddie Joost, a Philadelphia Athletics infielder. And yet Berra gained just as much fame for saying things like, "90% of the game is half-mental," "You can observe a lot by watching," and "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

He wasn't trying to be funny; he was just Yogi. It was the guys behind the typewriter who did the rest and largely created his persona. "The media was good with him," wrote David Halberstam in October 1964, "inventing a cuddly, wise, witty figure who did not, in fact, exist." Even Yogi admitted, "I really didn't say everything I said."

Behind this image, though, he was a tough, prideful man and a fierce competitor. Berra had a flair for business and was a formidable contract negotiator at a time when players, particularly the Yankees, were at the mercy of remorseless team executives. Shrewd enough to realize that he could capitalize on his image, Yogi became one of the most successful celebrity pitchmen, a lucrative sideline that lasted 50 years, surfacing in ads that sold everything from Yoo-Hoo to the Aflac duck.

"They say he's funny," said Stengel. "Well, he has a lovely wife and family, a beautiful home, money in the bank, and he plays golf with millionaires. What's funny about that?"

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