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A friend of mine from Montclair, New Jersey, one evening took me on a tour of the lavish neighborhood on the hill. I remember seeing all the mansions that belonged to celebrities like Stephen Colbert. At one point, my friend said, “No matter which fork you take, you get to Yogi Berra’s house” and then drove me around the circular road to show me the mansion. This reminds me of one of Yogi Berra’s widely known sayings: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Most people who know of Yogi Berra consider it ungrammatical nonsense, word-scrambles, or even a blatant way of speaking without substance. But in actuality, they hold hidden truths. It’s hard to differentiate between his words and an abstract object. My all time favorite and a phrase I frequently use is: “It was déjà vu all over again.” He has some sense of humor, yes, but above all else, you know exactly what he means. In his documentary “It Ain’t Over,” Sean Mullin showcases the most famous Yogi-ism where he states “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
The title can bear different interpretations, much the same way Yogi-isms tend to progress the more one reflects on them. Yogi Berra played the game, then went on to coach and manage. He did so with considerable success for most of his life. Still, he is mostly remembered for the Yogi-isms, for Yogi Bear, as well as for the funny lovable character that the media made him out to be. This portrayal came with a rather patronizing undertone that catered to his so- called un-baseball like looks. He was short, squat, and close to the ground. As a result, he was often caricatured as a clown, or worse, as a team mascot which accompanied his high profile endorsement with goofy commercials. On the other hand, he was an incredibly intimidating figure at bat and behind the plate as a catcher.
Let’s not forget he was the offspring of illegal immigrants and volunteered in the world war before he was drafted (with a New York Yankees contract already signed). In his earliest childhood, he was one of the people who braved the storm at the beach of normandy. The documentary’s name also refers to Berra’s empire, which is in dire need of some polishing.
The movie ‘It Ain’t Over’ has a gripping opening. In the 2015 All Star game, the four greatest living players” (Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, and Willie Mays) paraded on the field and were greeted with a thunderous crowd. “It’s pretty amazing, I remember my cousin exclaiming, “Where is Yogi?” Exactly, a lot of folks were perplexed by the same question – and “It Ain’t Over” addresses it at length. It’s disappointing that Yogi’s “personal brand” caused him to be mostly forgotten: the “Yogi” brand and the commercials, were quite contradictory to who Yogi was.
For one, look at his eye-popping stats. He won 10 World Series championships as a player. He was a three-time MVP. In 1956, during the World Series, pitcher Don Larsen threw a perfect game with Berra squatting behind the plate, basically running the show. I love the detail that of all the pitches Larsen threw, he didn’t wave off one of Berra’s calls. Not one. The achievement is as much Berra’s as it is Larsen’s. It is the only perfect game in the history of the World Series. It is a stunning moment that, no matter how many times you have seen it, is still stricking: Berra springing into the arms of a stunned Larsen as the crowd bellows. The World Series wins increased when he became winner as well. His record is, if anything, more impressive than the four greatest living players, and so he rightfully deserves blowing praise. So why the condescension?
The family is featured in “It Ain’t Over”: his sons were interviewed and his grandchildren. His granddaughter has the greatest voice and she is leading us through his career. This gives the doc an urgent and emotionally baked feel.
The Berra family recounts the stories with much warmth, often laughing or crying, as if remembering a familiar tune: this is well-trod ground, tall tales, the life story of their family.
The list of the interview subjects is equally astonishing like that of Derek Jeter, Roger Angell and other writers, ex teammates and admirers from the present. I am particularly taken by Nick Swisher’s commentary when he says, with much affection for the game: ’12 strikeouts? I never did that in whiffle ball!’ Former player and coach Joe Madden does not mince his words: ‘Just look at the old videos, man.’ In the words of Roger Angell, ‘He abolished the strike zone.’
Additionally, there is an abundance of commentaries regarding how he was able to advocate for the integration of the major leagues at a period when the majority disapproved of it. Jackie Robinson would forever remember Yogi Berra’s initial statement: ‘Thank you for your service to the country, and welcome to professional baseball’. And that is not only it, Berra’s later involvement in the life of Athlete Ally-governance non-profit advocacy group aimed at making sporting institutions more inclusive to their LGBTQ fans and athletes may explain why he is remembered with such fondness.
“It Ain’t Over” does work the way it is supposed to work. I confess I geek out about the shoptalk of baseball players, them gushing, giving and receiving insights, and their professional esteem of each other and of the greats that went before them. There is a continuum, an inheritance from the past. There’s a slight diversion that involves Yogi Berra’s thoughts and idioms and the way they’re constructed, complete with opinions from life coaches and language experts. This is an unnecessary digression. Those who need a professor of literature to explain why Berra’s ‘If you don’t have the guts to do it, then don’t take the plunge’ is sensical do not need one.
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