Legendary Yankee catcher talks about baseball then and now

The Hall of Fame catcher participated in a 55-minute question-and-answer session with former teammate and 1958 Cy Young Award winner, "Bullet" Bob Turley, and the two were later joined for an interview by former pitcher Bert Blyleven, who won most of his 287 games with the Minnesota Twins.

Not surprisingly, most in attendance wanted to discuss Yogi's career on the field, where he won 10 world championships with the Yankees and three American League MVP trophies during a storied 19-year career.

"Everybody swings for home runs today," Yogi said when asked to compare the 1940s and '50s with the long-ball dominated state of the game in 2003. "They use smaller bats and these guys swing harder today. When I swung hard, I'd miss the ball. And my gosh, you can't (pitch) inside anymore, or you get thrown out. It'd be nice to hit today, my God."

Yogi talked about getting his famous nickname from childhood friend and former Giants infielder Bobby Hofman ("I used to sit with my arms folded and my legs folded, he said I looked like a Yogi,"), the lack of dominant curveball pitchers in the big leagues today, and remembered a good-will tour of Japan shortly before the bombing of Hiroshima ("When you get hit by a pitch in Japan, they bow to you.")

Berra said that he most enjoyed catching Whitey Ford, and called Joe DiMaggio a better all-around player than Ted Williams ("But for hitting, you got to take Williams,"). The Yankee great said the Boston Red Sox "muffed it" when they blew a Game 7 lead in the American League Championship Series this year, and praised the Florida Marlins, the local underdogs who shocked the Yankees by winning the World Series in six games.

"They did a good job. They had a good defense and they put the ball in play," he said. "We didn't. We struck out. We got a guy on second and we just didn't move him. That helps a lot -- those fundamentals win the game."

Blyleven, a Fort Myers resident who won championships in 1979 with the Pirates and in 1987 with the Twins, said that as a baseball fan himself, he considered himself lucky to hear two greats remember their contributions to the game.

"I think anytime you have the opportunity to talk baseball with a guy like Yogi, just what he means to the game of baseball with his calmness and his demeanor, he represents the game so well," he said.

"It's a great opportunity for the people who came out here today, and the age group or whatever you are, everybody loves baseball. They mentioned names that a lot of the elderly people here -- that I'm sure they remember as a kid growing up. I remember my first game at Dodger Stadium and I'll bet a lot of the people here reminisced Yogi mentioned some of the players. You know, it's the history of the game, and Yogi and Bob represent it very well."

Marjorie Rubacky, a director of the Speakers Assembly who has known Berra and his wife for more than 40 years, said she considered Friday's event to be among the most successful in the eight-year history of her organization.

"I think it was phenomenal," she said as Berra posed for pictures and signed memorabilia following the discussion. "You could feel how much the audience loved Yogi. The man is just loved."

Gene Harmaty, of Fort Myers, said he has been known as "Yogi" since he became a Little League catcher at age 8. He considered his interaction with Berra, who signed a copy of his book and a Sports Illustrated cover for the other "Yogi," to be a special moment.

"There's only one Yogi," he said after the event. "He's such a people person, and to do what he did today, it really meant a lot to me."

Berra said he enjoyed meeting with his fans following the discussion Friday, and that so far, his first trip to Bonita has been a memorable one.

"It's not bad so far from what I've seen," he said. "It was very good, and they are all very nice people. It's been a lot of fun today."