Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (born May 12, 1925) is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career (1946–1965) for the New York Yankees. Berra was one of only four players to be named the Most Valuable Player of the American League three times and is one of only six managers to lead both American and National League teams to the World Series. As a player, coach, or manager, Berra appeared in 21 World Series. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
Berra is widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history. According to the win shares formula developed by sabermetrician Bill James, Berra is the greatest catcher of all time and the 52nd greatest non-pitching player in major-league history.
Berra, who quit school after the eighth grade, has a tendency toward malapropism and fracturing the English language. "It ain't over till it's over" is arguably his most famous example, often quoted. Simultaneously denying and confirming his reputation, Berra once stated, "I really didn't say everything I said."
Plot
Summer, 1961: Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle are on pace to break the most hallowed record in U.S. sports, Babe Ruth's single-season 60 home runs. It's a big story, and the intense, plain-spoken Maris is the bad guy: sports writers bait him and minimize his talent, fans cheer Mantle, the league's golden boy, and baseball's commissioner announces that Ruth's record stands unless it's broken within 154 games. Any record set after 154 games of the new 162-game schedule will have an asterisk. The film follows the boys of summer, on and off the field: their friendship, the stresses on Maris, his frustration with the negative attention, and his desire to play well, win, and go home.
Keywords: 1960s, anger, announcer, anti-hero, applause, asterisk-in-title, athlete, babe-ruth, baby, baltimore-maryland
Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Why did America have room in its heart for only one hero?
Mickey Mantle: I like women with small hands, they make my dick look big.
Bob Sheppard: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Yankee Stadium.
Yogi Berra: Ninety percent of the game is half mental.
Whitey Ford: [Sotto voce, to Mickey Mantle] This guy died and nobody told him.::Commissioner Ford Frick: As I stand here this afternoon, it is impossible not to think of the Babe; not to feel his presence here even now. He was more than a ball player. He was everything that is special about this game. He was everything that is special about America.::Mickey Mantle: [Sotto voce, to Whitey] I bet I got more pussy than he did.
[about the sports press]::Mickey Mantle: That's just great. One guy's got me all washed up, the other's got me beatin' Ruth's record. You guys should get together an' make up your minds, tell me how I am so I know how to play.
[after a home run]::Roger Maris: Curveball?::Mickey Mantle: Yeah, but it didn't curve.
Mickey Mantle: Roger, are we feuding?::Roger Maris: They said so on the TV, it must be true.::Mickey Mantle: Well, fuck you then.::Roger Maris: Up yours.
[after Maris hits #59, he sits down next to Mickey]::Mickey Mantle: What happened? I was on the john.
Mickey Mantle: [whispers to Maris] That blonde back there has got the biggest tits I've ever seen in my life.
Mickey: I just ain't getting there. I just can't play no more. I'm wore out, done. I'm out of the race. Thought I took pretty good care of myself too.::Roger: You did Mick. Damn straight you did.::Mickey: Well anyway, he's all yours if you want him. You go get that fat fuck.