So often in professional sports, athletes and those closest to them express a desire for fans and the general public to get to know who these bright stars are off the field.
“It Ain’t Over,” the new Yogi Berra documentary set to hit theaters in the New York area on May 12, aims to accomplish the opposite.
Yogi Berra mastered what many star athletes long to accomplish: to establish a brand outside of his playing career to carry him through his post-retirement life. But Yogi’s embrace of his own image reached a point where those closest to him believe his remarkable playing career was overlooked. In this new documentary directed by Sean Mullin and executive produced by granddaughter Lindsay Berra, the record is being set straight.
Sure, Berra had an innate ability to be an unintentional master with his phrases that somehow made sense, but he also remains one of the greatest catchers to ever crouch behind home plate.
“One of the whole reasons we’re here today is that one of the reasons we think he’s so popular is because of his sayings and the Yogi-isms and his big personality kind of transcended what he was able to do on the baseball field, and I want people to remember how good he was as a player as well,” Lindsay told WFAN.
“There’s so many Yankee fans I hear all the time who don’t think of him in the same breath as [Joe] DiMaggio and [Mickey] Mantle, but his stats really put him there. People think of him more as this funny, lovable, goofy guy with big ears who says funny things, but I want people to understand what a tremendous baseball player he was.”
One glance at Berra’s Baseball Reference page, and it becomes astonishing that his playing career could have been overshadowed by anything, even his own towering persona: 18 All-Star selections, three MVPs, 10 World Series titles as a player, a record 1,430 RBI at his position, and, the most remarkable feat in the eyes of the players interviewed for the film, 117 doubleheaders spent behind the dish.
“It Ain’t Over” highlights Berra’s greatness, which was forged on “The Hill,” a St. Louis neighborhood where fellow Italian immigrants settled in to life in the US. Berra’s path from The Hill to American Legion baseball and eventually the Yankees (though it was nearly the Dodgers had Branch Rickey’s master plan not been foiled by the Bombers), where his eventual Hall of Fame career began.
The film also details life as a manager, where his baseball smarts shined, even if many around the sporting world took some luster off his knowledge by painting Berra as a goofy character rather than the bright baseball mind he really was, something Joe Torre learned once Berra ended his own exile from Yankee Stadium and owner George Steinbrenner.
“I know we all make fun and talk about some of his comments and all his Yogi-isms and stuff,” Torre told WFAN. “But to really appreciate him is to have him sit next to you and see things not many people could see.”
Still, Berra’s story can’t be told without “It ain’t over til it’s over” or “It’s Déjà vu all over again” being included, and the film masterfully weaves Berra’s iconic musings through the film, whether it be hilariously displayed alongside other famous quotes by some of the brightest minds in human history, or when detailing the origins of those quotes from his family and loved ones. The film, fitting for Berra, generates plenty of laughs, the way his personality and quips did for those in and out of baseball.
“Yogi, a great player and a Hall of Fame player, but I think the aura surrounding him is bigger than just his playing career,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told WFAN. “The way he spoke about the game, his unique style, it’s something that’s made him an enduring figure in the game.
“I just think people who communicate in a unique way, some people are drawn to that kind of communication. People found him to be down to earth, funny, and at heart, a baseball guy. It’s not surprising that players would be attracted to him.”
But the film accomplishes its goal of telling the complete Berra story, not just what he has become most famous for. It also touches all the stops on the emotional wheel in the process. The story of Berra’s perfect return to Yankee Stadium, and his moving love story with his wife Carmen, generate tears, while his role in welcoming trailblazers like Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby into the major leagues induces goosebumps. For those who knew Berra best, there had to be a document that touched all the bases in Berra’s eventful life.
“I’m super excited for people to see this movie,” Lindsay said. “And remember him as a ballplayer, as a first generation Italian immigrant, as a D-Day veteran, a 65-year husband…as a great grandfather, as a father, just to get his complete story.”
Perhaps the film’s director explained the documentary best, and summed up Berra’s story with what would have been a fitting tagline.
“This is the story about a life well lived,” Mullin said.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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