Behind the Plate

By Lawrence “Yogi” Berra and Til Ferdenzi

Life had not been kind to young Tommy Riggs—and even though he had all the natural playing ability to become a Major Leaguer, his anger at the world kept him from becoming the great player he could be.

How Tommy Riggs learned not only to be a star catcher, but also to live with himself and his teammates, makes a suspenseful story filled with the true-to-life color of baseball from the Minor Leagues through the bitter competition of spring training camp to top flight baseball as it is played in the Major Leagues. It is a story every sports fan will enjoy.

LAWRENCE “YOGI” BERRA was probably the one man best able to tell sports fans how to play BEHIND THE PLATE and how it feels to be a catcher. His unequaled career with the New York Yankees won him a place as one of the all-time greats. In the words of Casey Stengel, “Outside of DiMaggio, the man behind the plate, Berra, is the greatest player that I ever had to manage.”

TIL FERDENZI had a completely rounded sports background that made him the perfect collaborator for “Yogi” on this book. A six-letter varsity baseball and football athlete at Boston College—a former high school coach of baseball and football—and for sportswriter for the New York Journal-American, he helped bring baseball alive for sports fans in BEHIND THE PLATE.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Papamoa Press
• Release date: Jul 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787206182

Lawrence “Yogi” Berra

LAWRENCE PETER “YOGI” BERRA (May 12, 1925 - September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and coach who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946-1963, 1965). He was an 18-time All-Star, and won 10 World Series championships as a player—more than any other player in MLB history. Berra had a career batting average of .285, while hitting 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in. He is one of only five players to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award three times. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. A native of St. Louis, MO, Berra signed with the Yankees in 1943 before serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He made his major-league debut at age 21 in 1946 and was a mainstay in the Yankees’ lineup during the team’s championship years beginning in 1949 and continuing through 1962. Berra played 18 seasons with the Yankees and retired following the 1963 season. He then joined the New York Mets in 1965 as coach (and briefly player again) for the next decade, including four years as their manager. He returned to the Yankees in 1976, coaching them for eight seasons and managing for two, before coaching the Houston Astros. He was one of seven managers to lead both American and National League teams to the World Series. He appeared as a player, coach or manager in every one of the 13 World Series that New York baseball teams competed in from 1957-1981. In all, he appeared in 21 World Series, 13 on the winning side. He died in West Caldwell, New Jersey in 2015 aged 90. ATILIO L. “TIL” FERDENZI (March 18, 1915 - March 12, 2002) was an American sportswriter. Born in Ashland, MA, he was a varsity football halfback and baseball infielder at Boston College. He became a Journal-American sportswriter in 1947 until the paper closed in 1966. He died in Lorton, VA in 2002 aged 86.

Book preview