In 1951, Yogi Berra, catcher for the Yankees, won his first of three MVP Awards. These days, you rarely hear much about Berra's playing exploits; every story about him focuses on all the strange and funny things he has said over the years. Was Berra really good enough to win three MVPs?

         Berra, at this time, was by far the best catcher in the American League. I don't know who was next best; maybe Jim Hegan, who was famous for his defence, and for handling a great Cleveland pitching staff.
        Yogi Berra caught baseball games for the Yankees for 18 years. He won three MVP Awards, and was an All-Star fifteen times. The Yankees during Berra's tenure won ten World Series; Berra set a record by playing in more World Series games than any other player in baseball history. His career was as great as any catcher has had to date; he was a career .285 hitter, pounded out 2150 career hits, 358 homers, and knocked in 1430 runs. His real name was Lawrence Peter Berra; he was a funny-looking guy with big ears and a short, stocky build; he was a left-handed hitter who was notorious for swinging at bad pitches and knocking them to the opposite field for base hits.
        He also said a lot of funny things, too many to list here. "It ain't over till it's over" is his most famous saying. "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded" is another famous Yogism. "You can observe a lot by watching" is a memorable quote, as is "It's déja vu all over again". One of my personal favourites, and one that certainly rings true, is that "Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical". Some people have suggested that many of these quotes were made up by sportswriters, who wanted to add to the Berra legend. Yogi settled the issue in typical Yogi fashion, saying "I really didn't say everything I said."
        This was a good year for middle infielders; other good ones I haven't listed included Bobby Avila, Bobby Doerr, Vern Stephens and Phil Rizzuto. I think Berra was the best of group; Eddie Joost was a good player who had a great year, and would rank just a notch below.
        This was a lean year for the big power hitters; even Ted Williams, though very good, hit "only" .318.
         Ex-Negro League player Minnie Minoso debuted with Cleveland in 1949, two years after the colour barrier was broken. He wasted two years with the Indians, who apparently decided he wasn't good enough to play for them, and kept him buried in the minor leagues. They then traded him to Chicago shortly after the beginning of the 1951 season, and he had a huge year for the Sox; it was his rookie year, at age 28. He remained one of the best players in baseball for another dozen years, finished with almost 2000 hits, spiked by 186 homers, 205 stolen bases, and four 100+ RBI seasons. Minoso also led the league in getting hit by pitches ten times, and was plunked 192 times in his career.
         With the recent election of Larry Doby to the Hall Of Fame, one has to wonder about Minoso. Minnie's numbers are at least as good in Doby's — in fact, I think they are better. Doby entered the majors at age 23, Minoso at age 28, so Minnie lost much more of his career to the colour barrier than Doby did. I think an excellent case can be made that, given a full career in the majors, Minnie Minoso would have had 3000 hits. Minoso is one of the best players in baseball history who is not in the Hall of Fame.