Driving Mr. Yogi, Harvey Araton
Driving Mr. Yogi, Harvey Araton
5 Rating(s)
List: $35.99 | Sale: $25.20
Club: $17.99

Driving Mr. Yogi
Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry, and Baseball's Greatest Gift

Author: Harvey Araton

Narrator: Peter Berkrot

Unabridged: 7 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/17/2012


Synopsis

It happens every spring. Yankees pitching great Ron Guidry arrives at the Tampa airport to pick up Hall of Fame catcher and national treasure Yogi Berra. Guidry drives him to the ballpark. They watch the young players. They talk shop. They eat dinner together and tease each other mercilessly. They trade stories about the greats they have met along the way. And the next day they do the same thing all over again.As every former ballplayer can appreciate, in that routine, every spring, there emerges a certain magic.Driving Mr. Yogi is the story of how a unique friendship between a pitcher and catcher is renewed every year. It began in 1999, when Berra was reunited with the Yankees after a long self-exile, the result of being unceremoniously fired by George Steinbrenner fourteen years before. A reconciliation between Berra and the Boss meant that Berra would attend spring training again. Guidry befriended “Mr. Yogi” instantly. After all, Berra had been a mentor in the clubhouse back when Guidry was pitching for the Yankees. Guidry knew the young players would benefit greatly from Mr. Yogi’s encyclopedic knowledge of the game, just as Guidry had during his playing days. So he encouraged him to share his insights. Soon, an offhand batting tip from Mr. Yogi turned Nick Swisher’s season around. Stories about handling a hitter like Ted Williams or catching Don Larsen’s perfect game captured the players’ imagination. And in Yogi, Guidry found not just an elder companion or source of amusement—he found a best friend.

About Harvey Araton

Harvey Araton joined the New York Times as a sports reporter and national basketball columnist in 1991. He is the author of many books, including When the Garden Was Eden: Clyde, the Captain, Dollar Bill, and the Glory Days of the New York Knicks. His work has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, GQ, ESPN, Sport, and Basketball Weekly.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Deacon Tom on July 24, 2021

Everyone Loves Yogi. Another fun baseball book for me. As a child, I loved the Yankees of Mickey Mantle and all the stars but one of my favorites was Yogi Berra. This book is actually a series of stories from the deep well of "Yogi-isms". My favorite was his make up with owner George Steinbrenner. I......more

Goodreads review by Sam on March 28, 2013

I suspect that Driving Mr. Yogi will almost exclusively be read by baseball fans, particularly fans of the love-them-or-hate-them New York Yankees. And that's a shame, because the book is actually a rather beautiful portrayal of love, respect, loyalty, and the powerful impact of mentoring by one gen......more

Goodreads review by Mike on March 03, 2024

A story of a sweet friendship between former Yankees pitcher Ron Gudiry and Yankees icon Yogi Berra that started when Guidry was pitching for the Yankees Bronx Zoo of the mid 1970's and Yogi was a first base coach. It continued when after Yogi Berra returned to the Yankees family after accepting an......more

Goodreads review by Richard on January 31, 2013

I flew through the pages of this warm, wonderful story of Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry, and the friendship between them. The title of course alludes to "Driving Miss Daisy", a book I have not read and a movie I did not see. I did, however, read "Tuesdays with Morrie". This book shares some of "Morrie"'s q......more

Goodreads review by Nick on June 12, 2012

This is a feel-good book, especially if you were, like me, a kid in New York whose interest in baseball and baseball players only grew stronger after the Dodgers and Giants deserted the city for the Pacific Coast. Not a bad move for baseball, but it meant that thousands of former Dodger fans had to......more