As a player, Yogi Berra has been on 14 pennant winners and 10 world champions. He managed the New York Yankees to the 1964 pennant, was a coach on the world champion 1969 New York Mets and led the 1973 Mets to an improbable pennant.
Berra is one of seven managers to win pennants in both leagues (Joe McCarthy, Alvin Dark, Dick Williams, Sparky Anderson, Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland are the others).
On Aug. 5, 1975, the Mets relieved Berra of his managerial duties. It was the second time that a New York team had fired him.
Berra took over as Mets manager in April 1973 following the untimely death of Gil Hodges. The Mets did poorly in 1974 after taking the Oakland A’s to seven games in the 1973 World Series.
Some “experts” criticized Berra for starting Tom Seaver in the sixth game of that series and Jon Matlack in the seventh game. Each pitcher had three days’ rest, but this was 1973, when it was the norm for starters to work on three days’ rest.
The “experts” thought that George Stone should have started the sixth game in an effort to close out the series. When Stone lost, Seaver would start the seventh game on full rest.
It was the Mets that instituted the five-man rotation because Seaver, Matlack, Nolan Ryan, Jerry Koosman and Gary Gentry threw so hard. Pitching coach Rube Walker and Hodges didn’t want their young pitchers to burn themselves out.
Berra wasn’t surprised that he had been fired.
“I could sort of see the handwriting on the wall. Mr. Grant was saying there was a lack of communication on the team. But lack of communication? I’ve managed four years and won two pennants,” Berra said.
M. Donald Grant, the Mets chairman of the board, attempted to explain.
“The performance of our team this year was the criterion. I personally thought at the start of the year we were a very strong team. It’s up to the players now to produce.”
When Roy McMillan replaced Berra, the Mets were 56-53. They finished third at 82-80.
Firing Berra really made the team play better.
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