I like this card. I had a lot of beat up vintage cards as a kid, but the only one of Berra in my collection was a 1987 Topps card featuring him as a coach on the Houston Astros.
The name “Yogi” is also fun – so much so that six years later the animation studio would find itself in litigation after naming a cartoon character Yogi Bear. Topps spelled out some players’ full names in the set, ignoring popular nicknames like Peanuts Lowrey and Puddin’ Head Jones (both facsimile signatures make use of the nicknames). Others were printed with their nicknames in quotation marks (e.g. “Cookie” Lavagetto and “Hoot” Evers). Yogi was of only a select few alongside the likes of Duke Snider where nicknames were given the same treatment as if they had adorned a birth certificate. If Topps did this to your card, you were already baseball royalty.
The condition is fairly sharp with traces of corner wear and a small wax stain at the edge of the back. The centering is so far off top/bottom that it almost looks like a design element, keeping the aesthetic of the card. This example is considered to be only fair condition as it has the faintest crease I have ever seen, only visible on the back with a strong light placed horizontally along the card. I would be ecstatic if all my ’52 cards looked like this. To date it is the only card from the set that I paid $100 for, despite a dozen high numbers being knocked off the list. If progress continues at the current pace and adequate supplies of low-grade cards can be found I think I can land all but 6 of the remaining cards at sub-$100 prices.
Is Berra’s ’52 card his best Topps issue? Possibly. The 1957 set includes a good combo card with Mickey Mantle. 1954 features lots of bright colors and a good picture of Yogi in an MVP season. This one, however, seems to focus almost as much on the uniform’s pinstripes as it does the player. That’s appropriate given Berra’s inseparable relationship with the Yankees. Any 1952 Topps issue draws interest from collectors. Any Berra card automatically carries weight in a checklist, and this one anchors the very middle of the 1952 set. The two feed off each other to make this relatively common card his most popular Topps example.
Ranking Berra
I really think this is the best Berra card that Topps produced and believe it represents the best catcher to appear in the set. Berra had some competition, as he is one of four Yankee catchers that Topps thought prudent to include in the checklist. One of these was Bill Dickey, a coach who had been the backstop in the famed Murders’ Row batting lineup. Both wore #8 with Berra specifically choosing the digit because it had previously been Dickey’s. Roy Campanella was doing his best Yogi impersonation in front of NL MVP voters during this time and gives his fellow New Yorker strong competition.
Berra makes a good case for himself, being one of only two players to hit 300+ home runs and strike out less than 500 times in a career. He finished in the top 4 MVP voting for almost a decade straight. Nearing age 40 he caught every pitch of a 22-inning marathon game against Detroit. Let’s not forget that he played in more Worlds Series games than anyone else in history and has a championship ring for each finger.
When asked to name the best catcher of all time, Berra’s name is one of the first put forward. It serves as a gatekeeper to the list of catchers bearing the title all-time great. You’re either as good as Berra or not in the running at all. This got me thinking: Who exactly could surpass this guy?
I went through my stats files, noting guys who were predominantly catchers. Berra is solidly in the middle of the of those among the best of all time.
| RANK | NAME | COMPOSITE SCORE | WAR | wOBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Gibson | 49.2 | 56.4 | .496 |
| 2 | Johnny Bench | 36.4 | 74.8 | .362 |
| 3 | Mike Piazza | 35.9 | 63.7 | .390 |
| 4 | Mickey Cochrane | 34.8 | 50.6 | .413 |
| 5 | Bill Dickey | 34.3 | 56.1 | .396 |
| 6 | Yogi Berra | 33.3 | 63.7 | .370 |
| 7 | Carlton Fisk | 32.6 | 68.3 | .354 |
| 8 | Gabby Hartnett | 32.3 | 53.7 | .389 |
| 9 | Joe Torre | 31.7 | 62.3 | .364 |
| 10 | Gary Carter | 31.1 | 69.4 | .342 |
A Huge Reputation
Berra always loomed larger in baseball because he was always producing memorable moments. He rarely struck out but would swing at almost any pitch, making each plate appearance entertaining. I once read that he took a swing at a pitch aimed for his head. The Yankees almost traded Joe DiMaggio to the Red Sox for Ted Williams, but backed off when Tom Yawkey demanded that Berra be part of the deal. He came out of retirement to play a few games with the New York Mets, seemingly fueled entirely by fans’ memories of his Yankee exploits.
The most memorable part may be his Yogi-isms, short quips that sound as if Ben Franklin was smirking behind a catcher’s mask. Coming from a strange looking guy who always dispensed odd-sounding life advice, Yogi could have just as easily been named “Yoda” Berra and not drawn a second glance.
All pitchers are either liars or crybabies
-Yogi Berra
