“How would you like to hang out with Yogi Berra and Ron Guidry during spring training? Funny and sweet, Driving Mr. Yogi transports you there.” — Jim Bouton, author of Ball Four
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 their imaginations. And in Yogi, Guidry found not just an elder companion or source of amusement – he found a best friend.
At turns tender, at turns laugh-out-loud funny, and teeming with unforgettable baseball yarns that span more than fifty years, Driving Mr. Yogi is a universal story about the importance of wisdom being passed from one generation to the next, as well as a reminder that time is what we make of it and compassion never gets old.
Advance Praise for Driving Mr. Yogi:
"Among the most thoughtful journalists of his time, Harvey Araton delivers one of baseball's greatest stories never told in this poetic tribute to the relationship shared by Yogi Berra and Ron Guidry. A must-read for anyone who cares about baseball, loyalty, and love." Ian O'Connor, author of The Captain and Arnie & Jack
"Harkens back to an era when ball players were teammates because of the uniform they wore, not the games they played. Driving Mr. Yogi is as sweet as the unlikely friendship between Berra and his designated chauffeur Ron Gator Guidry who, along with author Harvey Araton, handles this precious baseball cargo with requisite TLC." Jane Leavy, author of The Last Boy and Sandy Koufax
Hop in, sit back and enjoy the ride with Yogi and Gator. With grace and humor, Harvey Araton makes certain it will put a smile on your face." Tom Verducci, author (with Joe Torre) of The Yankee Years
"Spending time with Yogi Berra is a unique pleasure, as Ron Guidry a special guy himself, can attest. Now thanks to Harvey Araton's delightful book you, too, can get to know one of the world's great treasures as Louisiana Lightning does, through his eyes, and revel in a remarkable relationship." Tim McCarver, sportscaster, Fox Sports
Baseball at its best is a game of relationships fathers and sons, veterans and rookies. In Driving Mr. Yogi, one of America's finest sportswriters writes about a magical relationship. Any baseball fan would love to be at spring training, sun shining, smell of mowed grass in the air, and just listen to the stories of those two wonderful men. Harvey Araton lets us do just that." Joe Posnanski, author of The Machine and The Soul of Baseball
Like Ron Guidry, one of the greatest gifts in my career was to become Yogi s friend. He and Ron are unique Americans and in Driving Mr. Yogi readers everywhere will come to see just how special their friendship is." Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City
