‘It Ain’t Over’ documentary explores Yogi Berra’s legacy in baseball and beyond
ST. LOUIS – One of the most decorated catchers in baseball history hails from St. Louis. The late Yogi Berra won 10 World Series championships and earned 18 All-Star nods as a player.
However, as a new documentary explores, it’s his character and work ethic that set him apart from others in his Hall-of-Fame career.
The documentary, “It Ain’t Over” was released in 2022 and is now available to stream on Netflix. “It Ain’t Over” delves into the life of Yogi Berra, not just as a baseball legend and the father of Yogisms, but also as a human being who overcame adversity to live a large life.
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Powerful interviews with family members, close friends and baseball enthusiasts paint a picture of Berra’s impact on and off the field. Among the remarks featured in the documentary…
“A guy that everybody loved, not because he was cute and funny. It’s because he was good and he was real,” said Don Mattingly, former New York Yankees first baseman.
“He’s a figure that was larger than life,” said Derek Jeter, former Yankees shortstop.
“He was the most overlooked superstar in the history of baseball,” said Billy Crystal, actor and baseball enthusiast.
Berra’s granddaughter, Lindsay, is the lead producer. She begins it with a poignant memory just months before Berra passed away. During the 2015, MLB All-Star Game, the league honored Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Sandy Koufax, and Willie Mays as the best-living MLB greats.
Lindsay was in attendance for that game, and questioned what she saw with Yogi by her side. “Are you dead?,” she recalls asking him. And Yogi replied, “Not yet.” He won more MVP awards than all four of the honored players. His 10 World Series titles are also more than all four of them combined.
It’s been Lindsay’s mission ever since to make sure modern baseball fans know about Yogi’s legacy.
“I keep learning about the breadth of his reach, and how many folks he inspired. And that’s incredible,” Lindsey told the New York Mets on the Amazin’ Conversations with Jay Horwitz podcast last year.
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Beyond baseball, the documentary touches upon Berra’s St. Louis roots and upbringing as the son of Italian immigrants. He built a strong passion for the game of baseball at an early age and worked his way to a contract with the Yankees in 1943. However, Berra briefly put his baseball career on hold to serve with the Navy.
Digging deep into his service during the World War II era, the documentary explains Berra’s role in operating a landing craft vessel during D-Day and a wound he suffered during enemy attacks. He was eligible for a Purple Heart honor, but declined it out of respect for his family.
In addition to the injury he suffered in combat, Berra initially had a tough time breaking into the baseball scene due to his size, physical appearance, and being an Italian-American in a predominantly non-Italian sport. He made his MLB debut in 1946, won his first World Series title one year later, took over starting catcher duties for good by the next season and won his first of three MVP awards in 1951.
As his baseball career peaked, Berra married Carmen Short and committed to a strong family life outside of baseball. They had three children and several grandchildren. A 2015 report from MLB.com supports many claims in the documentary that he was a family man, first, and a baseball player, second.
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Along the years, Berra became known for his Yogisms, which included catchphrases such as “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” and “It ain’t over till it’s over,” the latter as the namesake of the movie. He managed the Yankees and New York Mets for parts of seven years after his baseball career ended, earning two more pennants.
Berra passed away in 2015 at the age of 90. “It Ain’t Over” shows his unwavering dedication to baseball, his family and his country and resilience to make the most of his life in America’s pastime and beyond.
Click here to watch the trailer for “It Ain’t Over.”
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