The Yankees’ fans have many legendary tales of their former greats to remember and rejoice. Babe Ruth was the first to hit 60 home runs. Mickey Mantle was the MLB’s greatest switch hitter. Joe DiMaggio was the first baseball media icon. Yogi Berra holds the record of maximum number of World Series rings. Lou Gehrig was the first to hit four homers in a game. Also, the first pinch hitter to hit a home run in a world series was a Yankees legend.
A pinch-hitter is the only player in baseball who is not sure if he has a chance to get a call. But when they are called late in the game, the team expects them to do well. If they suceeds against the expectations, they quickly turn a fan favorite.
Yogi Berra, the celebrated Yankees catcher, remains one of the team’s most beloved players. Even though he is one of the best Yankees players ever, he became a legend very early in his career when he came as a pinch hitter.
In 1947, the Yankees legend had played less than 100 games in the MLB. He wasn’t a well-known name yet. In Game 3 of the 1947 World Series, when the Yankees played the Brooklyn Dodgers, Yogi Berra did something that changed history.
The New York Yankees were down 9-7 in the seventh inning. Yogi Berra came in for Sherm Lollar. The 22-year-old Berra hit a pitch from the Dodgers’ Ralph Branca over the fence. This made him the first pinch-hitter in World Series history to hit a home run.
“In the seventh inning of World Series Game 3 #OTD in 1947, Yogi Berra entered as a pinch-hitter and hit the first pinch-hit home run in World Series play. It was the second pinch-hit home run Berra hit that year.” – National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The home run by Berra cut the Yankees’ deficit to one, but they still lost the game 9-8, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the series. The Yankees went on to win the series in Game 7. This was their 11th championship win.
Yogi Berra retired in 1965, but he still holds the MLB record for the most World Series wins, with a total of 10. The 19-year-old catcher from New York was picked for the All-Star Team 18 times and won three MVP awards. He had 358 home runs, 1,430 RBIs, and a batting average of .285 by the end of his career. In 1972, Berra was chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
On Oct. 3, 1952, Johnny Mize, a pinch-hitter for the New York Yankees, hit a home run off of Preacher Roe. This was the second World Series home run hit by a Yankees pinch-hitter against the Dodgers.
