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All you need to do is look at his dazzling stats. As a player, he won 10 World Series championships. He was MVP three times. In 1956, during the World Series, pitcher Don Larsen pitched a perfect game, with Berra squatting behind the plate, essentially running the show. I love the detail provided that of all the pitches Larsen threw that day, he didn't wave off one of Berra's calls. Not one. The accomplishment is as much Berra's as Larsen's. It is the only perfect game in World Series history. The footage is still thrilling, no matter how often you watch it: Berra leaping into Larsen's arms like a little kid as the crowd goes wild. As a manager and coach, the World Series wins continued to rack up. His record is, if anything, more impressive than the four greatest living players (legends all, and rightfully so). So why the condescension?

"It Ain't Over" is a family affair: his sons are interviewed, and his grandchildren (his granddaughter is the main voice, leading us through the career). This gives the doc an urgent and emotional mood. The Berra family tells the stories with familiarity and affection, often laughing or crying: this is well-trod ground, tall tales, the narrative of their family. 

The roster of interview subjects is impressive, with Derek Jeter, Roger Angell, and other writers, former teammates, and current-day admirers. I loved the brief, enthusiastic commentary from former MLB player Nick Swisher: "12 strikeouts? I don't even think I did that in whiffle ball!" Former player and coach Joe Madden says bluntly, "Just look at the old videos, man." Roger Angell said, "He abolished the strike zone." 

There's also copious commentary on his welcoming the integration of the major leagues at a time when it was not a popular stance to take. Jackie Robinson never forgot Yogi Berra's first comment to him: "Thank you for your service to the country, and welcome to professional baseball." There's more where that came from, including Berra's late-in-life involvement in Athlete Ally, a nonprofit advocacy group helping sports organizations be more inclusive towards their LGBTQ fans and athletes.

"It Ain't Over" works the way it's supposed to work. I admit I am a sucker for baseball players talking shop, enthusing and sharing knowledge, and professional admiration for peers and forebears. There is a continuum, an inheritance from the past. The film includes a tangent into Yogi-isms and how they are constructed, with life coaches and linguists weighing in. This is an unnecessary divergence. If you need it explained why Berra's "If you can't imitate him, don't copy him" makes perfect sense, no literary professor can help.

In Moneyball, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the beleaguered Oakland A's general manager, says wryly, “It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.” Maybe some people find it easy. But if you find it hard, people like Yogi Berra matter. The history matters. The real history. Not Yogi Berra's brand, not who Berra was as a public figure, but who he was in the game. Let's talk about that.

Now playing in theaters. 

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