You don’t have to be a Yankee fan or even a baseball fan to enjoy this tale. Yogi Berra was indeed a legend in baseball, but Ron Guidry was also one of baseball’s outstanding players. This is the story of the friendship that developed when Ron started driving Yogi to the ballpark to watch and advise the young players every spring. Yogi was showing his age, but Ron knew Yogi still had knowledge that would benefit the players. Their unique relationship is just part of this book. There are the recollections of past games and famous plays. There was the 14 year feud with George Steinbrenner that ended with a carefully orchestrated reconciliation. There are the many dinners, award programs, and behind-the-scenes conversations with other players. Yogi was certainly a scholar when it came to anything baseball and usually a gentleman, unless he was righting a wrong. Ron Guidry, though much younger than Yogi also possesses those qualities. This audio book was expertly performed by Peter Berkrot who added much to its enjoyment. ( )

I suspect that Driving Mr. Yogi will almost exclusively be read by baseball fans, particularly fans of the love-them-or-hate-them New York Yankees. And that's a shame, because the book is actually a rather beautiful portrayal of love, respect, loyalty, and the powerful impact of mentoring by one generation of another. Yes, as its subtitle makes clear, this is a book about two of the greatest Yankees ever to play the game: catcher Yogi Berra and pitcher Ron Guidry, two men with little in common other than their outstanding ability to play the game of baseball. But playing baseball is the smallest part of this story.

Yankee owner George Steinbrenner was not known for his social skills, and Yogi Berra was a man with a long memory and the ability to hold a grudge indefinitely (neither of which make it easy to work for someone like Steinbrenner). Baseball managers are "hired to be fired," of course, and Yogi never objected to the fact that Steinbrenner fired him. But he took offense to how Steinbrenner handled the firing - and refused to return to Yankee Stadium, or speak to Steinbrenner, for fourteen long years. It was the vain Steinbrenner who cracked first, and decided to visit Yogi in New Jersey to work things out.

So when Berra arrived in Florida for his first Yankee Spring Training in fourteen years, Ron Guidry, a Berra protégé and sometime Yankee pitching coach, was eager to meet him at the airport to help his old coach get settled in. Little did Guidry know at the time, that this would be the beginning of perhaps the most beautiful friendship he would ever experience. What began as a courtesy on Guidry's part, one stemming from his immense respect for Berra, would evolve into a deep friendship that made the lives of both men better. If the truth were known, it probably made them both better men. But over time, as Berra aged and became feeble, the relationship evolved into one in which Guidry was his friend’s protector, always there to ensure that Yogi did not suffer a crippling fall or otherwise endanger himself. Theirs was almost a father-son relationship.

Driving Mr. Yogi might be specifically aimed at baseball fans, but it is also perfect for anyone interested in the aging process or in dealing with an aging parent of their own. The book is filled with insights beautifully presented via the many little personal moments that Ron and Yogi shared with author Harvey Araton. We can all learn something from their story.

Rated at: 4.0 ( )

This is a feel-good book, especially if you were, like me, a kid in New York whose interest in baseball and baseball players only grew stronger after the Dodgers and Giants deserted the city for the Pacific Coast. Not a bad move for baseball, but it meant that thousands of former Dodger fans had to listen to and watch Yankees games to get their baseball fix. I did, from about 1958 to 1962. Then I switched to the Mets, but during those few years, I developed a fan boy's love for those magic names: Ford, Mantle, Berra--sure there were others, but why list them for you? Of them all, I identified the most with Yogi Berra, because of a photograph of him reading a comic. Berra's stature and myth have grown over the decades, and this book is really an ode to him and to the Yankee legends, focusing as it does on Berra's friendship with Ron Guidry with side glances at Berra and Jeter, Berra and Steinbrenner, Berra and Swisher. Araton has let his fan boy out and this book is the result. It's a perfect short summer read between watching your favorite team's games. ( )

Driving Mr. Yogi is an excellent story about Yogi Berra, one of the greatest all time Yankees, and Ron Guidry, another Yankee great who just happens to be Yogi Berra’s best friend. The two always meet up at Yankees’ spring training every year. Each spring the two best friends always eat dinner, make wisecracks and watch countless hours of baseball together. This book is a collection of stories from their time together, and it also has stories from each man’s experiences at spring training. Stories shared information that ranged from how come Guidry’s nickname was Gator to why Yogi Berra ended his 14 year grudge against the Bronx Bombers.
Harvey Araton crafted an amazing book in Driving Mr. Yogi. He describes Yogi’s personality in a way that is extremely descriptive, and he tells the stories so vividly that I feel like I was there. The only issue in the book is that sometimes the author switches from first person to third person and that sometimes makes the book confusing, but all in all, once you get used to those switches you can understand the book perfectly.
Driving Mr. Yogi was very similar to the book The Yankee Years by Tom Verducci and Joe Torre. Both the books give an inside look at the Yankees clubhouse and the books explain things about the Yankees that civilians wouldn’t know. For example, did you know it is very difficult to become friendly with Derek Jeter? “It’s like he’s surrounded by a moat,” once said the oh so wise Yogi. It’s the fun facts like this that make this book a delicious piece of cake! All in all I would recommend Driving Mr. Yogi to anyone who either loves the Yankees or just wants to know about the great Yogi Berra.

Is Driving Mr. Yogi a good book for everyone? No, probably not. I do believe you need some interest in baseball and/or the Yankees to get sucked into this book, but if you fall into either or both of those categories, then you're in for a treat.

Personally, while I do love baseball - and more specifically the Chicago Cubs - I am not a huge Yankees fan. I remember some comedian or another comparing rooting for the Yankees to going to Vegas and rooting for the house. I think that's pretty apt, but fan or not, there is no denying the immense and rich history of the New York Yankees.

This book is extremely well written and does a fantastic job balancing the various topics covered. I've read other books that were so full of stats they put me to sleep, or books that only covered the personalities of various sports legends without really getting into the nitty gritty of the game. Mr. Araton did neither, and instead wrote a well researched book peppered with fascinating behind the scenes baseball tidbits, and a generous, but appropriate, helping of stats.

I was obviously interested in the book, since I read it and all, but I wasn't expecting to be quite so swept up in the stories or to be treated to such an intimate look at a couple of endearing, tough, and warm-hearted baseball legends. This is highly recommended - for the appropriate audience. ( )