Shea: Dave Righetti remembers Yogi Berra

Dave Righetti remembers Yogi Berra

Dave Righetti was having breakfast with his parents at Capital Lanes in San Jose when his brother approached to say a call was made to the family home.

Someone needed to speak with Righetti, and it was new Yankees manager Yogi Berra.

“I’ll never forget it,” said Righetti, who was summoned by Berra and coaches Sammy Ellis and Jeff Torborg about making a career change, moving from starter to closer for the 1984 season, replacing Goose Gossage, who had left for the Padres.

A prominent member of the Yankee community, Righetti felt a strong connection with the organization long before wearing pinstripes and meeting Berra, who died Wednesday at 90.

Righetti’s dad, Leo, was a shortstop in the Yankees’ farm system, played for Lefty Gomez and roomed with Jerry Coleman, both San Franciscans.

The Bay Area was rich with Yankee talent, from Italian Americans Tony Lazzeri, Frank Crosetti, Billy Martin and, of course, Joe DiMaggio to Gomez, Coleman, Bobby Brown, Charlie Silvera and Bob Meusel of Murderers Row fame.

“I can remember Reggie (Jackson) saying, ‘Look at that, that’s what a three-time MVP looks like,’ ” said Righetti, referring to the 5-foot-7 and stocky Berra.

[...] you didn’t feel like you had to be a behemoth to be great players, and Yogi was the epitome of that, and I think that’s why he identified with so many people.

Martin was fired as manager after the 1983 season, his third of five stints running the Yankees, and George Steinbrenner hired Berra, whose new closer posted a 2.34 ERA on a team in transition that won 87 games.

[...] the Yankees got off to a rough start in 1985, and Steinbrenner canned Berra after 16 games and rehired Martin.

Steinbrenner apologized in 1999, setting the scene for Yogi Berra Day and an epic scene at Yankee Stadium.

Berra caught the ceremonial first pitch from Don Larsen, who threw a World Series perfect game in 1956, and David Cone followed with a perfect game himself.

With Berra avoiding Yankee Stadium through the rest of Righetti’s career and Righetti unable to get to Yankee functions since becoming the Giants’ pitching coach in 2000, Righetti regrets he didn’t see Berra from 1985 to 2013 when the Giants played an interleague series in New York --