One of the greatest Yogi Berra stories you may have never heard

There are no shortage of great Yogi Berra stories out there, which speaks volumes about the legacy he leaves behind as both a Hall of Fame baseball player and an all-around outstanding human being.

It’s been said, though, that a true measure of a person’s character is what they do when no one is watching. When you’re a celebrity — someone who spends his or her life with the media’s eye just around every corner — that’s even more true. And if you’re a celebrity in New York, well, there’s often a camera or recorder right in your face.

[Slideshow: Remembering Yogi Berra’s best quotes.]

Phil Rizzuto, left, and Yogi Berra, circa 1999. (AP) That’s why this story about Berra is so touching. It’s not one of the stories that’s been told time and time again. It comes from Michael Kay, the longtime New York Yankees play-by-play man and NYC radio personality, and it’s about a few of those moments when the cameras weren’t around.

Kay appeared Wednesday morning to talk about Berra on Dan LeBatard’s show on ESPN Radio and shared this tale about Berra and the legend’s longtime friend/teammate Phil Rizzuto that a lot of people might not know:

When Phil Rizzuto became ill toward the end of his life, he was put in an assisted living facility, which was about 30 minutes away from where Yogi lived. And every single day, because teammates were important to him, he would drive there, and he would play cards with Phil. And then when Phil would start to fall asleep, Yogi would hold his hand and when Phil would finally go to sleep, that’s when Yogi would leave. Every day. That’s what teammates meant to him.

Just beautiful.

[Look: The telegram Johnny Bench got after breaking Yogi Berra’s home-run record.]

Berra and Rizzuto played 11 years together in the Yankees’ lineup. Berra won the MVP in three of those years. Rizzuto won it once. They played on six World Series-winning teams together, are both in the Hall of Fame and formed a great bond that lasted until Rizzuto’s death in 2007 at age 89.

Maybe they’ll be playing cards together again soon.

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