A Look Back: With Former Yankees’ Manager, Ken Berry

Former Yankees minors coach Ken Berry remembers his journey

May 8, 1967. The latest edition of Sports Illustrated is released. On the cover is Mickey Mantle tagging out former all-star outfielder, Ken Berry, on a baserunning play.

“They were very professional,” Berry said of the Yankees’ teams he faced during his playing career.  “The club had good pitching and good defense.”

Berry didn’t know Mantle outside of baseball, but the major league veteran’s wife, Aleda, did meet the slugger at an autograph show in Topeka, Kansas. She brought the cover to Mantle, who signed it for the family.

But, just as a cover provides a mere glimpse of a magazine, so too does that cover of Sports Illustrated provide a peek into the life and legacy of Ken Berry.

A native of Missouri, Berry attended college at Wichita State University. His roommate, Bob Long, played seven seasons in the NFL and was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Green Bay Packers. Berry played four games on the Wichita State freshman football team. At the time, freshmen were not allowed to play varsity college sports.

Berry stuck with baseball and that effort paid off. He signed as an amateur free agent with the Chicago White Sox prior to the 1961 season and made his MLB debut with the club in September of 1962. He collected a hit in his first major league game–a fifth-inning single against the Washington Senators’ Bob Baird. It was the second game of a doubleheader at White Sox Park in Chicago back on September 9, 1962. A crowd of 8,771 were in attendance.

Berry was an All-Star and won two Gold Gloves during his career. However, his favorite moment might surprise you.

“It was probably when I went nearly two years without making an error,” Berry said during a phone interview. “One thing I always set out to do was to go a season without making an error in the outfield.”

From 1969 thru 1972, Berry had the sixth-highest defensive WAR (1.7) among all major league outfielders (min. 75% games played in the outfield). Among American League outfielders, he trailed only Paul Blair (8.7).

Berry would go on to play 14 seasons in the majors with four clubs–the White Sox, Angels, Brewers, and Indians. In fact, Berry was on the Indians’ roster in 1975 when Frank Robinson became the first African American manager in Major League Baseball history.

Berry would learn from Robinson, and other managers, during his playing career. This set up his transition from all-star player to all-star coach. He made his managerial debut in 1982 with the Oneonta Yankees–a short-season Single-A affiliate of the Bronx Bombers. A few future major leaguers played under Berry during his one season as a Yankees’ skipper. This includes ten-year MLB outfielder, Dan Pasqua, and Jim Deshaies, who pitched for six clubs during his 12 years at the major league level.

“We had a really good bunch of kids,” Berry said of his time with the team. “There was good chemistry with the guys.”

Perhaps the most famous man ever managed by Berry was the one who didn’t make the majors.

John Elway was a second-round draft pick by the Yankees in 1982. He hit .318 and posted a .432 on-base percentage during his 42 games with Oneonta. Elway also hit four homers and stole 13 bases during his tenure with the club. At the time Elway, a quarterback for Stanford University, had to choose between baseball and football. He chose the latter of the two and became one of the greatest to ever grace the gridiron.

“I played catch with Elway,” Berry said. “We would toss the football around. Had he stuck with baseball, he probably would’ve been a fourth or fifth outfielder in Major League Baseball. Maybe a third outfielder. He could’ve made it to the majors.”

Berry managed eight minor league seasons during his coaching career. In 1989, he led the Birmingham Barons–the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox–to the Southern League Championship. That’s when he had another memorable moment with a future Yankee.

“The club was celebrating at the hotel after we won,” he said. “I went down to the pool area with them. When I’m down there, Robin Ventura goes behind me and throws me into the pool!”

Following his playing career, “The Bandit” (as he was known during his playing career), became an author. He’s written multiple children’s books, as well as novels. His latest book, ‘Comeback,’ was recently released and Berry is thrilled by it.

“It’s got a little bit of something for everyone,” he said. “It’s mostly fiction, but there’s romance and even some science fiction.”

From an All-Star player to manager to author and beyond, “The Bandit” has certainly stolen the hearts of baseball fans across the globe.