Strike Zone podcast: Jay Jaffe on Yogi Berra, AL East and West races
The baseball world lost one of its greatest players and characters on Tuesday, when Yankees legend Yogi Berra died at the age of 90. But as fans mourn his passing, where does Berra rank among baseball's all-time best?
On this week's edition of The Strike Zone podcast, guest host Jon Tayler welcomes SI.com contributing baseball writer Jay Jaffe to the show to talk about Berra's career and legacy, including his standing as one of MLB's most productive catchers and his role with the dynastic Yankees of the 1940s and '50s, and whether he can stake a claim to being one of the best Yankees of all time. With his death, Jon and Jay also discuss who is now the greatest living Yankee and if any active player could join Yogi as being one of baseball's best backstops.
Jon and Jay also tackle the American League playoff races, starting with the AL East, where they talk about the Blue Jays' rise to the top, the team's plans for Marcus Stroman and whether Toronto should be a favorite heading into the playoffs. The talk then heads to the AL West, where Jay gives his thoughts on the Rangers' chances to make a deep postseason run and whether the Astros should be in panic mode, before shifting to the AL wild card and debating which of the Astros, Twins or Angels is most likely to emerge with the second spot and why Mike Scioscia would be the worst landlord imaginable.
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• VERDUCCI: Celebrating the great American life of Yankees icon Yogi Berra
