Dickey was an excellent hitter for a catcher, hitting .313 lifetime with 202 home runs and 1209 RBIs. His peak came during the Yankees record-setting four consecutive champions from 1936-1939:

Despite these numbers, Dickey was never the best hitter on the team, that position being held by either Lou Gehrig or Joe DiMaggio. American League MVP voters treated him accordingly. Dickey finished fifth in MVP voting in both 1936 and 1937. In 1938 Gehrig showing the effects of his illness and voters not quite ready to elevate sophomore DiMaggio to the top of the league. Dickey moved up, finishing a distant second to 50-homer man Jimmie Foxx. Dickey dropped to sixth place in 1939.

If it was not Dickey's illustrious teammates that diminished him in the eyes of the voters, then perhaps it was his contemporaries. Although Dickey's numbers look exceptional today, the AL of the 1930s was a high-scoring league, and Dickey's statistics were not particularly surprising in the context of their times. Nor was his offensive prowess unique for a catcher. Immediately prior to and during Dickey's best years there were several catchers who had years that were nearly as good. In 1935, Gaby Hartnett had hit .344-13-91 (and won the MVP); that same year Ernie Lombardi hit .343-12-64., and in 1938 he would win his own MVP with a .343-19-95 season. Mickey Cochrane was still around, and there were also catchers like Rick Ferrell, Al Lopez, Spud Davis, Gus Mancuso, and Rudy York. None was as consistent or as good as Dickey, but each would periodically knock out a season over .300. Dickey was the best of the pack, but that there was a pack at all makes it difficult to argue that he was uniquely great. That is how voters of the time were able to place Luke Sewell, who hit .269-1-61 for a third place team, higher in the 1937 MVP rankings than Dickey.

Yogi Berra won three Most Valuable Player awards. For him there was no pack. Ask yourself this question: "Who was the second best catcher in the American League during the 1950s?" The best you can do is to answer weakly, "Sherm Lollar?" There was no one close, not only during the 50s, but for most of the rest of the century. Berra was the only American League catcher to drive in over 100 runs between 1940 and 1974. He is one of only eight players to win three MVP awards. By virtue of the length, consistency, and importance of his career, Berra deserves not only the designation of greatest catcher in the history of the Yankees, but the greatest catcher of the twentieth century.

Although other catchers (including Dickey) have had higher peaks, none have excelled as long as Berra did. Most catchers have been inconsistent, the physical rigors of the position causing them to occasionally turn in years that were less than their best. Take Johnny Bench: in 1970 he hit .293 with 45 homers. In 1972 he hit .270 with 40 homers. In between he hit .238 with 27 homers. Berra never had that off year. Berra was mentioned in every MVP election from 1947 to 1961, a testimony both his consistency and his importance to New York's winning effort.

Berra's offensive prowess was of critical importance to the Yankees. Although remembered today as a dominant team, New York was missing a few of the elements that are associated with powerful ball clubs. In many seasons they received average or below average production from the infield corners, second base, and short. Berra was the chief reason the team prospered in spite of these shortcomings. With a catcher who was literally twice as productive as any other, the team could carry lighter bats in other areas.

Casey Stengel called Berra, "the man who holds us together." Stengel was not given to easy praise; even Mickey Mantle earned his wrath from time to time. Yet Stengel was always quick to point to Berra when asked for the secret of the team's success. In baseball for more than fifty years, Stengel had seen all of the best catchers and had come to the same conclusion that we have arrived at today: he was watching the greatest catcher of all time.