'I never said most of the things I said': Our 25 favorite Yogi Berra quotes
Baseball legend, ex-Mets manager, and former New York Yankee Yogi Berra passed away last night at the age of 90. While the man is in the Baseball Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the field (10 World Series wins—and three more as a coach—three Most Valuable Player awards over his 19-year career), Berra was also beloved for his way with words.
On Twitter and elsewhere, people are memorializing Berra with their favorite quotes of his. The archetypal Yogi-ism is a great one-liner that sounds like an oxymoron but actually contain a certain logic. For example, he once told a younger player who was using a far-more-established player’s batting stance that “if you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”
We’ve rounded up some of the best ones below. Even if Berra didn’t necessarily coin them, they’re associated with him. It’ll be a long time before someone offers the sort of wisdom that Yogi Berra did.
“If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
“You can observe a lot just by watching.”
“90 percent of the game is half mental.”
“He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.”
“It’s déjà vu all over again.”
“We made too many wrong mistakes.”
“It gets late early out here.”
“Even Napoleon had his Watergate.”
“Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.”
“It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.”
“Cut my pie into four pieces. I don’t think I could eat eight.”
“Never answer an anonymous letter.”
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
“If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”
“The future ain’t what it used to be.”
“A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
“I never said most of the things I said.”
“Take it with a grin of salt.”
“It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
“The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.”
“Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.”
This treasure, unearthed by Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench:
“I always thought the record would stand until it was broken.”
“A lot of guys go, ‘Hey, Yog, say a Yogi-ism.’ I tell ’em, ‘I don’t know any.’ They want me to make one up. I don’t make ’em up. I don’t even know when I say it. They’re the truth. And it is the truth. I don’t know.”
“Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
Yogi’s is going to be packed, no grin of salt needed.
David Matthews operates the Wayback Machine on Fusion.net—hop on. Got a tip? Email him: [email protected]