He was one of the great baseball players of his time. He played for the New York Yankees in the ’40’s and 50’s, winning three league MVP awards and went on to manage the Yankees. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.

Yogi Berra passed away on Tuesday at the age of 90.  He was a great baseball player but he might be best known for his ability to twist the English language.

They're often called "Yogisms."  Yogi Berra couldn't even remember saying some of the things he said over the years – but probably one of the most famous you hear sports fans, players, managers and coaches say all the time – "It ain't over 'til it's over."  He said it about the 1973 National League pennant race.

Among the other head scratchers -

"It's like déjà vu all over again."  He said it in regard to the home runs of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle.

"When you get to a fork in the road, take it."  Yogi said that was actually directions to his house. On the way to his New Jersey home, there is a fork in the road and either way you take, you will get to his house.

"I thought they said steak dinner, but then I found it was a state dinner"

"It was hard to have a conversation with anyone; there were so many people talking."

Some other quotes:

  • Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just ain't hitting.
  • You can observe a lot by watching.
  • It gets late early around here...
  • A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.
  • If I didn't wake up I'd still be sleeping.
  • I usually take a two hour nap from 1 to 4.
  • If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else.
  • The future ain't what it used to be.
  • If they don't want to come, you can't stop them.
  • Always go to other people's funerals otherwise they won't go to yours.
  • You have to give 100% in the first half of the game. If that isn't enough, in the second half, you have to give what is left.
  • Never answer an anonymous letter.
  • Think! How the hell are you gonna think and hit at the same time.
  • Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel!
  • Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded.
  • Ninety percent of this game is half mental.
  • I didn't really say everything I said
  • Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded.
  • Our similarities are different.
  • We make too many wrong mistakes.
  • When asked what makes a good manager of a baseball team, he said 'A good ball club'.
  • When asked what time it was, he said 'What? You mean right now?'.
  • When he was asked if first baseman Don Mattingly had exceeded expectations, Yogi said 'I'd say he's done more than that '.
  • He was told that he looked cool in his summer suit by the Mayor of New York's wife, and he said 'You don't look so hot yourself'.
  • At a dinner in an Italian restaurant, he was asked how many slices should be cut in his pizza, and he replied: 'You better make it four; I don't think I could eat eight'.

His wife Carmen once asked him where he would like to be buried.  He said "Surprise me".  She never got the chance to do that.  His wife of 65 years died last year.

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